How many more years would LBJ have go play in order to play 1 last season with LBJ Jr?
And how would they go about making sure the Cavs are the only team that he will go to in the draft? By pulling a Kobe?
Doing it through the draft?
To sign LBJ Jr, the Cavs could either (1) trade a player for a top pick (hard to say who that might be); or, (2) the Cavs could tank the previous year with a series of fake injuries (AV style); (3) as an undrafted free agent...
Option #2 is, by far, the easiest way to get LBJ2 on the Cavs... It's feasible, even if transparent, and if we were one of the worst teams in the league (say Irving and Love are both out for half the season and James retires the same year), then we'd be guaranteed a top pick.
At that point, LBJ Jr could force his way to the Cavaliers, especially if the draft was deep (he might not even be the top prospect).
But what if the Cavaliers are the champions? What if we're the best team in the league, like say, the Spurs, with James still playing in a Tim Duncan capacity?
Then the Cavs could still get LBJ2 with the third option, but... it's a complicated song and dance that would require some sacrifice from the rookie.
Basically the way this works is that, in order for a player to bypass the draft and sign as a free agent, he needs to sit out two years of the draft as an eligible player.
If the Cavs/James want this to happen, they should attempt to get the eligible age lowered to 18... It's not necessary, but it makes this a lot easier to do.
Anyway, leaving the age limit aside for the moment, James Jr can threaten that he will ONLY sign for the Cavaliers -
period.
He can actualize this threat by sitting out the season. So any team drafting him is essentially attempting to facilitate a trade with the Cavs; otherwise, if they believe he will truly sit out the season, then they've basically wasted their pick as their rights on him expire at the end of the season. Moreover, those rights cannot be traded after the deadline, so they have until then to work out a deal with the Cavs.
From many players, that's not a viable threat - but from the son of an owner and prospective billionaire, that's one hell of a threat... James Jr does not need the money; he does not come from hardship like so many players... you'd likely not gamble a first round pick in order to call his bluff or just to spite the Cavaliers - not at the expense of a lottery pick.
This means that if the Cavs could just get into the lottery, they should be able to get him. What team would risk a lottery pick just to watch him actually sitting out the year?
However, if a team does draft him, and he does sit out the year, then he has to do the process all over again... And again, it's unlikely he'd be drafted the second time around, but, if he were, he only needs to wait out the season before becoming an undrafted free agent.
At this point the Cavs could sign him after 2 years of not playing organized basketball... But in my opinion, they'd likely end up drafting him towards the end of the lottery in the first round in his first year of the draft.
If the eligibility rules were lowered, he could be a free agent as early as 20 years old. If they weren't, then as a 21 year old.
It's a complex and rather ridiculous process, but, those are the three ways the Cavs can sign LBJ Jr.