Commentary: LeBron's decision this time around is more like indecision

The world's greatest basketball player was 19 years old when he played his first game in the NBA in 2003, for the Cavaliers. He is now 41 years old. In between, he has played 1,622 NBA games, and he is not finished yet. Not by a long shot ... or a dunk shot. LeBron James has never been a long shot. Arguably the best player in the history of the NBA? Possibly, at age 41. And he is not done yet. Close, but not yet. He is still playing. At age 41, LeBron James is playing in the NBA ... at age 41. That makes him borderline inhuman. Most NBA players at age 41 are no longer NBA players. They are NBA watchers, or NBA relics. That is what LeBron is now. An NBA watcher. He is no longer playing for a specific NBA team, even though some of the best teams in the NBA can, and are, still playing. There are NBA ball boys who are younger than LeBron James. In his first NBA game, versus the Sacramento Kings, on October 29, 2003, LeBron played more minutes (25) and scored more points than any player on either team. Meanwhile, LeBron is currently playing harder, better and more efficiently than almost any NBA player ... at age 41. Go figure. There has never been an NBA situation in which the oldest player on either team is concurrently the best player on either team. NBA players don't normally play into their 40s. As you might have heard, LeBron these days is amusing himself by simply outplaying most of the other players in the league ... at age 41. The league season has ended for everyone but LeBron, who is still playing, or, at least, trying to. It is starting to get a little crazy, though. There are some teams who understandably would love to have LeBron on their team for as long as he would be willing to play for the team. So far in his career, LeBron has played for: Cleveland (11 years), the Lakers (eight years) and Miami (four years). For now, however, LeBron is technically unemployed in the NBA. Any team can hire him but, so far, no team has. How goofy is this? There is no shortage of players who would love to play on a team with LeBron. But, so far, so inexplicably, that hasn't happened. Anybody got J.R. Smith's phone number? LeBron can sign with any NBA team, but so far, the world's greatest basketball player is unemployed, either by choice, or by golly. These crazy billionaires. How can this happen? How can nobody want to sign the world's greatest basketball player? I mean, come on! What's the down side? OK, OK. Maybe we are looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps LeBron isn't intrigued about joining any of the teams that allegedly have an interest in joining his team. That is a scenario that may or may not make sense, depending on the lay of the land, and/or the makeup of the other players on the acquiring team. Failing that, this whole thing seems pretty bizarre. What we have here is the world's greatest basketball player sitting at home, waiting for an offer to come play for a team that, apparently, inexplicably, is not exactly being inundated with offers. This whole thing seems wacky. Think about it. Apparently, the teams pursuing LeBron aren't the ones who really want him. How can this be, you ask? Well, apparently, the teams with an interest in pursuing LeBron aren't as interested as some of us had hoped. Why? Don't ask me. I just work here. The Cavs are obviously a team that would seemingly be more than happy to sign LeBron and take their chances at winning another NBA title with him at the wheel. These are crazy days in the world of sports. Other stars, and other players have reportedly pursued LeBron, and vice versa, but, apparently, so far it has been all nibble, and no dice. In other words, another empty Cleveland sports fishing expedition has turned up empty so far. So all we are doing now is bobbing and weaving other potential LeBron suitors who are not suiting up ... another Cleveland tradition, by the way. It's like everyone wants LeBron, but nobody wants LeBron. This shouldn't be this hard. It's like everyone wants LeBron, but nobody wants him. How can that be? Are the Cavs really having this much trouble putting together a playoff team good enough to achieve what the Cavs of 2016 accomplished? Is James Harden that hard to play with? Is Kenny Atkinson a coach without a playbook? Anybody got Kevin Love's phone number? How about Mathew Dellavadova? Somehow, some way, these kind of chuck holes always seem to turn up when it comes to the Cavs. Nothing ever goes smoothly. Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.