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LeBron James informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he intends to play elsewhere. It’s entirely possible the Lakers actually broke up with him in the form of not paying him what he desired. Either way, one of the all-time greats needs a new setting to play out the final chapters of his career.
Conversation understandably moved quickly to speculating about James’ next team, with the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers assumed to have a leg up. Or James could do what he’s done a few times previously and deliver a major surprise when announcing where he’ll take his talent.
The future is more interesting than the past in this situation. Partly because it’s very easy to understand what happened to end an eight-year partnership between LeBron and the Lakers franchise.
Shams Charania dutifully delivered some details on what led to the split while appearing on ESPN Tuesday.
In short, James and the Lakers “simply didn’t see eye-to-eye” on what it means to compete for a championship, per Charania.
Charania then revealed what he’s been hearing from sources close to James.
“He wants to compete for a championship,” Charania said. “He wants to play meaningful basketball.”
None of this is a surprise. Of course James wants to contend for a title if he’s going to play the highest level of hoops as he closes in on his mid-40s. One can certainly quibble with the way the Lakers have gone about the business of building a championship-ready team. On the other hand, James’ massive contract made things more difficult for them.
Let’s pause for a second to consider the messaging and what it could mean for the future. If the one thing James’ camp wants out there is about a desire to win another championship, it means he’ll only be selecting from title-ready teams.
Golden State would be a superteam of aging superstars and even the most optimistic fan would be holding their breath for one injury to derail such an experiment. A return to Cleveland would be poetic but can you really see James signing up for the job of dragging James Harden over the line? Plus, would his addition even be enough to get through defending champion New York and the Miami Heat with Giannis Antetokounmpo? Minnesota has emerged as a wild card yet a murderers’ row out West makes the prospect of staying in the conference not all that appealing.
So, pure speculation here … the Miami thing feels closer to reality than it did 24 hours ago. Teaming up with Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo would give James the best chance to get to the Finals. He has history with the franchise. It’s a major market with incredible weather. Throw in no state income tax and the money conversation is more flexible.
We’ll see. But one cannot say it’s all about winning and then jump to a situation where winning is going to be difficult.
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Conversation understandably moved quickly to speculating about James’ next team, with the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers assumed to have a leg up. Or James could do what he’s done a few times previously and deliver a major surprise when announcing where he’ll take his talent.
The future is more interesting than the past in this situation. Partly because it’s very easy to understand what happened to end an eight-year partnership between LeBron and the Lakers franchise.
NBA insider reveals what happened between James and the Lakers
Shams Charania dutifully delivered some details on what led to the split while appearing on ESPN Tuesday.
In short, James and the Lakers “simply didn’t see eye-to-eye” on what it means to compete for a championship, per Charania.
Charania then revealed what he’s been hearing from sources close to James.
“He wants to compete for a championship,” Charania said. “He wants to play meaningful basketball.”
None of this is a surprise. Of course James wants to contend for a title if he’s going to play the highest level of hoops as he closes in on his mid-40s. One can certainly quibble with the way the Lakers have gone about the business of building a championship-ready team. On the other hand, James’ massive contract made things more difficult for them.
LeBron James’ next team
Let’s pause for a second to consider the messaging and what it could mean for the future. If the one thing James’ camp wants out there is about a desire to win another championship, it means he’ll only be selecting from title-ready teams.
Golden State would be a superteam of aging superstars and even the most optimistic fan would be holding their breath for one injury to derail such an experiment. A return to Cleveland would be poetic but can you really see James signing up for the job of dragging James Harden over the line? Plus, would his addition even be enough to get through defending champion New York and the Miami Heat with Giannis Antetokounmpo? Minnesota has emerged as a wild card yet a murderers’ row out West makes the prospect of staying in the conference not all that appealing.
So, pure speculation here … the Miami thing feels closer to reality than it did 24 hours ago. Teaming up with Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo would give James the best chance to get to the Finals. He has history with the franchise. It’s a major market with incredible weather. Throw in no state income tax and the money conversation is more flexible.
We’ll see. But one cannot say it’s all about winning and then jump to a situation where winning is going to be difficult.
Continue reading...
