LeBron James Free Agency: 5 Reasons why LeBron James should re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer

When all is said and done in the 2017-18 NBA season, only then can front offices devote their undivided attention to the team's long-term futures in the summer of 2018, the best player who could be a free agent this summer would undoubtedly be LeBron James.

While Kevin Durant would definitely be in with a shout for challenging LeBron for this title, it is all but a formality for Durant to sign another 2-3 year deal with the Golden State Warriors, thus removing him from the field for General Managers.

LeBron James has a player option for a salary in excess of $35 million for the 2018-19 season, but he could opt out of it for probably the last major payday of his career this offseason. A number of rumors linking various franchises to a heist of James in the summer have already emerged.

Here, we take a look at the top 5 reasons why these rumors are unfounded and why LeBron will stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers beyond the summer of 2018, whether or not he picks up his player option.

#5 He loves the city of Cleveland, and the love is reciprocated

Cleveland Cavaliers Victory Parade And Rally

LeBron is a man deeply attached to his roots in Ohio - he was born in Akron, a town just 40 miles from Cleveland. While 'The Decision' did not exactly go down well with NBA and Cavaliers fans alike, over a period of time fans did come to terms with the reason behind why LeBron chose to go to Miami and win his first title.

His decision to return to Cleveland in the 2014 offseason after making 4 straight NBA Finals and winning 2 championships brought back much of the fanbase that turned against him for leaving in 2010. Above all, his victory in the 2016 Finals gave Cleveland a major league sports trophy after a drought of 52 long years during which Ohio sports fans had to pass through long spells of irrelevance.

The LeBron James Family Foundation pledged a sum of $41 million in order to send thousands of underprivileged kids to college in 2016. LeBron James is fully committed to improving the lives of Ohio citizens, and staying in Cleveland would allow him to take this wonderful initiative forward with the greatest ease.

#4 The fallout of leaving Cleveland again would be unbearable

LeBron James Pre Decision Meet and Greet

If at all LeBron does choose some team other than the Cavaliers in his upcoming free agency for the summer of 2018 (if he opts out of his player option) or 2019, nearly all of the goodwill he earned for returning to the Cavaliers franchise would go right out of the window.

LeBron would be hated more than ever by Ohio sports fans, especially since LeBron stated in 2014 that he would like to retire in Cleveland, and has reiterated the same stance whenever he has been asked the question. Most recently, he did it in September 2017, with the following statement:

I won't ever cheat my teammates or cheat the fans or be in a situation where I'm worried or talking about free agency all year long, because I'm not going to give energy to something I can handle in the summertime when I should be focused on what I need to do on a day-to-day basis to help this franchise compete for a championship because that's what the front office wants.

If LeBron goes back on his word now, he would be called out for all of this, and not in a good way.

#3 If he forms another superteam, comparisons to Jordan will cease having credence

Will LeBron James sign with the Lakers?

LeBron, even at age 33, seems to be performing as well as he ever has. At his current level of play, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still the preeminent force in the Eastern Conference, despite the Kyrie Irving trade that has reduced their long-term ceiling and only given them Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr to show for it (Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder have been traded to the Lakers and the Jazz respectively).

Leaving such a scenario for a loaded team like the Houston Rockets (who have James Harden and Chris Paul), the Spurs (who have LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard) or the 76ers (who have Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid) - as the rumours have been trying to project - would be considered an abject surrender on his part to the super team culture that he has played a large part in popularizing, albeit unwittingly.

It would be seen as a weak move on his part, and he would be labeled a mercenary - words that were never, ever associated with Michael Jordan, whose ghost he has supposedly been chasing all this time.

#2 Cleveland has a nice long-term situation

Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr.

Even assuming that the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs and the Philadelphia 76ers have a better supporting cast to surround LeBron (should he commit to one of these teams), Cleveland is still probably the top contender for LeBron's signature on a new deal for pure basketball reasons.

In Kevin Love, he has a reliable All-Star who can drop 20 points and grab 10 rebounds with minimum fuss on an average day. With Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr and Rodney Hood on the team long-term, the Cavaliers have a nice scoring punch to give LeBron a few minutes off every night.

What's more, they have the opportunity to draft a star-in-the-making this summer using the Brooklyn Nets pick, which they received via the Irving trade. The 2018 draft has been projected as one of the most well-stocked ones in recent memory, and should the Cavaliers receive a player with a high ceiling (the Nets pick is currently likely to be at the 6th or 7th spot) in the draft, there is no reason for LeBron to leave Cleveland, because he will already have enough players alongside him to compete for an NBA title with.

#1 Joining any other team does not significantly increase his chances of another ring

The biggest thorn in any NBA team's path to Finals glory for 2018, as well as 2019, are the Golden State Warriors. The defending champions have 2 of the world's top 4 players in Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, as well as excellent two-way players to prop up the team in Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. While Durant will be a free agent this summer, it is almost a certainty that he will stay with the Warriors long term.

Till the time these 4 players are together and are surrounded by reliable contributors like Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West, Jordan Bell, Patrick McCaw and Nick Young, the talent gap between the Warriors and the rest of the league is not likely to change. Should Houston, San Antonio or Philadelphia pull off a miracle and somehow sign LeBron, they will have to give up much of the squad depth which makes them the truly lethal competitors that they are currently.

Wherever he goes, LeBron James has a slim chance of winning a ring till the age of 35 or beyond, just because the Golden State Warriors exist in the NBA and are predominant favorites in any playoff series against any roster in the league.

Thus, giving up on Cleveland and joining a super team does not still do enough for LeBron James to guarantee him a championship win the way that Durant was guaranteed a title when he signed with the Warriors in 2016.

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