OAKLAND (California) • After the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals on Tuesday, they had a lot of emotions to process.
Coach Tyronn Lue said he "broke down" and could not even finish his speech in the locker room.
"A lot of guys cried because they wanted it bad," he said.
But a stone-faced LeBron James refused to be drawn on his plans.
When asked about his future in the league, he said: "For me personally - I don't know. I need to sit down and figure this thing out. And so I don't know as far as me personally right now."
The rumour around the NBA is that James is considering changing teams again, possibly joining the Los Angeles Lakers with fresh talent such as Lonzo Ball and hoping to bring along friends such as Carmelo Anthony.
The Warriors are poised to dominate the league over the next several years, especially if Kevin Durant agrees to take less money to keep the team together.
When asked about Golden State's dominance, James added: "They're going to be around for a while. Pretty much all their big-name guys are in their 20s, and they don't show any signs of slowing down."
Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are all under 29 years old and formidable starters.
James did, however, say he believed the Cavaliers would try their best to compete.
"I know our front office is going to continue to try to put our ball club, put our franchise in a position where we can compete for a championship year in and year out," the 32-year-old forward said.
"Teams and franchises are going to be trying to figure out ways that they can put personnel together, the right group of guys together to be able to hopefully compete against this team."
In view of that, Cleveland will be searching for answers in the off-season.
Does Cavaliers general manager David Griffin look to star free agents or trade deals? Will he bring in more role players as he did with three-point ace Kyle Korver in order to build a better challenge for the Warriors in the NBA Finals? How does he not compromise the squad needed to fight past rivals to reach the Finals?
Those are the questions that Cleveland need to address.
However, James could also opt out of his contract after next season, so he will want to see some swift progress.
That could involve moving forward Kevin Love, who was only two-for-eight for six points in the final game in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series.
But Durant believes James will soon be working on new ways to dethrone the Warriors.
"He'll probably be back in the gym the start of July getting ready for next season, so I've probably got to beat him to the gym," the Golden State forward, who was named the Finals Most Valuable Player, said.
"I've got nothing but love and respect for him and I can't wait to compete against him again next season."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE GUARDIAN
