Report: LeBron James still plans on re-signing with Cavs, confirms to team
He hasn't changed his mind and that's good for the defending champs
By
Zach Harper
•
1 min read
Because it's LeBron James, there were whispers that bringing a championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers might open the door for him to leave the franchise once again. Shortly after winning the championship and breaking the Cleveland championship drought, reports started pouring in stating the exact opposite. LeBron isn't going anywhere; he wants to defend the championship in Cleveland that he and his teammates just won.
We're 24 days into free agency now and LeBron still hasn't re-signed with the Cavs. There is no reason to worry about his return though. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, LeBron told the Cavs he'll re-sign some time this summer but there isn't a set time frame in which they'll get that done.
LeBron James has informed the Cleveland Cavaliers he will re-sign with the reigning NBA champions this summer but still has no timetable for negotiating or signing a deal, sources told ESPN.
James is currently traveling and spending time with family. He will meet with agent Rich Paul and go over his contract options at some point but there is no rush, sources said.
This is about what's expected from LeBron. He still needs to figure out the contract he wants to sign. Doing another one-year deal with a player option for the second year keeps the flexibility for LeBron to keep receiving the biggest jumps in salary possible. The cap has jumped $24 million since last year when he re-signed with the team and will jump again next summer. He can sign a one-year deal this time around for $27.5 million.
He could always surprise everybody and sign a long-term deal with the Cavs, but that's not expected until at least next season when we're expecting to see our last big jump in the salary cap. LeBron's max contract is tied to a percentage of the cap, so it makes sense to keep the year-to-year flexibility with his rising salary than getting locked in now.
The Cavs also still need to re-sign J.R. Smith, who intends to remain with the Cavs, and their coach Tyronn Lue.
