LeBron James is without a doubt one of the greatest, if not the greatest, basketball players of all-time. The only man that co-exists on the level of James is the great Michael Jordan and that speaks volumes to this guy. He is a tremendous athlete and while some might complain about how he constantly asks refs for foul calls, consider how often he is fouled and it makes sense, but all basketball players do the same thing so he's no exception. He is also a tremendous athlete off the court, donating to many charities and being an all-around great person (calling President Trump a "bum" also helps). His longevity speaks for itself, he has played 15 seasons in the NBA, and played in 8 NBA Finals, does he have 8 rings ?? No, just 3, but considering some of the teams he's taken there even that is amazing. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers of 2017-18, one that despite being full of talented players like Kevin Love and Kyle Korver, have played like garbage, except LeBron who carried that dumpster-fire team to the Finals and unfortunately went up against the Western Conference All-Star team......I mean the Golden State Warriors.
This was the last year of his contract and with that dumpster-fire team, who wouldn't want out to try and win another championship ??
There's tons of speculation as to what team will land the greatest basketball player in the world right now and different reasons why, so I'm going to go over what these teams are, why they may land him, and in order I'm going to rank them.
This was the last year of his contract and with that dumpster-fire team, who wouldn't want out to try and win another championship ??
There's tons of speculation as to what team will land the greatest basketball player in the world right now and different reasons why, so I'm going to go over what these teams are, why they may land him, and in order I'm going to rank them.
#1) LOS ANGELES LAKERS
This wasn't what I thought would be my initial #1 choice for LeBron but the more and more I've heard sports hosts and writers talk about it, the more that the Lakers make sense. LeBron's family lives in Los Angeles and his sons are at an age where it's obivous he wants to spend more time with them; constantly being away in Cleveland for "home" games and on the road every other day of the year takes a toll on family life, it would for anyone. Now add to this that LeBron is also, not only trying to win but he is trying to do two other things: 1) Build his brand name and 2) Foster young talent into future stars. With the first, where better than L.A. to continue to build your growing LeBron brand, it's not Jordan yet, but it can damn well get there one day. In a city full of rich celebrities with money to burn who wouldn't want a piece of apparel by the current top basketball player in the world today, to top it off, making appearances at celebrity events to expand the brand wouldn't be a flight from Cleveland to L.A. he would be there. The latter of those two things is easy, the Lakers are full of young talent rookies like Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball would benefit tremendously from having James there. He could help mentor them in any facet of the game. Magic Johnson would need to do a couple things to lure LeBron: 1) get rid of Isiah Thomas....LeBron couldn't stand him in Cleveland so he'd be done & 2) use that cap space the Lakers have to lure also big fish free agent Paul George and potentially Kawhi Leonard to the team. With George, while many see his mediocre season with the Thunder last year and think, "this guy isn't worth it", he most certainly is and definitely could be the Pacers version of himself again but last year, like Durant before him, had a difficult time dealing with a ball hogging diva named Russel Westbrook. Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio and wants to go to Los Angeles, while that's up in the air right now, those 3 would truly make a great team and definitely push L.A. further into the playoffs than before. The only detracting factor for LeBron James that I see in L.A. right now has the last name Ball and it wouldn't be his teammate, it would be a loudmouth father who doesn't know what's best for his son.
#2) PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
I put Philly here because while Los Angeles makes sense in other ways, so do the 76ers. His wife has actually looked at area schools according to the press already so the family issue isn't as big of a thing. LeBron would also still be playing in a much easier Eastern Conference and if he can take garbage like Cleveland to the Finals, he can damn well help a talented young team to the Finals. Apparently, LeBron has expressed interest in playing off the ball more now, or at least he would like to if he didn't have to carry the team, and with future superstars like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to pass the ball to and play off of, he'd be able to accomplish that. Both Simmons and Embiid are fantastic and then giving them a mentor in the King would help skyrocket their success, having talented older guys like J.J. Reddick that can still make plays does help as well. It is a move that I see as great for James and all involved, if we were looking at my original landing spots this was #1 before I heard more and more talk about L.A.
#3) HOUSTON ROCKETS
Honestly, the only team with a chance to beat the Warriors in the Western Conference is the team that has the duo of James Harden and Chris Paul. Adding LeBron to that duo, a duo that pushed the Warriors to 6 games in the West Finals, and that trio is one that can upset the budding Warrior dynasty. The biggest problem is this, while Harden is locked in with his salary, Chris Paul is not and the way they played last season he looks to be asking for a supermax deal. A deal that would kill any chance of James joining the team. I still think that if Paul were to take a smidge less money in order to try and win an NBA Championship that this would be best for all parties involved. The Rockets were my top Western Conference team originally until the Lakers info started to swell more and more in their favour.
#4) BOSTON CELTICS
LeBron would be willing to hash it out with Kyrie Irving, Kyrie would not, that's a given. Therefore, this is a long shot but if Boston wanted to they could trade Kyrie, who has already said he's not willing to re-sign right now and then get something for him before he is a free agent at the seasons end and they end up with LeBron James and Gordon Hayward instead. With the talented crew in Boston who were able to get through the playoffs without Kyrie and Hayward, having a constantly healthy LeBron, would put them as the uncontested leader of the Eastern Conference. I'm still way leaning towards a Philly is the best East team for the King and considering the amount of things they'd have to do get him, which means getting rid of another huge star, it's a long shot he ends up a Celtic joining a long list of greats like Bird, Pierce, Russell, etc.
#5) GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
While this is an incredible longshot, if LeBron James wants to win rings it is going to be with the Golden State Warriors, the powerhouse of the NBA, the modern day Jordan-era Chicago Bulls. It seems ridiculous that the Warriors would be able to get someone like LeBron with the players they have and the massive salary that must hit. However, it is a potential, with some dealing it is definitely possible. The biggest problem with this happening is what it will to do LeBron's legacy. IF he goes to Golden State just to win rings, it will prove he can't be THE guy he truly is, it will prove he needs to surround himself by other All-Stars similar to the way Kevin Durant proved he wasn't THE guy in Oklahoma and had to go surround himself by All-Stars to win a ring. It is a highly unlikely scenario but Golden State is a possibility.
#6) CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
This is the last option of the most logical ones, staying in The Land, though GM Dan Gilbert would have to pull off a minor miracle to get him to stay. It would include a very good contract and also that he would need to get rid of players like J.R. Smith and others, players who just haven't been playing well at all. It seems too far-fetched that all that stuff would happen just to keep LeBron, add to the fact that he has already won a championship for his hometown of Cleveland and it seems unlikely he stays. Hometown discount proves nothing because LeBron has proved, with his previous move to Miami, that he's willing to move if it means to win. James is a competitor and wants to win more championships and as it stands it's not going to happen in Cleveland.
THE KING IS GOING SOMEWHERE THIS OFFSEASON........BUT NO MATTER WHERE HE GOES HE IS STILL THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD TODAY