Stephen A. Smith suggests LeBron James return to Cleveland Cavaliers to win another NBA Championship

LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith have not been the best of friends over the course of this year. Still, as far as the end of James’ career, Smith had an opinion this morning of how he thought he could end it perfectly.

‘First Take’ aired on Friday from the NABJ Convention in Cleveland. It was there today that Smith suggested, considering the point of his career he’s at and where each franchise stands, James should leave the Los Angeles and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the second time, before he retires.

“Well, you know, I’m here in Cleveland, you know. It’s been a while since I’ve been here…And, you know, it gets cold here, you know, but it’s a nice town, great sports town and what have you,” Smith said. “I saw the Cleveland Cavaliers this past season, and I’m a huge, huge, huge Donovan Mitchell fan, okay. That brother is something special, right. But the absence of help during the postseason was very glaring. They got bounced up out of there.”

“And then I thought about Los Angeles…We know, it has become crystal clear that that pretty much, the weather and Hollywood, is the only reasons why LeBron is there, because he damn sure ain’t winning no damn championship there. It ain’t gonna happen, okay – not with Oklahoma City, be mindful of Dallas, don’t dismiss Houston, Minnesota and (Anthony Edwards) already sent them home…I think (the Lakers) are going in the right direction, keeping Luka. Of course, that’s a given,” continued Smith. “But, getting specifically to LeBron, it has gotten to a point where I think it warrants – bro, why don’t you just come back to Cleveland to end your career?”

James obviously has spent half of the 22 seasons of his career in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cavs, where’d spend the next seven seasons of his career before deciding to leave for South Beach. Then, four seasons later, James would return for another four-year stint in Cleveland. With that, James is the best player in the franchise’s history with averages of 27.2 points (49.2% FG, 33.7% 3PT), 7.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. That’s as he has led them all-time in several categories, been an All-Star, All-NBA, and MVP several times over, and has taken them to the most playoff success they’ve ever had, most notably winning the NBA Finals in 2016 as part of all five of their berths in The Finals (’07, ’15-’18).

Since then, James has spent the past seven seasons in Los Angeles, winning another championship and posting 26.6 points (51.3% FG, 36% 3PT), 8.1 assists, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals as a Laker. He also opted into his player option back at the end of June. However, over this offseason, his future there has been in question as he comes towards the end of his playing career.

That’s where Smith’s suggestion comes into play. Rather than, even with Luka Dončić, trying to get Los Angeles back into the NBA Finals from out of the Western Conference, Smith knows how much easier it’d be for James to move again and, specifically this season, try to take Cleveland back again from out of the Eastern Conference.

“This cannot be disputed. He’d have a better chance of winning the championship in Cleveland than he would in LA. The road through the Western Conference is arduous to say the least. In the Eastern Conference? New York has got a new coach, questions about their depth. Damian Lillard is no longer in Milwaukee, back in Portland, so what help do you have with Giannis? Jayson Tatum is out for the year with an Achilles tear, okay. We saw what happened with Cleveland last year. Indiana was in The Finals – Haliburton’s out for the year, Turner is a Milwaukee Buck now, alright. Orlando is on the come up with the Desmond Bane acquisition, which we love, but they’re on the come up, haven’t arrived,” Smith said. “If LeBron James came back to Cleveland? You’re the favorites to come out of the East, and you need only four wins to win a championship.”

“You come back to Cleveland, you bring the ‘chip back to Cleveland, and you say goodbye. Five-time champion…That ain’t happening if you stay in LA because you ain’t coming out of the West. But you could come out of the East and all you’d need is four games,” said Smith. “If LeBron was back in Cleveland? Cleveland is the favorites, and then he would remind people he’s here to win championships instead of going Hollywood. Because you ain’t winning a championship in LA. He already won a ‘chip, even though that was in the bubble but I don’t hold that against him…I’m saying, you look at the West? It’s loaded. The road to prosperity is hard. It’s much easier in the Eastern Conference this upcoming season.”

Smith also just thinks it’d be enticing for him to return The Land. James, a native of Akron, Ohio, has done so much on and off the court in Cleveland that he’s as big of a star there as anyone may ever have been before in Los Angeles or elsewhere.

“This is the place where he’s beloved,” Smith added. “LA? You know, that’s Kobe, Magic, Kareem. They’ll never embrace him like that. Miami, because he left, even though he went to four-straight finals and delivered back-to-back ‘chips? They’ll never embrace him like that. But, this place? He is beloved, and should be because of what he did for this area, what he did for this city. I mean, he is a god-like figure in these parts, as well he should be.”

Few people have less of a say in what James does at this point than Smith. That said, Stephen A. says, if he’s serious about winning another NBA Championship, James

“To me, if you’re about winning the ‘chip? This is the decision…If you are about closing the door on your career by crowning yourself as a champion? Winning one for the thumb, having five?…This is a prime opportunity right there for him, if you want the ‘chip. If it ain’t about the ‘chip then it’s not about the ‘chip.”