LeBron James caused a bit of a stir on Monday when he and his agent Rich Paul made an appearance at Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Naturally, given the fact he’s expected to opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and become a free agent this summer, many are wondering about the reason for his visit to his old stomping grounds. People are especially curious given how infamously passive-aggressive James is and his history of sending messages in such a fashion.
Brian Windhorst, who has covered James for over 20 years, said several executives around the NBA are curious about why James was in Cleveland for that playoff game. Windhorst speculated the superstar wasn’t there only to enjoy some playoff basketball — he was there for a reason.
“I had several NBA executives send me back my own meme” @WindhorstESPN via UnSportsmanLike 😂 pic.twitter.com/5XMFGu58UF
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) May 14, 2024
“I will say this, the first thing I thought of was this moment 10 years ago where LeBron showed up to a game in Cleveland while he was a player for the Miami Heat to honor Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ Jersey retirement, his longtime teammate,” said Windhorst. “And he got in a private plane, flew from Chicago over to Cleveland on an off night. Pat Riley was not happy. And a few months later he signed with the Cavs. … He’s extremely strategic and I wish I could tell you I knew exactly what he is doing. I don’t pretend to know, but he’s gotta be up to something.”
Many do feel James will ultimately stay with the Lakers on a new contract, and the Lakers are rumored to be interested in Cavs star guard Donovan Mitchell, so perhaps James’ motive for going to that game isn’t necessarily selfish. But it’s sometimes hard to decipher exactly what he’s up to.
