In a survey of 48 anonymous players conducted by ESPN during NBA All-Star weekend, the overwhelming sentiment was that James, who spurned the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 and left the Miami Heat in 2014 to return to his beloved northeast Ohio, will and should stay right where he is. Asked with what team James will sign this summer, 59 percent of respondents said the Cavaliers. Surprisingly, perhaps, an even larger share of players, 66 percent, believe that staying in Cleveland is James’ best option in free agency.
“Honestly, I’m hoping that he stays in Cleveland, just for that city,” one anonymous player told ESPN. “But I would definitely understand if he left. It’s a business. You see how they did Blake [Griffin] after bringing him in during free agency, telling him all of this and all of that, and then they trade him away.”