NBA Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers would only want LeBron James back on Shared terms

The NBA season of 2022–2023 is rapidly approaching, and LeBron James' future is a hot topic. With only one year remaining on his Lakers contract, The King must decide whether to sign a new deal soon. Many people think he will decide based on how things turn out this year after two unsuccessful seasons in Los Angeles. With the exception of the excellent 2020 season, James had little success with the Lakers. The 18-time NBA All-Star may choose to play one more season with the Cavaliers if he decides to leave after this season. Cleveland appears to only be interested in a reunion under one circumstance, though.

NBA Rumor: Cleveland condition to reunite with LeBron James, revealed

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, an NBA insider, claims that Cleveland would only welcome LeBron back under "shared terms." According to Fadeaway World, he stated the following during an appearance on The Wine And Gold Talk podcast:

“It was explained to me that a reunion from Cleveland’s side of things would have to be on shared terms… I think it’s going to be more of a, ‘How can we make this work for all of us? How can we be a team? How can we add you to what we’re doing?’”

With a youthful player core that has the potential to elevate the Cavaliers to a competitive team in the future, they appear to be in a decent position right now. They would rather have LeBron adjust to it than build the squad around him, for this reason. It's also thought that the Cavs are not at all interested in getting back together. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Cleveland has no plans to re-sign LeBron James for the upcoming season. He is also aware that staying in Los Angeles is what his family would like.

"OK, I have tied myself up in knots enough over this. The Cavs are not proceeding with the intention of getting LeBron for the third time. As a northeast Ohio native who didn’t move when LeBron left for L.A., I am not planning on him coming back, for the reasons stated above. I think family weighs too heavily into this, and the easiest move for him is to stay with the Lakers."

The Cavaliers do have a base upon which to build if they want to compete in the playoffs soon. Having said that, they would have a much better chance of winning another championship if LeBron James were on their team. At the end of the day, though, everything hinges on James' decision regarding his contract.