The Cleveland Cavaliers closed out the 2024-25 regular season with a conference‑best 64-18 record, securing the top seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference only to be upset in the second round by the Indiana Pacers, 4-1.
Yet Cleveland currently sits atop futures boards as narrow favorites to emerge from the East in 2025-26, with ESPN BET listing them at +275 to win the conference and +800 to win the title, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Trade chatter around LeBron James possibly returning to Cleveland hasn't slowed either, fueled by his recent decision to exercise his $52.6 million player option for 2025‑26 and his surprise Fourth of July workout at the Cavs’ practice facility.
Despite this, sources told Hoops Wire on Saturday that the Cavs "were not among the teams to inquire" about a reunion with their former franchise icon.
League insiders characterize Cleveland’s interest at this stage as "incredibly minimal," citing their belief that the current roster already has the pieces to contend without adding James’s hefty salary.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James controls the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker defends during their playoff game at Crypto.com Arena on April 30, 2025.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James controls the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker defends during their playoff game at Crypto.com Arena.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
That stance aligns with a recent ESPN poll of eight NBA scouts and front‑office executives, in which seven of the eight respondents picked Cleveland to win the Eastern Conference next season.
The overwhelming support underscores broad confidence in the Cavs’ core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, a nucleus fresh off a 64‑win campaign and primed for further playoff growth.
For his part, James closes in on 23 seasons in the NBA, having averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds over 70 games last season, numbers that helped propel him to his 21st All‑Star nod, an NBA record.
However, landing James would require clearing upwards of $40-50 million in salary, a feat NBA insider Bobby Marks deems "extremely difficult" without mortgaging the assets that helped build last season’s No. 1 seed.