For the first time since making his debut in 2003 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James is on an expiring contract. Speculations suggest that the LA Lakers star might call it a day at the end of the season. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise since James will turn 41 this December. Those who follow the league closely know that James is still going strong, averaging 26.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in 297 games during the last 5 years of his career.
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But that is not the only speculation going around. Since the Lakers have signed Luka Doncic, some believe that James is simply going to find a new home to pursue his goals. Although it is unclear how that will play out, since he has pretty much done everything there is to do in the NBA.
Appearing on the Club Shay Shay podcast, LA Clippers’ head coach, Ty Lue, has expressed surprise at LeBron’s expiring contract because he considers LBJ to be someone who has changed the game for good.
“He’s made it to wherever these guys are able to go to whatever teams they want to go to… He was the one to take that first step. He took all the heat to get to this point where you see everybody’s doing it you know and he paved that way,” Lue explained.
He believes that if LeBron’s on an expiring contract, it’s by his own design. Nobody is making him do anything, Lue noted. “If he’s on a one year contract, that’s where he wants to be,” he added.
The podcast host and former NFL star Shannon Sharpe chimed in, claiming to have heard whispers about LeBron’s return to Cleveland. However, Lue is not very sure about that, and neither is Sharpe.
“You went to LA, you have done everything you could do in Cleveland, right? I think you finish it up in LA. I don’t know how much longer they want him in LA but I think he finished up in LA,” Sharpe noted, adding that he doesn’t believe LeBron will call it quits after this season.
Sharpe also believes that LeBron, who is already the highest scorer of all time with 42,184 NBA points, would want to set a record that nobody will ever catch. Currently, the only active player in the list of the top 10 all-timers is Kevin Durant, and he is about 10,000 points behind LeBron. Sharpe feels it will take him another 7 to 8 years to even get there.
Lue, meanwhile, claimed that big players like LeBron only average about 10 points a game once they are past their prime. However, the Lakers star is still scoring at a staggering rate of 25 per game. Sharpe agreed.
He then turned his attention to a video of LeBron working out at the LA Clippers’ facility. With a curious side eye toward Lue, he asked him what it meant.
“Yeah, I saw that. I don’t know if I can even speak on that. He’s working out at an old facility… I can’t say nothing about that,” Lue joked, much to Sharpe’s amusement.
Well, if there is something to be explored, it’s not getting excavated any time soon, that’s for sure.
