LeBron James Reacts to Cleveland Cavaliers News

Just because James congratulated Weems doesn’t mean he’s looking to return to the Cavaliers.

However, it’s evident that James and the Los Angeles Lakers are not on the same page right now.

“Much of the tension appears to stem from the Lakers’ desire to keep their salary-cap sheet as clear as possible starting next summer, allowing them to find Luka Doncic’s future partner either in free agency or via trade, when they’ll have access to use first-round picks in 2026, 2031 and 2033 for a single trade,” NBA reporter Dan Woike, who covers the Lakers for The Athletic, wrote.

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, while the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round.

Cleveland can’t feasibly trade for James because the NBA legend will make $52.6 million next season.

James, of course, has played for the Cavaliers twice. He’s the best player in franchise history and will get his No. 23 jersey retired by the organization one day.

LeBron led Cleveland to its only championship in 2016 against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.

After playing for the Cavaliers from 2014-15 to 2017-18, James signed with the Lakers. He guided the franchise to the 2020 title against the Miami Heat at the Walt Disney World bubble with the help of Anthony Davis.

The Lakers traded Davis and Max Christie to the Dallas Mavericks last season for Doncic. James has no issues with Doncic, who grew up idolizing LeBron.

James has a problem with Los Angeles president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, who doesn’t want to go all-in on winning a title next season.

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