Former NBA guard Jeff Teague suggested that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ only hope may be to bring back franchise legend LeBron James after they were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals by the New York Knicks.
James, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, left the Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers following the 2017-18 season.
“The Cavs, the only way they can be okay if they bring back back Bron,” Teague said. “But it don’t look like Bron leaving L.A. no time soon.”
James began his career in Cleveland, as he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He spent the first several seasons of his career with the Cavs, taking them to one NBA Finals.
He then left the franchise for the first time to join the Miami Heat, going to four consecutive NBA Finals with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as his co-stars. The Heat won two titles, but James broke up the Big 3 to return to Cleveland ahead of the 2014-15 season.
There, James continued his remarkable streak of making the Finals, reaching the championship series in four straight seasons with the Cavs and capturing the 2016 NBA title. The Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals, giving James the third title of his career.
But after four years in Cleveland, he left for the Lakers and ended up winning a title in the 2019-20 season for Los Angeles.
Now, the 41-year-old has a major career decision to make, as he could retire, return to the Lakers or join another team in the offseason.
The Cavs made it through the first two rounds of the playoffs this year, beating the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons in seven games each, but they were outclassed by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. New York won every game in the series by double digits, including a 37-point win in Cleveland in Game 4 on Monday night.
The Cavs have not won a game in the Eastern Conference Finals since James left the franchise for Los Angeles.
Even though he’s 41, James is still one of the league’s top players, and he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from 3 during the 2025-26 regular season. He also led the Lakers to a series win over the Houston Rockets in the 2026 postseason.
If James does decide to return to Cleveland, it may give Donovan Mitchell and company a fighting chance to get out of the East next season.
