With the NBA All-Star Game taking place this Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers will be on the sidelines until Friday, February 20, when they will face the Los Angeles Clippers. This is the 22nd time LeBron James has been selected to participate in the league’s mid-season classic, and speculation continues unabated about what he will do in basketball after this season.
He’ll be a free agent this summer, and there’s a feeling, at least to some extent, that this will be the end of his time with the Lakers. The Cleveland Cavaliers made some salary-cutting moves ahead of last week’s trade deadline that could be seen as an excuse for James and the Cavaliers to reunite.
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ESPN’s Tim MacMahon told “NBA Today” that there is “widespread speculation” around the league that James will return to his old team and stage “a permanent retirement journey.”
“I know what the speculation is rampant around the league is that the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to have a reunion this summer and possibly return home again next year for a multi-year retirement tour.”
James, of course, spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland, returning to the team in 2014 after four years with the Miami Heat for four more seasons. In 2016, he led the Cavaliers to the Golden State Warriors with a score of 1-3 in the Finals and won the Cavaliers their first championship in team history.
The 41-year-old continues to perform at superstar level this season. He averaged 22 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 50.3 percent from the field, and on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks, he became the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double.
After that game, he said that what determines how long he can last in the NBA is the mental aspect of basketball, not whether he can still play at a high level.
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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: There’s speculation about LeBron James’ retirement journey with Cavaliers