Skip to main content
Larry Brown Sports Tagline. Brown Bag it, Baby.
#pounditThursday, March 28, 2024

Report: LeBron James using contract as leverage against Cavs

LeBron James

LeBron James is opting out of the second year of the two-year deal he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. There’s probably a 99 percent chance he re-signs with the team, but that doesn’t mean LeBron is afraid to use that 1 percent as leverage.

According to Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, James plans to wait and see what the Cavs do with the rest of their roster before he signs a new deal.

The belief is James wants to observe how management goes about retaining and accumulating assets keep the organization in win-now mode and improve the roster.

The chance of James bolting the city of Cleveland for a second time is slim, but his approach will allow him to assess the Cavaliers’ moves before re-signing. It also applies pressure on the organization to do whatever is necessary to strengthen the team.

A previous report indicated that the Cavs want LeBron to basically act as general manager for the team this summer, but it’s unclear if he will be willing to do that. In the past, LeBron has preferred to take a back seat. Now that he is getting older, you’d have to think James would want as much input as possible.

The bottom line is the Cavs aren’t going to risk losing the face of their franchise again. LeBron will probably sign another two-year deal with the team and opt out again next offseason so he can sign a massive extension when the salary cap increases. But until then, he’s content to make management squirm. Only time will tell if that also means this guy is on his way out of Cleveland.

.

Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast!

Sports News Minute Podcast
comments powered by Disqus