lebron-james-blue suit

LeBron James talks to assistant coach Jim Boylan during a timeout in the first half Wednesday, December 31, 2014. James did not play because of soreness in his left knee.

(Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – LeBron James called speculation that he might leave the Cavaliers again "outlandish" and reaffirmed his commitment to the franchise for the long haul.

James' previous comments about returning to Cleveland, and work done by his business team and marketing partners to reshape his image here, have long pointed to James staying with the Cavaliers long term, perhaps for the remainder of his career.

But because of perhaps the strangest week either he or the Cavaliers have seen this year -- and that's saying something -- James was in a position to have to make such a reaffirmation yesterday.

"I'm here to build, build something great in the present and the future, and that's the reason I'm back," James said, prior to the Cavaliers' 96-80 home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the second straight game he's missed because of a sore left knee.

"I've got no other reason to have to continue to talk about things that's so outlandish. So, I'm here, this is where I'll be, and this is where I'm comfortable," he said.

The "outlandish" he was referring to was the notion that he was considering leaving the Cavaliers, possibly after this season.

Again, it's been a strange week (Brendan Haywood started last night, that's how strange). But the notion of a second James departure arose from a miserable team effort in an unexplainable 23-point loss to the Pistons Sunday, numerous reports of a disconnect between James and Cavaliers coach David Blatt, and talk that James could indeed leave Cleveland again.

The flames were fanned tenfold yesterday by an Internet video that went viral of a post-game hug shared by James and Miami's Dwyane Wade following the Cavs' Christmas Day loss to the Heat.

The video includes sound of James saying something to Wade, his close friend and former teammate with whom he went to four Finals in Miami. The sound from the video isn't clear, but numerous fans and bloggers seemed to agree that it appeared James said "if things aren't better this year, we're gonna reunite again and do some bigger and better things, all right?"

James said yesterday that his conversation with Wade had nothing to do with James' happiness or future in Cleveland.

"I've seen the clip just like you've seen the clip. I don't know exactly what I said at the beginning, either," James said. "I know I said, 'We'll get back together and do some bigger and better things,' but it had nothing to do about basketball.

"I mean, if was going to tell him that, I'd tell him the night before," James said. "Come on, guys. I'm not stupid. I know I didn't go to college but I'm not stupid. I wouldn't say that on Christmas with a hundred cameras around. I would have told him the night before at his house."

James' future in Cleveland may always be a touchy subject here, in part because he left the Cavaliers in 2010 after seven seasons. But when James decided to return to Cleveland last summer after four years with the Heat, he signed a two-year, $42.1 million contract with a player option after this season – meaning he could become a free agent.

The structure of James' contract, according to both him and the Cavaliers, is solely for him to be able to capitalize on increased league revenues available to the players.

Numerous times since James returned to Cleveland, he has said he planned to stay long term, likely for the rest of his career. He turned 30 on Tuesday and is in his 12th pro season.

But also on Tuesday, a Northeast Ohio Media Group reporter wrote that he was told James "won't hesitate to make the appropriate business decision if it means bolting" Cleveland. The implication is that James can and would use his contract to shape the organization to his liking.

From a business perspective, however, the lucrative marketing partnerships James has with corporate heavyweights like Nike, Sprite (parent Coca-Cola), Progressive Insurance, and Beats by Dre (parent company Apple) have all produced commercials that promote James' return to Cleveland.

The most notable of those commercials – the Nike ad which started the day of James' official Cleveland return on Oct. 30 – showed James leading his teammates and the entire city of Cleveland in a pregame huddle.

Paul Swangard, a sports marketing expert based at the University of Oregon, near Nike's headquarters, said from a business perspective it isn't really feasible for James to leave the Cavaliers. Especially after one season.

"The risk for him from a business standpoint is that it is going to be so hard to go back on what's been done," Swangard told the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "The story is woven not only of him making the decision to return, but all the money invested by the brands to tell that story for him, for him to abandon that would be incredibly damaging.

"He's going to damage his credibility as a marketer," Swangard said. "The brands would say, if you're not going to be all in on this, we're not going to be able to trust you to put all our energy and dollars into telling your story."

Spokespersons for Nike and Coca-Cola did not return messages seeking comment.

Though James' statistics this season are sound – he's averaging 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game – it's been an up-and-down season for him and his teammates. James has at times openly pouted on the floor, failed to hustle back on defense, and appeared to be disengaged from what Blatt was saying during timeouts.

At the same time, James has preached patience for the organization. As he has in the past this season, James admitted some of his faults and reiterated his "patience" mantra yesterday.

"The inconsistency I kind of knew, I figured it would happen, and that's why I try to stay patient and I try to not have my body language be as bad as it can be sometimes," James said. "Just try to keep my communication up, and my spirits high and understand that once we get fully healthy...we keep going through the process and we'll be fine."

Blatt said he believes James is fully committed to the Cavaliers now and for the future.

"I know why LeBron James came back to Cleveland, and I know what his commitment is to this team and his teammates, and I also know exactly what he wants to do here," Blatt said.