No matter what happens in Cleveland with the Cavaliers in 2017-2018, LeBron James will be sticking it out to the very end.

ESPN’s Chris Haynes is reporting that no matter what happens with the Cavaliers in what could be James’ final season with the team before he heads to unrestricted free agency, James won’t be waiving the no-trade clause that is present in his contract, which was a three-year, $99.8 million deal. James holds a $35.6 million player option for the 2018-2019 season, but has declined the player option in his contract three times in his NBA career.

From Haynes’ report on ESPN:

No matter the reconstruction of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster, no matter the potential for heightened inner turmoil, no matter the win-loss record, and with or without Kyrie Irving, LeBron James will not waive his no-trade clause for any teams at any point during the 2017-18 season, league sources tell ESPN.

It was of course reported last week that star point guard Kyrie Irving reportedly requested a trade from the Cavaliers because of his desire to become a focal point of his own team, and his unhappiness playing alongside James. Irving is said to be unhappy with how much James controls the ball on offense, also per ESPN.

Irving is even not content with how the Cavaliers organization treats him versus James. On the Cavaliers’ staff is Randy Mims, or known better as a close friend of James’ that is allowed to travel with the Cavaliers to different cities. Irving has never been given the same opportunity to have a close friend around the team like James has, and has expressed this to Cavaliers brass.

Back to James individually, he is said to be focused on one thing this upcoming season: competing for a championship as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the aspirations of taking down the Golden State Warriors, who seemed primed to repeat as NBA champions next June.

Bottom line is, while Irving could be out of the picture in Cleveland when the NBA season starts on October 17, don’t expect James to fall back and let the Cavaliers decline in an Eastern Conference that features several rebuilding teams and a lot of up-and-coming teams.

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