[Stein] It has been long assumed that James is bound to turn his final season into a lucrative documentary product that has the capacity to make up for whatever bargain contract he ends up settling for. It’s a wrinkle that could strengthen Cleveland’s case. The most storybook docuseries backdrop.
The opportunity to either go out where it all started with the Cavaliers — or to return to the Heat to form an all-new Big Three alongside Antetokounmpo and another Olympic teammate in Bam Adebayo while also reuniting with coach Erik Spoelstra — is why Cleveland and Miami are so routinely cited by league observers as co-favorites with Golden State.
It has also been long assumed by various well-placed observers that James is bound to turn his final season into some sort of lucrative documentary product that, once sold, certainly has the capacity to make up for whatever bargain contract he ends up settling for from the team that ultimately scores his signature.
Cameras have already been following LeBron around with the Lakers for seasons with an S. Andy Thompson, acclaimed executive producer and principal videographer from The Last Dance docuseries that so unforgettably told the story of Michael Jordan’s final season in Chicago — and so much more leading up to it — has been a notable presence at James’ games since the 2022-23 season at least.
It’s a wrinkle that presumably strengthens Cleveland’s case. The most storybook docuseries backdrop, for all the basketball fit questions that can be raised by the formation of a Donovan Mitchell/James Harden/LeBron trio, would obviously be a third Cavaliers stint and going out with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in June 2003.