LeBron on free agency: ‘No plans to go nowhere at this point’
As he prepared to celebrate the sweetest possible end to his 2015-16 season, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player LeBron James briefly turned attention to the 2016-17 campaign, telling Joe Vardon of cleveland.com — and multiple other reporters — that he plans to stay put and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers after leading them to the first NBA championship in franchise history:
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“I love it here. I love being here. I love my teammates,” James told cleveland.com, moments before he boarded a float at The Q for the Cavs’ championship parade through downtown Cleveland. “Obviously my agent will take care of all the logistical things but, I’m happy. I’ve got no plans to go nowhere at this point.” […]
“This is the happiest time in my life right now,” James said.
James signed a two-year deal to return to Cleveland in the summer of 2014, but held a player option on the second year. He exercised that option last summer, re-entering free agency to take advantage of the increased maximum salary afforded by the rising salary cap, set himself up to further benefit from the explosion of the cap coming due to the influx of new money from the NBA’s massive nine-year, $24 billion broadcast rights deal will inflate the salary cap to a projected $94 million, and continue to retain maximum decision-making flexibility to maintain constant pressure on Cavaliers general manager David Griffin and owner Dan Gilbert to do everything in their power to keep the team competing for titles year after year.
James’ “wait-and-see” approach led to free agency helped spur Gilbert and Griffin to spend nearly $250 million in deals to bring back Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and Mo Williams. He chose to re-up on a carbon copy deal — two years at the max, with the second a player option — capping a cash-splashing offseason that made Cleveland the second-most costly team in NBA history … and, now that it’s brought the city its first pro sports championship since 1964, it was worth every penny, thanks in large part to No. 23.
Sticking around would mean James will either play out the ’16-’17 season, for which he’s slated to make just over $24 million, or once again opt out, re-enter the market, and come back on a new max deal that, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, would pay him either $27.5 million or $31 million in Year 1, depending upon the length of the contract he chooses. The smart money’s on LeBron taking another one-and-one deal, as that both sets up the biggest long-term payday and ensures he retains the near-total control he’s earned in Cleveland — though the ultimate nature of the deal stands as the “logistical things” that LeBron’s representation will work out with Cavs brass. As it stands now, though, LeBron seemingly continues to feel that there’s no place like home … especially now that the Cavs have made it all the way over the rainbow and grabbed the pot of gold on the other side.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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