James leaving Cavs for four-year deal with Lakers

LeBron is LeGone... or make that, LABron. LeBron James, the face of the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers, is departing Northeast Ohio for a second time, agreeing

LeBron is LeGone... or make that, LABron.

LeBron James, the face of the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers, is departing Northeast Ohio for a second time, agreeing to a four-year, $154-million deal with the Los Angles Lakers.

Klutch Sports Group and his agent, Rich Paul, broke the news Sunday night.

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— Klutch Sports Group (@KlutchSports) July 2, 2018

James was born in Akron, attended St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School and was drafted by the Cavaliers with the first overall selection in the 2003 NBA draft and now he is leaving them for a second time, having first done so in 2010 to head to Miami, this time after four seasons in his second tenure in Cleveland, two years removed from leading the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA championship. Since he returned to Cleveland in the summer of 2014, James and the Cavaliers played in four consecutive NBA Finals, all against the Golden State Warriors.

On his Instagram account, James thanked Northeast Ohio:

"Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons," James said in a message Sunday night. "This will always be home."

He followed that up with another message on Instagram, "see you soon," which was a reference to the public school he is opening via the Akron school district and his LeBron James Family Foundation. That is set for the end of this month.

James, who has a home in Los Angeles, is leaving $54 million on the table by leaving the Cavs, who could have given him a five-year, $207-million contract. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports the fourth year of his contract with Los Angeles is a player option.

Reports say there will not be a press conference in Los Angeles, no over-the-top, on-stage celebrating, as was the case in 2010 when James exited to head to South Beach in July 2010.

While leading the Cavaliers to the Finals four straight times, James averaged 26 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists, capped by his best season of the four this season, where he played in all 82 games for the first time in his 15-year career and averaged 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists. The scoring average was his highest since his final season in Cleveland in his first tenure (2010), the rebounds matched a career-best and the assists were a career-high.

He also led Cleveland to the 2007 Finals, where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, just as they were this season by the Warriors.

In departing, the 33-year-old James is going back on a message he has been repeating since his return in 2014.

He told CNN in 2014, "I plan on finishing my career back home."

In the Sports Illustrated essay written by Lee Jenkins that same summer, James said, "I always believed I'd return to Cleveland finish my career there."

Finally, during a homecoming celebration later that summer in front of 30,000 adoring fans at the University of Akron, James said, "I don't plan on going nowhere. I don't have the energy to do it again."

Turns out, he did.