It happened after Indiana sent their first round series against the Cavs to a game seven, picked up again when James’ team fell in a 0-2 hole against the Celtics — and it became a dominant storyline as Cleveland was walloped in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors.

But this time it came from a rather unexpected source.

It’s common place for journalists and fans to speculate about the King’s upcoming free agency, but on Monday (AEST) his fellow players began discussing where James should sign to give himself the best chance of knocking off Golden State.

“As great as Bron is, just no way he can sustain that every single play,” NBA veteran Jamal Crawford tweeted. “The role players have to help to even make this competitive.

“But truly needs another superstar (and more) against this juggernaut.”

That drew Phoenix Suns vet Jared Dudley and Portland’s CJ McCollum into the debate. In a series of tweets Dudley declared James would have more help next season and that his money was on the Houston Rockets. McCollum quickly agreed it was possible.

The Rockets, who pushed the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference Finals, remain an enticing option for James if he wants to continue his streak of eight consecutive years in the NBA Finals.

But the man who brought the Ohio native back to Cleveland has indicated Philadelphia is also in the running to sign the NBA superstar this off-season.

Former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin gave CBS Sports Radio his perspective on James’ upcoming free agency and the link which gave the 76ers a chance.

“I don’t know what boxes he would be checking. I think staying in the East probably gives him the best chance to win a championship if he was going to leave Cleveland,” Griffin told the Zach Gelb Show. “Maybe staying in Cleveland gives him the best chance to get there, I don’t know. If I knew what boxes he was going to check, I’d have a better feel for it.

“I do think it is significant, though, that (James’ business partner) Rich Paul is the representative for Ben Simmons as well. So he’s going to know the organisation very well, and I think that will certainly give them a leg up, because I know (76ers coach) Brett Brown is somebody that you’re going to look at when you’re LeBron, and you’re going to look at (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich), you’re going to look at the coach in LA … all the teams he’s went to, coaching is going to matter. And I think because Ben has intimate knowledge of Coach Brown, that will probably help.”