LeBron James reportedly did not like the prospect of playing with Donovan Mitchell on the Cleveland Cavaliers while evaluating his offseason free agency decision.
James joined the Philadelphia 76ers instead of going to Cleveland for a third stint with the franchise. He could’ve been the final piece on a title-winning team, but chose to do that for the 76ers instead.
The Cavaliers could’ve landed LeBron, but two major decisions reportedly turned James away from a homecoming.
LeBron James would’ve preferred playing with Darius Garland and Jaylen Brown
If the Cavaliers signed LeBron, he would likely be the small forward ahead of a James Harden and Mitchell backcourt.
Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson revealed that LeBron would have preferred if the Cavs kept Darius Garland instead of Harden and if they had acquired Brown from the Celtics by sending out Mitchell.
“If the Cavs still had Garland in Cleveland and moved Donovan in a trade to Jaylen Brown, there’s a good chance that LeBron James would be in Cleveland today next to Garland, Jaylen Brown, and Evan Mobley.”
LeBron’s disapproval of the Garland-Harden trade was made clear when Rich Paul unveiled LeBron’s shortlist of teams he was considering, with his infamous whiteboard making it clear Garland’s absence was a negative.
Cavaliers are all-in on Donovan Mitchell, even if LeBron James doesn’t like it
Trading Garland for Harden and then extending Mitchell on a four-year, $273 million extension shows the Cavaliers view Mitchell as their franchise cornerstone.
The Cavs think he will be the one to return them to the championship mountaintop, so trading him for Brown was an untenable thought for the franchise.
There is a chance James would’ve accepted Brown’s absence on the Cavaliers if Garland was still there, but that ship sailed in February when they acquired Harden as a pass-first point guard instead of Garland and Mitchell’s stylistic crossover as undersized score-first guards.
Mitchell averaged 27.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists last season while leading the Cavs to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Mitchell will have to step his game up to repeat that in this year’s more competitive East, especially with no major offseason additions incoming.
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