NBA Free Agency Rumors: Where LeBron James could go if he leaves Cavs in 2018
LeBron James went to the Cavaliers with the goal of winning multiple titles. While he has managed to bring Cleveland to the NBA Finals for three straight years, he's only come out of it with a single ring. In a sense he's accomplished his goal, but with the Warriors appearing ready to dominate the league, one has to wonder if James could consider leaving yet again to better challenge Golden State.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, of The Vertical, there is a sense around the league that James could very well leave once again. If he did, the destinations for him are based in big cities.
"Cleveland's unique in that they're almost again on a one year plan. Because LeBron's free agency comes up again next year. Not only is there no guarantee he's coming back I'm not sure there's an expectation he's re-signing there. I think they feel, within Cleveland and around the league, they feel that he's very much in play to leave again and likely head out west to one of the two L.A. teams. The Lakers could very well be a target. The possibility of Miami again based on what that team looks like. Would Dwyane Wade go back there? I think the focus, a lot of LeBron's business interest, his hollywood aspirations, his media ventures are based out there."
This isn't the first time James has been linked to L.A. in his career, or even this season for that matter. The rumor typically is brought up due to LeBron's media interests being based in the Los Angeles area, and with him being liberated of having to bring a title to Cleveland he, quite frankly, can do whatever he wants at this point. Whether that's going out West to where he can continue to build his brand or finish out his career by the beach in Miami with Dwyane Wade.
That said, James can't go anywhere until 2018 at the earliest and it would be shocking to see him leave again. He left Cleveland once to go win a title and he's spoken numerous times about how returning to Cleveland was more than just basketball. It helps that on the basketball side he has more influence on the Cavs than anywhere else, and at the moment he's winning a lot there. It's hard to see him leaving for Los Angeles or Miami at the moment.