Media talk is rife that LBJ could re-join the Cavs in 2014 to set up a partnership with Irving.
After seeing Kyrie Irving and LeBron James suit up for the Eastern All-Stars in Houston, the media were back in overdrive after Miami Heat’s 109-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
As speculated by ESPN.com’s Michael Wallace, James could perhaps consider a return to Cleveland should he opt out of his deal with the Heat at the end of next season. Why would he do that? For more financial flexibility.
While there is always the option he will extend his stay at the AA Arena, reports suggest that LBJ could be enticed by the developments at Cleveland, with Kyrie Irving at the forefront of the project.
LeBron of course left in acrimonious fashion to make the switch to Miami, and doesn’t have the best of relationships with owner Dan Gilbert.
Add to that the success he is currently enjoying in Miami, along with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, he has a very strong possibility of sealing back-to-back championships this year as the Heat continue to build.
However, that hasn’t stopped the rumours from circulating and they will undoubtedly intensify the closer we get to the end of the 2014 season.
The Cavaliers, despite being at the wrong end of the Eastern Conference, are building a solid team packed with promising talent.
Along with point guard Irving who is undoubtedly their biggest star and continues to improve, they also have the likes of Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller on their roster.
In an interesting but far-fetched sub-plot, as the clock ticked down at the end of the first half of Sunday night’s game, Irving saw a full court length heave fall short of the basket. However, on hand was James to catch the ball near the rim before throwing down a reverse dunk.
“Oh, from Kyrie,” said James when questioned about the move. “That was an extension from All-Star Weekend,” he replied as reported by ESPN.
However, James was dismissive when questioned on the rumours linking him with a return to Cleveland.
“I can’t worry about, you know, speculation and rumours. My only focus right is to win another championship [in Miami]. So, you know, I can’t worry about what people say.”
For now James looks set to lead Miami to another championship as they extended their winning streak to 11 games. It will perhaps become clearer next season whether the Irving-James partnership will come to fruition.
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