Big update emerges about LeBron James-Cavaliers links

The chances of a third tour of duty for LeBron James in Cleveland appear to be increasing.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to heavily pursue the superstar forward James in free agency this summer, Ashish Mathur of Cavaliers Nation reported on Wednesday. Furthermore, Mathur adds that Donovan Mitchell and newly-acquired Cavs guard James Harden are expected to recruit James to Cleveland.

Earlier this week, the Cavs pulled off a blockbuster trade with the LA Clippers for the former MVP Harden (read the full details here). The expectation is that Harden, who has a $42.3 million player option for next year, will be signing a longer-term extension with Cleveland.

As for James, he obviously has a lot of history with the Cavs. The Akron, Ohio was originally drafted by Cleveland in 2003 and spent 11 total seasons there (spanning two separate stints). James also led the Cavs to their only NBA championship in franchise history back in 2016.

We recently learned that James is trending towards a summer split with the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons. The Cavs were also just named as one of three outside teams that could possibly pursue James as a free agent.

It remains to be seen if the 41-year-old James will want to continue his NBA career for a 24th career season or will simply decide to retire instead. But he did notably have some positive things to say about the Cavs in recent months, and the chance to form a new Big Three with Mitchell and Harden in Cleveland could also be a strong selling point for James.