Do Cavs Need to Win a Finals Game to Retain LeBron James?

CLEVELAND — As the Cavaliers face the possibility of a 3-0 series deficit in the NBA Finals after Wednesday night, the question becomes less about needing a win to keep their championship dreams alive and more about needing to give LeBron James, an impending free agent, a modicum of hope about the future of the organization.

If we were to listen to Las Vegas, the future seems bleak. More compelling than the odds of winning this season's championship (Golden State is currently listed at minus-2500 on OddsShark) are the odds to win next season's championship.

Young teams are all the rage, with Boston and Philadelphia in the top five, but more telling is the Cavaliers (30-1)—representing the East in the last four NBA Finals—slotting in behind teams such as the Lakers and Heat (20-1).

While James' stranglehold on the East has been a lock for nearly a decade, it's becoming less and less of a sure thing. Boston possesses one of the league's brightest futures thanks to head coach Brad Stevens and the wing duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals despite losing Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving to injury, giving them a clear upward trajectory beyond this season.

The 76ers, likewise, loom as a rising power. Boston beat them to get to the conference finals this year, but young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid could take over the conference in short order.

It took James and the Cavaliers seven games (and a couple of heroic efforts) to beat the Indiana Pacers in the first round and seven more to beat the Celtics—a far cry from seasons past where quick work was made of every conference foe.

With James entering Wednesday night's Game 3 down 0-2 against a Warriors team that is showing no signs of slowing down, how much of an impact will the results of this series—one that was all but a foregone conclusion heading into it—factor into James' decision come July?

Is a five-game gentleman's sweep any better than its four-game counterpart? Would a sixth game offer a glimmer of hope?

Throughout his career, James has long listed winning as the main driver for his free-agency decisions. When he initially left Cleveland in 2010, it was after the Cavaliers fell short of the NBA Finals. Joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami provided James perennial contention that resulted in two titles over a four-year span.

But ask anyone who has covered James or worked alongside him since his return, and they will tell you the four-time MVP is different today than he was at any previous point in his career. He jokes around with staffers and reporters off camera. He entertains topics that transcend sports, recognizing his platform extends well beyond the game of basketball.

Some will toss around terms like "mature" or "refined." Not only does the 33-year-old James see the game differently than he did earlier in his career, but he has grown to appreciate aspects of life—both on and off of the court—that were not on his radar during his first stint with the Cavs.

In his 2014 essay describing what fueled his return to Cleveland, James referenced elements—specifically, his relationship with northeast Ohio—that he didn't realize four years earlier. He touched on the importance of winning more championships, but he also addressed his desire to raise his family back home.

Following his 46-point, 11-rebound, nine-assist night in a Game 6 win over the Celtics last month, James was asked if he embraced the moment differently than in seasons past. Throughout the year, James referred to the 2017-18 Cavaliers season as multiple seasons wrapped into one.

While drama and scrutiny follow James everywhere he goes, this season was far different when factoring in injuries, roster turnover, soup-throwing suspensions and a head coach in Ty Lue who was forced to step away toward the end of the regular season to deal with anxiety-related issues.

James, who has said he has nothing left to prove, took the question and answered it in a more mature—or more refined—way.

"I've embraced a lot of situations as [I've] grown up. I think that's just all part of experience and things of that nature. I mean, I love being a husband now. Did I embrace that at 18, 19? I don't think so. I mean, I've never been around married couples. As you get older, you just grow into more things.

"I didn't love wine until I was 30 years old, and now every other post is about wine, National Wine Day. So you learn and you grow, and you know what's best for you as you get older. That's just all of us. I think that's what being a human being is. You find ways that you feel like you can grow and what you like and what you dislike.

"At 18, I don't think I'm the same player that I am today at 33, and I shouldn't be. I don't think me personally, I should be the same person that I was at 18. I'm just much more seasoned."

You learn and you grow. You know what's best for you as you get older.

James has potential suitors ranging from ready-made contenders in Houston and Philadelphia down to the Knicks (who perpetually feel as though they have a chance) and the Lakers. In April, however, James told Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon that winning is no longer his sole guidepost when it comes to determining his future.

"My family. That's all that matters," James said. "I want to continue to win at the highest level, because I know I can still do it as an individual, and then my family. My family is what's most important to me; more than anything."

LeBron Jr., James' 13-year-old son, is a year away from entering high school. Bryce, his younger brother, is three years away. Zhuri, James' daughter, was not yet born when he decided to come back to Cleveland in 2014. The ties James and his wife, Savannah, have to northeast Ohio are well-documented.

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman still has his work cut out for him. The trade of Kyrie Irving to Boston was an unmitigated disaster, which led to a second wave of trades that netted the team four players who have failed to live up to expectations.

Rodney Hood, who started in Game 1 of the opening round, has not seen more than four minutes since Game 2 against Boston. Larry Nance Jr. is stuck behind Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Jordan Clarkson has been one of the most disappointing players in the NBA Finals.

And George Hill, he of the missed potential game-winning free throw in Game 1 of the Finals, has been one of the team's biggest Jekyll-and-Hyde personalities throughout the playoffs.

Heading into Game 3 facing a 2-0 deficit yet again, the Cavaliers must approach this series one game at a time, eventually shrinking the series to a best-of-three. James has produced at MVP levels throughout the postseason, but improved efforts from each of the role players (who have played better at home) will be integral in any levels of success.

Winning a title with this team would undoubtedly be the biggest accomplishment of James' 15-year career. The outcome of one game, however, may ultimately have little impact on what he decides to do in July.

If Altman thinks he can pitch James on the Cavaliers as they stand today, he might as well pack the 14-time All-Star's bags for him. From a purely on-court standpoint, James has no shortage of reasons to try to win elsewhere. Other teams are younger, play better defensively and could provide James with a change of scenery compared to the one where teammates dribble out the clock in the late seconds of an NBA Finals game.

Reinforcements could be on the way this summer.

Cleveland is armed with the No. 8 pick in the upcoming draft, and the Cavs continue to be one of the biggest spenders in the NBA. Despite thwarting Father Time in his 15th season, James will be a year older in 2018-19, so surrounding him with productive, two-way veteran talent will be even more imperative.

The Cavs may not have to build the perfect team—just one good enough to make staying worth James' while.