Cavs fans are divided about the team’s latest trades, but they can all agree on one thing: LeBron James should come back to Cleveland.
The Cavaliers started a series of moves Feb. 1 by trading forward De’Andre Hunter to Sacramento for two guards: Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis. The Cavs then traded point guard Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for shooting guard James Harden Feb. 3. Two days later, they sent point guard Lonzo Ball to the Utah Jazz to offload his $10 million contract, for nothing in return.
Junior Artur Salmazi approves of the Ball trade. “I didn’t like him. I was hoping he would do good, but he just didn’t play well,” he said.
Security guard Jeleand Head said Ball was plagued by injuries. “What he brought off the bench probably could have helped us a lot more if he was a little bit more healthy,” he said.
Salmazi said he hopes Harden continues a good performance while playing in different environments. “He played really good in his debut against the Kings, but I want to see him play under pressure and under a really tough team,” he said.
Since joining the Cavaliers, Harden has averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 6 rebounds, leading the team to two victories against the Denver Nuggets and the Sacramento Kings.
Despite people’s varying opinions about the action taken to help the Cavs in the playoffs this season, everyone agrees that James should come home when his contract with the Lakers ends.
James is currently averaging 21.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 35 games. The Lakers are currently 32-21 and fifth in the Western Conference.
Freshman Xavier Davis said he wants James to return. “I feel like everyone would be pissed if Lebron wanted to come back to Cleveland and the Cavs didn’t sign him,” he said.
Currently with the Cavaliers salary cap space, signing James wouldn’t be possible. In an effort to ensure teams remain competitive, the NBA governs how much teams can spend to sign and pay players. If a team’s payroll is over the salary cap amount, the team must pay a luxury tax. This season, franchises pay an additional $1.50 to the league for every dollar they go over the cap. The rate also increases the further a team goes over the limit.
At 41 years old, James, having already earned a cumulative $580 million over his career, could make a reunion possible if he decided to take a pay cut.
James could sign on for cheaper than his open market value, which is the estimated salary a player would receive. The signing would be done on a mid-level exception, a bargaining agreement that allows teams that go over the salary cap to sign players for more than the minimum NBA salary. This exception allows teams without cap space to sign established veterans.
However, the Cavaliers aren’t currently eligible to sign a player on a mid-level exception because their payroll is too high. To be eligible, a franchise’s payroll must be less than an amount known as the second apron, which this year is $207.8 million. The Cavaliers this season have the most expensive payroll at $228.6 million. In order to get under the second apron and acquire James, the Cavaliers would have to offload more large contracts like the Lonzo Ball trade.
Salmazi says James should return on a mid-level exception. “I think if we don’t pay him an absurd amount of money, I feel like there’s no reason we shouldn’t sign him,” he said.
James’s son Lebron James Jr. was drafted by the Lakers in 2025 as the 55th overall pick, after just one season at USC. He scored eight points against the Cavaliers Jan 28.
Salmazi said he could see James Jr. joining the Cavaliers with his father. “LeBron definitely might push it because he probably wants to retire playing with his son,” he said.
James coming back to Cleveland would complete his NBA tenure. Said Salamazi, “Ending his career where he started and won a championship here, I think it would be very nice.”
Debbie Butler, Jordan Ford, Gabe Juli, Lincoln Phillips, Phoenix Randolph and John Scales reported this story.
