Donovan Mitchell Declines Comment On Potential LeBron James Return To Cavaliers

Jan 28, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) defends Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images Jan 28, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) defends Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

Donovan Mitchell Declines Comment On Potential LeBron James Return To Cavaliers

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Corey Hansford | Last updated May 29, 2026 2:50 PM ET

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The future of LeBron James is one of the biggest question marks of this offseason. First and foremost, James must decide whether he will choose to play a 24th NBA season and if he does, he must then figure out where he will play as he is an unrestricted free agent.

If he doesn’t return to the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most popular beliefs is that he could return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and finish his career where he started with his hometown team. When asked about that potential return, current Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell chose not to comment, via Danny Cunningham of Locked On Cavs:

Donovan Mitchell on if he wants LeBron James to return: "That is not for me. I am not trying to get a headline. That's a Koby Altman question, that's a Mike Gansey question."

— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) May 26, 2026

Mitchell and the Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since James’ final season there in 2018. However, they were swept by the New York Knicks and after four consecutive seasons of coming up short in the playoffs, many feel a change is necessary and James returning could be exactly the kind of shakeup they need.

How that would work financially would be an entirely different issue as the Cavaliers do not have a ton of available cap space and there have been recent reports that James would not be willing to take a massive pay cut in order to sign with Cleveland, or any other team for that matter. This would likely necessitate some sort of sign-and-trade if James’ desire was to return to the Cavaliers and who knows what the Lakers would want back in such a deal.

The Lakers have spoken openly about their desire to bring James back and have him finish his career with the purple and gold, but it is very possible that the relationship between the two sides has run its course. Regardless, the James saga will be one of the most closely watched storylines of this summer.

What LeBron James reportedly wants before making a free agency decision

James reportedly has plans on how he will approach free agency this summer as well, with him wanting an explanation from the Lakers if they offer him less than a max deal on how they plan to spend the money elsewhere and where they see him slotting in under a new contract.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Lakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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