NBA Execs Point to Cavaliers as LeBron’s Likely Farewell Destination

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ future remains one of the NBA’s most closely watched storylines. After opting into his $52.6 million player option this past summer, James will become an unrestricted free agent following the 2025-26 season, raising questions about where the four-time NBA champion might play next.

Farewell Tour Speculation

Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report polled NBA executives and scouts about James’ next move. Many pointed to the Cleveland Cavaliers as the most likely destination for a farewell tour.

“If he wants to do a farewell tour like Kobe did, it’s the only other team that makes sense,” one league executive told Weitzman. “LeBron cares about narratives. He doesn’t want to be like Michael Jordan on the Wizards.”

Weitzman, who spent three years researching and writing a book on James and the Lakers, said those he interviewed overwhelmingly believe that James will orchestrate an elaborate farewell tour when he retires, similar to Kobe Bryant’s final season.

Yet insiders note the challenges of James’ position. “The problem is that he’s put himself in a situation where it’s impossible for him to get everything he wants,” a different executive said. “He has no leverage here, and he’s not used to that.”

Obstacles to a Cleveland Return

The Cavaliers face salary restrictions due to the second apron, limiting their ability to trade for James. The only realistic pathways for a return to Cleveland would be via a buyout or signing for less in the offseason.

“Cleveland would obviously welcome that,” another league executive told Weitzman.

Still, many insiders remain skeptical.

“I don’t think he’d care,” a player agent said. “He knows that playing with the Cavs in the East would make them heavy favorites to make the Finals.”

Another agent cautioned, “When you take a buyout, that’s a signal that people around the league don’t want you. And I don’t think LeBron wants that.”

Trading for LeBron

GettyDarius Garland and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers react against the Indiana Pacers during the fourth quarter in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs.

Earlier this year, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor suggested a Cleveland return could be a storybook ending for James.

O’Connor also outlined a potential trade.

“LeBron James to the Cavaliers would require getting under the second apron, which would mean losing Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and a third guy: probably Max Strus,” O’Connor wrote on X in June. “It’s a lot to give up for a player who may not put you over the top and may have only one year left. But if the chance is there, the Cavs should go all-in on LeBron.”

He added that trading Allen and Garland could have a longer-term benefit.

“Allen has folded in the playoffs and Garland is a tiny guard. Could trading them be a low-key salary dump for Cleveland? Then, whenever LeBron retires, the front office would have cap flexibility to build next to Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley with better-fitting players than Allen and Garland. In a strange way, adding LeBron could help optimize their short-term title odds while also helping in the longer term.”

The Cavaliers have already tried to break up the Mitchell-Garland tandem by offering the latter in their failed bid to trade for Kevin Durant, O’Connor previously reported.

A Full-Circle Opportunity

If James does return to Cleveland, it would provide a storybook ending to a career that began in the Cavaliers’ uniform. Executives and insiders say such a move would carry both narrative weight and competitive potential—a chance for the soon-to-be 41-year-old superstar to go out on top while shaping the future of a franchise he helped define.

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