Brian Windhorst Suggests LeBron James Could Be Teasing Cavaliers and Fans

It might not be obvious watching him fly to the rim for a thunderous tomahawk slam, but LeBron James is the quintessential veteran in the NBA. Going into his 22nd season, he's the most tenured player left in the league, with one additional year of experience on Chris Paul, who's entering his 21st campaign at 40 years old.

Throughout his storied career, James has picked up all of the tricks: how to game the rules to draw fouls, how to use his contract to manipulate the league's financial system, and how to use the media to help do his bidding. When listening to his press conferences or scrolling through his socials, it's clear that he's an expert veteran who has carefully crafted his public representation.

Recently, he picked up his $52 million player option for the 2025-26 season, which was another sly move from the King. By opting in, he ensured that he'd become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the league year, making it easier for him to demand a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers were a natural potential landing spot.

As if there wasn't enough smoke surrounding a possible homecoming for James, he added fuel to the fire by posting a workout at the Cavs' practice facility this summer. He'd go on to say that he returns to Cleveland to train every offseason, but the damage was already done. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, this was no accident.

"LeBron absolutely knows that he will cause a wave with these social media things. So, on the one hand, he is just coming home for the holiday; he is just doing something that he has done numerous times in the past. On the other hand, by doing what he's doing, he is absolutely poking the bear and being passive aggressive. And by the way, the Lakers are being passive-aggressive back at LeBron, right? They did not announce his option pick-up. So they're both acting in the same way. So how does this get resolved?... I don't know."