LeBron James can do whatever he wants

LeBron James can do whatever he wants. This has always been literally true: as the best player of his generation and one of the three best players ever, he has had full control of his career in a way that few athletes do. LeBron has been able to influence roster moves, coaching decisions, the movement of other players in free agency, and determine his own destiny knowing full well he could go anywhere he wants.

But LeBron has also always been judged against lofty ideals, against the standards of his exclusive peer group. He’s been graded against expectations, and as we know, expectations have always been impossibly high for LeBron. As an individual and, since about 2007, as the leader of a team, the collective fandom has expected LeBron to achieve at an incredibly high level. With a few exceptions, he usually meets those expectations. He often exceeds them to a remarkable degree.

Expectations for LeBron’s team this season are as low as they have been in a decade. That’s what happens when your team loses 11 of 12 on the road, when your team has a negative scoring margin 50 games into the season, when your team is fighting off the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings for the worst defense in the entire league. LeBron’s individual expectations have fallen, too; briefly an NBA MVP frontrunner, the lack of defensive effort, and infrequent dominance LeBron has offered have ensured he’ll probably have one of his lowest finishes in balloting in a decade.

At this point, given how disastrous this season has been, no one expects the Cavaliers to return to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight appearance. At this point, given how disastrous this season has been, no one expects LeBron to rise up and shred an opponent for old time’s sake.

When he does — such as in his tour de force triple-double with a game-saving block and a game-winning overtime jumper — it’s something like surprising. This is the LeBron we remember and once expected, one shunted aside in the Cleveland mayhem dominating the headlines.

When LeBron does that, the Cavaliers look strong. You let yourself wonder if all that experience and the mere fact of LeBron’s presence might not let them slip by the Celtics and Raptors again ... even if the evidence their defense is truly atrocious remains woven into every second of the viewing experience.

It isn’t as if LeBron has never been an underdog before. The triptych of Finals series against the Warriors are obvious examples of when expectations of what LeBron can accomplish with his team have been lowered. That’s part of what made the 2016 triumph so spectacular.

But this is different. This isn’t a playoff series, a Finals series. This is a whole season! The Cavaliers have effectively removed themselves from the contender tier, removing all major expectations for how LeBron and the team will finish the season (both in the regular campaign and playoffs). It’d be surprising — maybe even a shocker — if the Cavaliers make it back to the Finals at this point.

Now LeBron can really do whatever he wants.

He’s been coasting on defense all year. Honestly, he coasted on defense most of last year. This is not a value judgment — he has an incredible volume of miles, and he’s had seven straight seasons that ran into June with no significant injury layoffs. (LeBron’s longest break since the 2010 summer has probably been the 2011 lockout period when James went barnstorming with Kevin Durant and others.) LeBron probably should coast now and then. But it’s been more systematic. And it shows in Cleveland’s performance.

Based on reports of internal strife coming out of Cleveland, LeBron doesn’t really have to pretend to get along with franchise owner Dan Gilbert anymore. He doesn’t have to care about the Cavaliers’ future, because he is being written out of it. (We’re beginning to learn what many suspected dating back to June 2017: Gilbert decided to wrest franchise control from LeBron when Gilbert let LeBron-endorsed GM David Griffin leave over a salary dispute. Griffin was one of the lowest-paid GMs in the league, yet one who built a champion. That apparently had a major impact on LeBron’s commitment to the team.)

What’s more, LeBron truly has carte blanche to leave Cleveland (again) this summer. I wrote recently that the Cavaliers fandom would side with Gilbert (again) and curse LeBron. That is true. But no reasonable person would be able to blame him. Gilbert and his defenders would argue LeBron’s refusal to commit long-term before reaching free agency forced Cleveland’s hand with the Kyrie Irving trade and other moves. These folks would do well to remember that LeBron is playing entirely by contractual and player movement rules negotiated by LeBron, the players’ union, the Cavaliers, and the NBA. There is no requirement, moral or otherwise, to make free agency decisions before you actually become a free agent.

The expectation that LeBron will finish his career with the Cavaliers has dissipated. There’s really nothing but personal notions to keep him in Cleveland come summer. LeBron can do whatever he wants — not just literally, but figuratively. He has no invisible strings of norms or expectations directing his actions. His situation is a blank slate, and he can draw up whatever plot twist he wants.

That’s a stomachache for Clevelanders, for sure. But for the rest of us, it’s a wondrous twist on what was always going to be a July worth rubbernecking. The magic and mystery of July 2010 are coming back. We’re still ready to be amazed by LeBron, even if the on-court tricks are fewer these days.

If something truly strange happens and the Cavaliers bounce back ... well, that just adds to the fun. With expectations out of the equation, possibilities for LeBron’s story (this season and forever) are wide open.