When the Cleveland Cavaliers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in the Donovan Mitchell era, it felt like an encouraging step in the right direction for many. They managed to undo that feeling with just four games against the New York Knicks. Suddenly, there is an irritating thought entering the equation for the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James has always been a calculated decision-maker. The all-time great gives off the perception of someone who understands how his career story is viewed from an outside perspective. What better finishing touch to his tale than being the savior for Cleveland once more?
There were several instances during the Eastern Conference Finals where anyone watching could not help but feel the Cavaliers were in need of a real emotional leader and stabilizing force like LeBron. Cleveland was simply unable to answer the crushing moments delivered by New York.
James calmly guided the Lakers through the absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves down the stretch of the Lakers' season. If nothing else, LeBron is still as effective of a leader as anyone in the sport. Could adding that missing element to the Cavaliers be too good to pass up?
LeBron James' return to Cleveland makes sense if he is willing to sacrifice
The Cavaliers' ascent to the Eastern Conference Finals looks that much more spotty after their dismantling at the hands of the Knicks. The sweep against New York paints Cleveland as more lucky than good.
They just barely managed to squeeze by the Toronto Raptors team in seven games during the first round. That was a team who was missing Immanuel Quickley for the entire series, and had Brandon Ingram knocked out of the head-to-head before all matchups were complete.
Cleveland also got by the Detroit Pistons in seven games. Despite being the top seed in the East, there was a clear feeling of the Pistons still being at least one more year away from truly striking fear into anyone's hearts as a real contender.
When they faced the Knicks, a team who like themselves had championship aspirations in the preseason, they crumbled.
Donovan Mitchell, who desperately did his part in Game 4 to no avail, was asked about the idea of adding LeBron in the postgame. He would not dare truly touch the subject.
"I'm not trying to get a headline. That's not for me. I'm not going to answer that. That's not for me," Mitchell said. "That's a Koby Altman question. That's a Mike Gansey question. Because I know no matter what I say, no matter how I say it, and how I try to navigate it, it's going to be a thing."
The franchise star may not want to publicly discuss it, but to his point, his front office certainly will.
James made it clear recently that he needs to be in a winning situation to end his career. One could easily argue the Lakers give him a much better path at ring number five than the Cavaliers do. However, the upside of potentially being crowned in Cleveland is understandably enticing.
Even if the Lakers do have the better roster heading into next season, they still have to get through the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs to get to the NBA Finals. The Eastern Conference offers the path of lesser resistance.
The big hold-up between James and the Cavaliers could come down to finances. The cap is crushing Cleveland heading into the offseason. LeBron would need to willingly accept the bare minimum financially to try and be the Cavs' savior once more.
If that is a sacrifice James is willing to make, the Lakers have real competition in his offseason sweepstakes. The allure for LeBron to go back to Cleveland and lift them to a championship for a second time creates a fair level of unease for everyone in Los Angeles who wants to see him spend his 24th (and possibly final) season in Hollywood.
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