LeBron will decline player option, takes a ‘wait-and-see approach’

My thoughts: Exactly why I can’t stand Lebron.

There should be no doubt that LeBron James is going to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliersfor the forseeable future. He returned to the Cavs last season to help bring a winning cultre to the team and to bring a championship to the Ohio. In his first season back, he literally did everything he could to accomplish those goals but injuries to Kyrie Irving, Anderson Varejao and Kevin Love caused the Cavs to be a depleted team in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

James is optimistic about the Cavs’ future and recently said, “hopefully I can put our team in position once again to try to compete for a championship next year.” However, according to a report from Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, James is waiting to see what the Cavs do in the offseason before he re-signs with the team:

The contract situations of Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and to a certain degree Brendan Haywood are expected to be resolved before the Cleveland Cavaliers re-sign the world’s most dominant player.

James will take a wait-and-see approach while the Cavaliers tend to their housekeeping matters, league sources told Northeast Ohio Media Group.

The four-time MVP has a player option deadline of Monday, and he will decline to pick up that deal for next season.

The belief is James wants to observe how management goes about retaining and accumulating assets keep the organization in win-now mode and improve the roster.

For James and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, it’s a forward-thinking business tactic. There’s no telling how many prime years James has left, and the impression is that he wants to ensure he’s surrounded by a championship-caliber cast.

Although James wants Love, Thompson, Shumpert and Smith to return, he will not put on a full-court recruiting press. He prefers to give them space to make a decision, trusting they understand what the Cavaliers are capable of accomplishing if they all re-sign.

Again, there should be no doubt that James will stay in Cleveland even though as Haynes notes, LeBron will decline to pick up his player option on Monday.

James wants to take a step back and let the front office build a winning team around him without his involvement. This is why James has said he won’t be recuriting Love to re-sign with the team. It is a bold strategy by James but as he is the team’s franchise player and undisputated leader, it will more than likely work in his favor.

Original post: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25225837/report-lebron-is-taking-a-wait-and-see-approach-before-re-signing-with-cavs

This made me feel good though: LEBRON JAMES HAD THE WORST AWESOME PERFORMANCE IN NBA FINALS HISTORY