Does a Game 6 Loss Mean LeBron Is Done in Cleveland?

With his Cavaliers on the brink of elimination, many have begun to speculate that a loss on Friday night to the Celtics would mark the end of the reign of King James in Cleveland.

From the Rockets to the Lakers to the Sixers, James has been linked to a plethora of future landing spots despite publicly stating his sole focus is on winning another championship with the Cavs.

However, now that the end of the season is near, it’s even more pertinent to brood on what a Cleveland loss prior to making the NBA Finals would mean for LeBron’s future.

To examine that question, ESPN brought in NBA Insiders Chris Herring, Kevin Arnovitz, Micah Adams, Kevin Pelton, and André Snellings – none of whom give the Cavs more than a 50 percent chance to advance – and asked them how a loss tonight would change James’ tomorrow.

Although one of them mentioned James staying in Cleveland was a possibility, the majority of the panel indicated that a loss in Game 6 would pave the way for James to leave the Cavs, with the primary reason being the competition in the East is better than expected and the Cavaliers simply don’t have as good a shot of reaching the NBA Finals as was thought earlier this year.

“It should mean that he’s gone, since he already did what he vowed to do, which was win a title for his hometown Cavs,” Herring said of a loss. “It’s somewhat difficult to imagine LeBron going West when the East can be won by a team this young. But it’s probably too early to tell which team would be the clubhouse favorite to land him if and when he does leave Cleveland.”