The Reporter Claiming LeBron Is Leaving Doubled Down And Says Reps Will Lie To Protect James’ Image


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LeBron James‘ looming free agency is a huge deal. It’s the kind of move that could potentially shift the balance of power in the NBA, and it’s so important that the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly letting LeBron’s potential free agency impact the way they approach a potential trade involving Kyrie Irving.

But according to Chris Sheridan, there’s one team we can cross off of the list of having a chance at signing LeBron if he hits the open market: the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sheridan claimed that LeBron is 100 percent leaving Cleveland next offseason, a claim that was shot down by someone who spoke to LeBron’s inner circle.

Sheridan took to Twitter on Thursday and addressed the report, saying that there’s a reason people close to LeBron would say he was inaccurate.
https://twitter.com/sheridanhoops/status/898178992733335552

So Sheridan isn’t necessarily wrong — LeBron’s people obviously have a vested interest in making him look good by any means necessary. If they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t be close to LeBron, because that would be a bad move on LeBron’s part. It is safe to assume that any report that paints LeBron in a negative light — especially one that says “there is no way he will return to Cleveland next year” — would be rebuked almost immediately.

However, it’s really important to consider the context of Sheridan’s original claim. He said that LeBron has already made up his mind that he’s leaving Cleveland because of his relationship with ownership, which seems odd because if LeBron thinks his best chance at winning a championship is with the Cavaliers, it’s hard to imagine him leaving. Really, this just seems a bit premature, and the kind of thing that can be defended with “oh he changed his mind after this season” even if it doesn’t happen.

Of course if Sheridan got word from someone who would know for a fact that LeBron is absolutely, positively gone after this season, that’s worth reporting. It’s probably just safer to trust the people close to LeBron for now, even if Sheridan thinks that’s not the best idea.

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