Could LeBron James get bought out of his contract and come to the Cavs?
It’s possible, albeit unlikely.
LeBron James isn’t a free agent. He picked up his $52.6 million player option this upcoming season with the Los Angeles Lakers. On the surface, this should mean that there’s nothing to talk about, but things aren’t exactly business as usual for the star who spent 11 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Rich Paul, James’s agent, released a cryptic message when James opted into his player option and has made numerous statements since to clear things up, but has only obfuscated the situation more in the process.
Additionally, James has gone out of his way to make at best cryptic, but seemingly calculated, social media posts about the Cavs and took a picture in their practice facility in Independence. While he claims this isn’t anything out of the ordinary, it’s odd that things like this are happening right this week and not any other time during his Lakers’ tenure.
The LeSubliminal messages:
— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) July 4, 2025
- Rich Paul releases a cryptic statement about LA
- LeBron wears a 'Welcome Home' hat in Akron
- LeBron reposts Allie Clifton wearing his CLE jersey with the caption 'proper attire '
- LeBron is seen in the Cavs' practice facility
All in a week pic.twitter.com/7WrXXWvtkE
LeBron’s end goal of all of this is unclear. This likely won’t pressure the Lakers into any win-now moves. And it doesn’t seem like it’s going to make them more committed to LeBron’s whims. They have a different superstar to cater to.
What we can say is that he and the Lakers don’t seem aligned in their long-term goal. At least, not like it might have been this time last year.
The Cavs can trade for James if they want, and he waived his no-trade clause. I would be in favor of them doing so, but that isn’t the only option on the table for them. James could also become a free agent if he were bought out of his contract this summer.
It sounds ridiculous to say that the Lakers could pay that much money for James to play elsewhere next season. But maybe it isn’t if we actually take a look at all the factors involved.
Could the Lakers buy out LeBron?
Paying up to $52.6 million for an All-NBA player to not be on your team next season is a lot. But considering the Lakers' situation, it may not be the worst option.
The Lakers seem to want to sign a max-contract player in 2027 and are taking the steps to do so. That’s part of the reason why they didn’t sign Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency, even though they could’ve matched the Houston Rockets’ offer.
Los Angeles could be once again trying to lure big-name free agents to Los Angeles. Two players that they might be eyeing are Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Both will have one year remaining on their deal after next season, which could open up the trade market for them.
While it seems unlikely that either could force their way to Los Angeles, we also didn’t think Luka Doncic would end up in a Lakers uniform, and here we are.
If this is their plan, LeBron doesn’t fit into it beyond this upcoming season. Likewise, any players and their money that you would need to send back in a LeBron trade might not be all that desirable since they would be trying to keep their cap sheet clean.
While it’s still unlikely that you would want to pay James to play elsewhere, it’s not as far-fetched as the idea might’ve seemed this time last week.
There is, however, a certain stigma that comes with a buyout. We haven’t seen someone playing at his level accept a buyout. But, at the same time, we did just see Damian Lillard (who’s expected to miss all of next season) do so, and we know that James wants to win now.
If he wanted to — which is a big if — LeBron may have the power to force his way out of Los Angeles like this while it still being in the best long-term interest of the Lakers as they shift their focus to building around Doncic.
Where do the Cavs come into this?
The second apron has numerous restrictions. One of which is that teams aren’t allowed to sign players bought out during the regular season who made over the mid-level exception in that season. That restriction is only for moves in the season. If James were to get bought out this summer, he could sign with the Cavs.
Cleveland would be the natural landing spot for James. He has familiarity with the organization, they’d likely be favorites to win the title, and he could control the narrative in a second return to his hometown team like he did during his first. He’s previously said that he intends to finish his career in Cleveland. While he’s since said similar things about the Lakers, he also said back in 2022 that “the door’s not closed” on a return to his former team.
It seems like Cleveland would be the logical destination for James if he were to become a free agent again.
At the same time, things are a little more complicated than that. The Cavs could only offer LeBron a minimum contract if he became a free agent because they’re in the second apron. While that may not be a problem this next season, when the Lakers would be paying the bulk of his salary in this scenario, it could be in 2026-27.
James has historically not accepted less than his market value, and the few times he’s been willing to do so, he hasn’t been at such a discounted rate. In this hypothetical, this would be a problem next summer. Cleveland will still be a second-apron team next offseason unless they unload a good deal of salary. And even if they were able to get out of the first and second aprons, they’d only be able to offer up to the midlevel exception.
Even though James has money, he’s also served as Vice President of the National Basketball Players’ Association. A player of James’s status and ability accepting that little for a season would not be a good look for the union. This would be on top of the hit to James’s pocketbook.
If you’re LeBron, you may not want to go through the effort of getting a buyout and forcing your way to Cleveland just to make a minimum contract for two seasons or find a third team to go to in as many years in 2026-27.
These wouldn’t be issues if the Cavs were to trade for LeBron. If they did that, they would have his Bird rights and would be able to sign him up to a max contract.
Is this likely?
Even though there are reasons why the Lakers could want to just rid themselves of the LeBron experience and get a fresh start with Doncic, it isn’t that simple. The same is true for James.
As it stands, by far the most likely scenario is that LeBron plays out next season with the Lakers. What happens that following summer is anyone’s guess a year out.
All that said, the NBA is unpredictable. We didn’t think that we’d be having these conversations a week ago. Also, I didn’t think we’d be dissecting LeBron's social media posts like we have recently. From that perspective, anything is possible.
We’ll have to just wait and see if something comes of all of this.