LeBron James’ championship-winning teammate from the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, Channing Frye, thinks James should avoid the Cavs as a free agency destination.
LeBron James is entering free agency for the first time since 2018, with the Los Angeles Lakers hoping to retain their 41-year-old forward, despite potential interest from the Golden State Warriors and the Cavs.
Frye believes there are off-court problems on the current Cavaliers roster that are beyond LeBron’s capability to resolve for a retirement season where he contends for a championship.
Channing Frye thinks the Cavaliers have a ‘soul’ problem that LeBron James needs to avoid
On a recent episode of Road Trippin’ with Richard Jefferson, Frye openly said he thinks LeBron should return to the Lakers instead of joining the Cavaliers because of the problems on the squad.
“And here’s why, I don’t like the setup. Cleveland got too many what-ifs now. After seeing what I saw, like 52-year-old LeBron ain’t going to solve those issues. They got soul issues. They got I don’t like you issues, and I don’t want to be here with you issues… Bron doesn’t fix the guys not liking each other.”
Frye is speculating based on comments and vibes, but he also spent a week with LeBron as part of the 10-year Cavaliers reunion, so this has likely been discussed among the group already.
James would be the perfect small forward next to James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, but if the issues in Cleveland are deeper than basketball, James might prefer a safer destination for a potential retirement season.
All roads lead to LeBron James returning to the Lakers
The Cavaliers present a fascinating basketball option for James as a final-year destination. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists last season, proving he can still contribute.
The Cavaliers are a Conference Finals team without James, so just adding him into their setup might be the best competitive situation for James in free agency.
But if off-court problems are looming over the franchise, James might wait and see how the Lakers surround Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves with talent before accepting whatever the Lakers have left in additional salary to kickstart what might be his final season in the NBA close to home.
The story of James returning to Cleveland and helping their current core finally win a title is tantalizing, but the comfort of staying in LA with a competitive core and likely the biggest contract offer will be too much to pass up on for LeBron.
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