​The Cleveland Cavaliers are among a select group of teams pursuing LeBron James in free agency, attempting to reach him through voice note messages that may or may not ever reach the all-time great himself. At present, they look like the frontrunners to land his signature. That sense of momentum is likely to intensify, especially after Bill Simmons publicly declared that LeBron’s return to the Cavs is “done.” On the most recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons suggested that the Golden State Warriors were merely used as leverage, and he proclaimed that LeBron is returning to Cleveland, saying that the “Cleveland thing is done.”
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Simmons presents this with a casual attitude, roughly an hour into a two-hour show. If he were about to break a story of this magnitude, it would be more plausible for him to lead the episode or publish the information on the website he owns. That pattern can lead readers to interpret his remarks as speculation informed by the broader array of reporting and chatter surrounding a possible Cleveland return.
Yet Simmons is deeply connected. He has spent decades inside NBA circles and knows the terrain well. Moreover, he maintains a direct connection with Rich Paul. The Ringer—the site behind Simmons—hosts Paul’s podcast Game Over, which suggests that someone with inside access could easily be Simmons. In that sense, it’s reasonable to weigh his commentary more heavily than an ordinary rumor.
As with any such claim, the amount of credence you assign to it is a personal decision. What we can state with more certainty is that there is a distinct impression that LeBron is signaling a return to Cleveland for a farewell tour. Whether that plan will materialize remains to be seen, but the signs point toward a potentially definitive turning point for LeBron’s career in the near future. We’ll have to wait and see how this unfolds in the coming days and weeks.