5 reasons why LeBron James will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer

One of the best basketballers in the world, LeBron James, is in the final year of his contract with the Cavaliers and will be a free agent next summer. In the 15th year of his NBA career, moving towards the final stages of his career, the ambitious player is looking win more and more rings. But is Cleveland the right place to fulfill his wish?

Let us look at the 5 reasons why LeBron James should consider leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and try out the market this summer:

#5 LeBron's Promise

LeBron James at the 2016 Championship Parade

LeBron promised to bring home a championship and boy, has he done that in emphatic fashion.

Before even playing a single game of his career, he was titled by the media as 'The Chosen One'. He was the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft and wore the jersey with the same number of his idol and the legend, Michael Jordan. Fans started to predict that he would be responsible for ending the 50-year drought of championships in Cleveland.

After going through some ups and downs, The King finally ended up winning a championship for Cleveland by defeating the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016. To add to the insult, James defeated the favorites after the Warriors had a commanding 3-1 lead in the first 4 Finals games, giving the fans a win and a ring to remember for a lifetime (no team has never lost in the history of NBA after being up 3-1 in the NBA Finals).

The fans definitely would be disappointed if LeBron decides to leave, but there should be no hard feeling whatsoever.

#4 The front office

In this free agency alone, Cleveland’s front office missed out on deals with star players like Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler. They fired David Griffin and scared off Chauncey Billups for the post of General Manager.

In the meantime, not only did the Golden State Warriors retain all of the core members by signing Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston due to the gesture of the Finals MVP Kevin Durant, they upgraded their roster by adding two great three-point shooters in Nick Young and Omri Casspi. With the addition of some young talent in Patric McCaw, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell and veterans like David West, the Warriors are deeper than they have ever been.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers just lost its second-best scorer in Kyrie Irving and got older after the addition of Dwyane Wade. With the fitness level of Isaiah Thomas uncertain, the only notable acquisitions has been that of Jeff Green and Jae Crowder. LeBron James is both “frustrated and concerned” over his team’s lack of upgrades this season.

#3 Tax restrictions

Ent — Dan Gilbert on Cavs' luxury tax bill

The Cavaliers had a massive $121 million payroll in 2016-17 and face a $45 million luxury tax bill on top of that. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert paid a total of $166 million for a roster that made the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers this year are still paying the luxury tax and therefore can't afford to go for any another signing. They'll also have to pay the repeater tax, which in itself is very expensive. The Cavs triggered those repeater penalties by going over the luxury tax threshold in at least three of the past four seasons.

Due to their these tax constraints, the Cavs are in no position to trade for any big names this offseason without submerging themselves into an ocean of tax and also don’t have much to offer in return for any player. With the inability to sign any new star to their roster, LeBron James will be even more infuriated.

#2 Aging roster

LeBron, at the age of 32, still looks like in the prime of his life. But that is not the case for the rest of the roster. With the addition of the Dwyane Wade, the Cavs are now the oldest team in the NBA with an average age of 30.

Although the team has a significant amount of experience, getting older and slower has impacted them on the defensive end of the floor. In addition to some aging, potentially declining players on the roster, the same communication and effort problems that gave them trouble last season are still prevalent this season.

The King in the Fourth, Isaiah Thomas, certainly won’t help their defensive issues, whenever he decides to end up returning to the floor. The bottom line is that Cleveland is old, and plays like it. Even if the Cavs begin giving effort, it’s hard to imagine that a backcourt featuring Wade, Rose, and Smith will be able to sustain that energy over a 48-minute game.

#1 Legacy

In the 15 years of his illustrious career, LeBron has achieved almost everything that is there to achieve except for one thing, and that is Mount Rushmore.

James is now considered by many as the second-best player to have ever played the game. But The King is not satisfied with that, as he stated in an interview last year that, “I am chasing a ghost”. We all know who he is talking about here and it's none other than his idol, Michael Jordan. He made it clear that when he finally decides to hang his jersey, he wants to be known as the best to have ever played the game of basketball.

The biggest debate against LeBron is the 6 championships by Jordan with a perfect record of 6 wins in 6 finals appearances compared to the 3 won by LeBron. The only team stopping LeBron from reaching Mount Rushmore is the Golden State Warriors. LeBron has played the Dubs 3 straight times and has won only once against them.

The Cavaliers, as constructed they are now, just don’t have the resources to match the All-Star-studded team that is the Golden State Warriors. If LeBron keeps on reaching the Finals and losing to the Warriors, it is only going to tarnish his legacy and also most probably end the GOAT conversation he desperately wants to be involved in.

The only way LeBron reaches Mount Rushmore is by leaving the Cavaliers and joining a much more celebrated team, which just so happens to be the Golden State Warriors in this case.

Edited by Harsh Manwani