At the beginning of the offseason, it seemed like there was a chance that LeBron James had already played his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers. He picked up his $52.6 million player option, but the statement released by his agent, Rich Paul, to ESPN made it sound like his client preferred to play elsewhere.
Trade speculation swirled around LeBron — fans wondered if another Cleveland reunion was in the cards. The Cavaliers couldn't make that trade, though, no matter how much LeBron might want to return to Ohio (if he even were open to that).