The (multi-)million-dollar question heading into this offseason is, of course, where LeBron James will end up. Only he knows the answer to that for sure, but that hasn’t stopped the rampant speculation, the rumor mongering, and the bold and thoroughly misguided predictions.
He’s been linked to L.A. in a number of these hypothetical scenarios, but Philly has also recently emerged as a potentially destination given the Sixers’ youth movement and the organization’s overall rosy outlook for the future. Coincidentally, both of these cities are also enmeshed in an ever-expanding billboard war unabashedly soliciting his services.
It’s a decision LeBron likely won’t arrive at until after the season, and one that will clearly hinge on several considerations, not the least of which is how the new-look Cavs perform when the playoffs start later this month. But according to LeBron, two main priorities will ultimately determine what his future holds.
Via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
“My family. That’s all that matters,” James told Cleveland.com. “I want to continue to win at the highest level, because I know I can still do it as an individual, and then my family. My family is what’s most important to me, more than anything.”
We’ll resist the admittedly tempting urge to offer up our own educated guess here as to where he’ll land this summer, but it isn’t too much of a stretch to say that his incumbent Cavs have to feel good about their chances. The front office made bold moves at the trade deadline to both get younger and add playmakers to a roster that had grown old and sluggish.
Still, Cleveland will have to prove that they are still one of the top teams in the NBA right now, which is no small task given their struggles and inconsistencies throughout the season.
