LeBron James' first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers wasn't very successful, at least in terms of team success. While he put up monster numbers there during his first seven seasons in the NBA, Cleveland reached the NBA Finals just once and lost there to the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, and it suffered a couple of tough playoff losses to the Boston Celtics afterward.
But when James returned in 2014, Cleveland had an infrastructure around him that was ready to compete for the NBA championship. David Griffin, whom the Cavaliers hired to be their general manager in 2010, built a supporting cast consisting of players such as Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, and the result was the franchise's first world title in 2016.
There has obviously been lots of speculation lately about James possibly returning to the Cavaliers this summer. Griffin, who most recently worked for the Pelicans before getting fired last year, chimed in on that speculation.
“There’s a big part of me that would be surprised if he doesn’t, on some level, just because Northeast Ohio means so much to him. It would be surprising to me on some level if he didn't want to… I can tell you the theater of it excites me, sure.
"... He owns every record you could have… And he would give every damn one of them away to win a title here again.”
James, of course, is originally from Akron, Ohio, which is just under 40 miles away from Cleveland. Prior to last week's NBA trade deadline, the Cavaliers made a couple of moves that trimmed their payroll and could pave the way for them to be able to bring James back.
The 41-year-old is currently averaging 22 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists a game for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. He will be a free agent this summer, but first, he's set to make his 21st All-Star game appearance on Sunday. However, for the first time in his NBA career, he will come off the bench in the midseason classic.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Cavaliers GM on whether LeBron will go back to Cleveland