You hear weird rumors when you work in basketball. That seems to be especially true if you cover the Cleveland Cavaliers and the subject of those rumors is LeBron James.
Back in March, I had a friend tell me that LeBron was coming back because he heard from someone, who knows a dentist, and that dentist said the James family booked appointments for later that winter. That friend swears on the story, but there’s obviously no way to actually back that up.
This rumor certainly isn’t one to put any stock
in. Yet, it’s the type of thing you hear repeated around Northeast Ohio. LeBron has just been in the community for too long to avoid things like this. Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone else who claims to know what’s actually happening. None of it is worth reporting or believing from serious basketball insiders. But maybe there is some kernel of truth in it after all.
Let’s get into some of what people on the streets are saying in this massive game of telephone.
First, we have the baker from Cleveland’s Little Italy who told everyone back in May that LeBron was coming back because Charles Oakley told him that’s what Maverick Carter told him.
Then, we have the personal trainer turned artist Joshua Teplitz, who called LeBron’s return in 2014, saying he’s going to do so again.
The next one isn’t from Northeast Ohio. A New York Jets podcaster, Tony Vegas, said that his brother-in-law golfed with Bronny and told him LeBron was coming back to Cleveland. Vegas has since taken the tweets down due to being “yelled at.”
Returning to Northeast Ohio, someone told Emmett Golden of ESPN Cleveland that James was coming back. This person also told Golden of LeBron’s broken hand in the 2018 Finals, so maybe they actually are connected.
Then there was the infamous Cupcake Lady from 2014. Now they run Poke Fresh Ohio in Canton. They said LeBron was coming back, but with Bronny and Draymond Green as well. However, they then walked it back, saying they were just joking.
These aren’t the only ones that are floating around out there. I’ve heard stuff about local golf club pros confirming the return, rumblings from the local youth sports scene, and rumors from other local media members.
The main thread in these rumors is that they’re unreliable and probably shouldn’t be believed. Yet, here they are circulating and being published once again on the internet.
The lack of concrete noise, due to the tight operation LeBron and Rich Paul are running in free agency, has left a vacuum. Almost by design, fans are left to track Instagram photos, planes, and who’s playing golf with who. If the reporters aren’t able to get any actual updates, people are left to try to find out for themselves or create their own narratives.
We’ll find out soon enough what James is planning. All we can say now is either LeBron’s second return to Cleveland is the worst-kept secret in the world, or everyone is lying.
