CLEVELAND -- LeBron James has until Friday to opt into the final season of his Cleveland Cavaliers contract. If he doesn't, the 4-time MVP will hit the free agent market.
That's not to say that if James doesn't opt in by Friday, his time in Cleveland is over. In fact, there's an argument to be made that letting this week's deadline pass could be a good sign for the Cavs' chances of keeping their franchise player.
But regardless of how James handles his upcoming player option, the odds appear to be stacked against Cleveland -- literally. According to various betting sites and oddsmakers, the Los Angeles Lakers are currently the clearcut favorite to land the 14-time All-Star this summer.
That, of course, won't stop the Cavs from doing their best to keep their franchise player. With that in mind, let's take a look at the three biggest reasons why James could ultimately decide to keep his talents in Cleveland this summer.
Hometown hero
When it comes to LeBron James staying in Cleveland, the argument starts -- and perhaps ends -- with just that: Cleveland. After all, it's highly unlikely James would have ever returned to the Cavs in 2014 had he not been born and raised in nearby Akron.
On multiple occasions -- particularly in the past year -- James has proclaimed that his legacy is bigger than basketball. To that end, he can point to his charitable work across Northeast Ohio with the LeBron James Family Foundation, which is set to open its first school later this year.
After hitting the game-winning shot in the Cavs' Game 5 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the first round of this year's playoffs, James celebrated with his hometown fans perhaps more emotionally than ever before.
"They know me. For 11 years out of my career and a few of them even kind of paid attention to me when I was in high school as well," he said. "They pay their hard-earned money to come see us play and for me and my ball club, for us to go out and have a game like we had tonight, that was just our show and my show of appreciation."
Whether or not James will be able to continue to do just that will be determined in the coming days.
2019
From a basketball standpoint, there's not much of an argument to be made for James to remain in Cleveland -- at least not at the moment.
Next summer, however, could be a different story.
As currently constructed, the Cavs are only on the hook for three fully guaranteed contracts past the 2018-19 season. That means that for the first time since James returned in 2014, Cleveland could very well have cap space, providing a potential avenue for the Cavs to improve their roster.
If James is willing to take a long-term view with his team -- which may not be likely considering he'll turn 34 later this year -- it could bode well Cleveland. It also wouldn't preclude the Cavs from making other moves now -- such as trading Collin Sexton for Kemba Walker -- to prove to James that they're still intent on remaining in "championship mode."
Last man standing
Perhaps the factor currently working most favorably for Cleveland doesn't have anything to do with Cleveland at all. Rather, a lack of intriguing options elsewhere could result in James remaining with the Cavs for at least one more season.
With two days to go until James' player option deadline, the race for his services is believed to be between the Cavs, Lakers, Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers. Neither the Rockets nor Sixers, however, currently possess enough cap space to sign James to a max contract, while the Lakers' pitch is contingent upon pairing James with another star.
If Los Angeles can't land such star -- and outside of Paul George, their options appear to be limited -- the Lakers could have a tough time making any more of a basketball pitch to James than the Cavs could.
Of course, plenty can change between now and Friday -- let alone the start of free agency on Sunday morning. But in the meantime, it would behoove Cleveland for the other suitors in the race of James' services to stick with their current status quos.
For all the latest on James' free agency, follow our LeBron James 2018 free agency rumor tracker.