NBA Executive Can See Cleveland Cavaliers ‘Going Hard’ After LeBron James Next Offseason if They Don’t Win 2026 Championship

One NBA executive can see the Cleveland Cavaliers “going hard” after LeBron James next offseason if they don’t win the 2026 championship.

James becomes an unrestricted free agent next offseason for the first time since 2018. The NBA legend will make $52.6 million next season in the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Next season is a big year for Cleveland,” the NBA executive told Cavaliers Nation. “Tyrese [Haliburton] is out. Jayson [Tatum] is most likely out. The East is wide open. It’s there for the Cavaliers to take. They should win the conference next season. There’s no excuses. And once you get to the Finals, anything can happen. I actually think they match up really well against OKC.

“I’ll tell you this right now: If the Cavaliers don’t win it all next season, I can see them going hard after LeBron. Everyone knows Dan [Gilbert] wants to win a title without him, but if they can’t win the championship next season, adding LeBron to that group would be a cheat code. I know he’ll be 42, but it’s LeBron. He will always be an elite force.”

James began his NBA career with the Cavaliers. He spent the first seven years of his career with Cleveland before leaving for the Miami Heat in 2010.

After playing four years with the Heat, James returned to the Cavaliers in 2014. He guided the franchise to the 2016 championship against the Golden State Warriors. The 2016 Cleveland squad is the only team in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.

James left the Cavaliers for the Lakers in 2018. The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP led Los Angeles to the 2020 championship against Miami at the Walt Disney World bubble.

For the first time in his career, James is playing on an expiring contract. If the four-time champion doesn’t retire after next season, he has the option of leaving the Lakers, who are building around Luka Dončić now.

It would certainly be a storybook ending for James to finish his career with the Cavaliers. Cleveland was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs in five games.

James turns 41 in December. He would be 42 during the 2026-27 season. However, James has proven that age is just a number for him. He made the All-NBA Second Team and finished sixth in MVP voting last season at 40 years old.