He is going to be 34 in 6 months. He is not throwing seasons away to dictate his next move (and I am pretty into NBA conspiracies in general).
I also find it pretty hilarious that people have gotten so over the top with this Philly rumor.
If Lebron leaves CLE, I think he's either going Philly or Lakers.
He could go Spurs or Rockets but they'd have to do a ton of wheeling and dealing (or a big sign-and-trade) to fit him into their roster and cap. Unless of course Lebron is willing to take a steep pay cut (doubt it).
Or he opts in and gets traded to Houston, much like Chris Paul last year. Something like Anderson, Gordon, Tucker, Onuaku, Qi for James and Smith would seemingly make sense for both teams. Cavs get some salary relief, credible players, and some young guys for James, who would be leaving anyway, and Smith (who I'm sure they wouldn't want without James).
Rockets then get to keep Capela and Ariza and would enter next year with Paul, Harden, Ariza, James, and Capela as the starting 5, with Smith, Johnson, Hilario, Black, Green, Mbah a Moute, and whatever other vets they can sign.
As for this thread, it would be much easier for James to go to Philly if he eliminated them from the playoffs. He wouldn't be joining a team that put him out, he would be joining a team he put out and made them better. Also, there is almost no way the Cavs could beat Golden State this year, but I'm not so sure they couldn't beat Houston as they do match-up better with them. Harden and Paul would obviously be a problem for the Cavs, but they can contain everyone else and both Harden and Paul are prone to having terrible games in the playoffs.
Yea I can see Houston also. However, I still think Lakers make far and away the most sense. They showed enough improvement from their young guys over the course of the season that they can be very good complementary pieces if they are not moved. Kuzma, Ingram, Ball are all legit. George definitely wants to go there, and I think he would play great with Lebron. Lebron also wont get any grief if he goes to the Lakers and will probably start popping up in some more movies and shows.
I can also say as a guy that went to penn state, I know a lot of 76ers fans that are pretty adamant they don't want Lebron on the team. They feel like Simmons, Embiid, Fultz, Saric a top 10 pick this year and someone like Leonard/Thompson/Mccollum they can get with their cap space in the next year or two will allow them to compete for many championships while still getting the people of the process their credit. If Lebron goes, they think Simmons and Embiid and the process will never get its' due credit and it will become all about him while also offering the risk of Lebron acting like Gm and demanding more vets for young players. The psychology of this stuff is fascinating, but I am pretty confident this isn't just one or two philly fans that feel this way.
I agree with a lot of what you and @moranis both say. Yes, if Lebron beats Philly in the ECF then joins them, it won't look that bad, but there's the risk that CLE and Lebron don't get it done with the team around James.
As for his next FA destination, I understand the points about not going to PHI and likely going LAL to team up with George, but at the same time how would it look if people talk so much about Jordan vs. Kobe vs. Lebron, then Lebron goes to where Kobe is "King" (in La La Land)? Idk maybe it's just me who feels that way about it. Otherwise, yeah that Lakers team with Lebron is a legit playoff team and possibly even a Top-4 team in the West (I still think HOU and GSW are better then).
Topic: My Crazy Thought On Cavaliers (Read 2936 times)