LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers the first time partially because he wasn’t able to recruit a co-star to Northeast Ohio. Sixteen years later, James might find himself on the other end of the equation.

Former Cavalier and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said on a recent episode of the Road Trippin’ Show that the new backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden is ready to recruit James back to Cleveland for next season.

“My sources told me that Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are ready, are starting to push to go and recruit LeBron James this offseason,” Perkins said. “My sources tell me that as soon as James Harden got on the phone, got around the team, the initial was, ‘We’re about to make this run, we’re about to go all out. We want LeBron James.’”

There’s certainly smoke to the rumors that LeBron could be coming back to Cleveland. Earlier on Friday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic said on the radio that, “If (Lebron) plays anywhere next year, it’s going to be here (Cleveland).” According to reports from earlier this month, the Cavs would welcome James back as well.

Whether or not James returns next season remains to be seen. However, if what Perkins is saying is true, it’s good to see that the Cavs backcourt is bought into this team.

What we do know is that Harden wanted to come to Cleveland. He waived his partial no-trade clause to be here. And, Mitchell is excited to play with him.

We’ll see how that group pairs on the court before worrying too much about how they sell other players on joining them.