INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ At the celebration of his return to Cleveland in August 2014, LeBron James said he planned on ending his career with the Cavaliers.
"I don't plan on going anywhere," James said that day in InfoCision Stadium. "I don't have the energy to do it again."
James reiterated that Monday at media day at Cleveland Clinic Courts. As practice begins Tuesday, he embarks on a season when his possible free agency next summer will be thrown in his face at every turn.
Asked if his intentions to stay in Cleveland have changed, James said, "Umm, it hasn't changed. And that's why I sit up here today, still in this uniform, still ready to lead this franchise to a championship, put us in a position where we can be successful.
"Obviously you guys know with me, anytime I'm able to either be a free agent or my contract is ending, I'll approach that when the summer comes. I won't ever cheat my teammates or cheat the fans in a situation where I'm worried or talking about free agency all year long, because I'm not going to give energy to something that I can handle in the summertime.
"I should be focused on what I need to do on a day-to-day basis to help this franchise compete for a championship."
James, 32, left himself some wiggle room by not definitively saying he was staying. His words surely did not halt the media frenzy. In the final year of his contract that includes a player option for 2018-19, James can opt out and become a free agent in July. Speculation has been rampant that he will depart for Los Angeles, where he owns a home in Brentwood, or leave to play with friends.
But when asked again if he was saying he planned to finish his career here, James nodded his head in affirmation.
When pressed on what needs to be decided next summer, he said, "Ah, well at the end of the day I have a contract and I will fill out that obligation, which I've always done. And if you guys know me, I've always handled it in the most businesslike way. We'll handle that in the summertime, as we always have."
James said he didn't believe that the endless questions he will face about his future will be a distraction this season. He dealt with the same situation in 2010 before he left the Cavs for the Heat, then again in 2014 after winning two championships in Miami. He ended Cleveland's 52-year title drought in 2016.
"In 2010, I tried to put that team in a position to compete for a championship, and obviously we played extremely well throughout the regular season, and we ran into a team that was more talented than us in Boston," James said.
"In 2014, I was part of a team to try to help them get to a place where a lot of teams haven't been in, to be able to three-peat. We got all the way there, but it was a team that was hitting on all cylinders better than us at that point in time in San Antonio. My focus has always been there ... I don't think anything will change."
In the offseason, James was surprisingly communicative with the front office via text. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue doesn't seem worried about the potential distraction.
"As far as the speculation and everything else, I have nothing to do with that, but I know he's the ultimate competitor and he's just focused on winning a championship," Lue said.
The only thing that may have changed was James' focus in the offseason. Several mentioned that James came to camp reinvigorated after the Cavs' third consecutive trip to the Finals ended with a loss to the Golden State Warriors in five games.
Guard J.R. Smith called James "a jerk" for frequently calling and waking him up at 6:30 in the morning as he was leaving to work out.
"When the best player in the world can be in the gym at 6 a.m. and I'm like, 'It's 7:30, I can't get up. Nah, yes you can. If he can be up, I can be up.' He gives you that determination to be better every day," Smith said.
Smith said after being around James virtually every day for the past three years, he can see a difference in the four-time league MVP.
"He's just driven," Smith said. "For whatever reason, he's not in those conversations, whether it's MVP or 'He might not be the best player in the world.' It's not so much to prove to you guys, it's to prove to himself. When you can continuously do that and continue rejuvenating yourself being the best player already, that's something special."
