"The fans of the Lakers are like, 'Alright! He goin' back to Cleveland'!" - Jalen Rose on speculation about LeBron James, says he won't win another title with Lakers
LeBron James had a phenomenal individual season with the LA Lakers last season. Although the team was not successful in making the playoffs, the 37-year-old averaged 30.3 points per game. He finished second in the race for the scoring title.
Next season will be James' fifth season with the Purple and Gold. He is due for a contract extension as his current one ends at the end of next season.
Amidst that, a lot of buzz has been created over his potential move away from the LA Lakers. The Cleveland Cavaliers are believed to be one team that could bring the four-time champ back home for the third time in his career. Jalen Rose shared his take on the rumors on "The Jalen & Jacoby Show."
"It's not crazy, this is not the first time that this has been discussed, and the one thing that we know as people but also in sports is that you can always go home and people understand.
"The fans of the Miami Heat are like all right he going back to Cleveland, the fans of the Lakers will be like all right he's going back to Cleveland.
LeBron James led the Lakers to a championship win in 2020. However, the Lakers have underperformed since. James would like to end his career with another championship to go with the four he has won.
However, Jalen Rose believes that the Lakers are not a team that the "The Kid from Akron" could win a championship with again.
"I believe Lebron won't win another championship with the Lakers, so now it's 'What are your goals this year?' He's going to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer, he's still playing at an all-NBA level and we know Bronny is lurking in a couple of years. So for Lebron, if the goal is to win a championship again, he will have to leave LA."
Despite these rumors, LeBron James is determined to stay with the Lakers. He is eligible to sign a contract extension on August 4th. There is still no clarity if he is going to do that.
Even if he doesn't, the 37 -year -old has an entire season to put pen to paper. If the team is able to log wins and he sees potential, James will not hesitate to sign a contract and commit to the seventeen-time champs.
Jalen Rose believes that despite the rumors LeBron James could possibly retire as a Laker
LeBron James is arguably the best player in the Cleveland Cavaliers' franchise history. It would certainly be great if James decided to retire in his hometown team. However, Jalen Rose believes that it is highly unlikely that it will happen.
Although the former NBA player pointed out that James needed to step out of LA to win a championship, he had his reservations about the move to Cleveland. The 49-year-old shared that James and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert did not have a great relationship.
"He doesn't have the best relationship with Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"So as much as it may seem like the Cavs are positioning and or maybe a good look for LeBron to return, I still think there's gonna have to be amending of those two gentlemen in particular if that's gonna take place, but I think that's very far fetched. I think overarching with all things equal LeBron final team will be the Lakers."
The Purple and Gold added some young players in free agency. They also have a new coach in Darvin Ham, who is expected to bring in a different style of play to the Lakers.