- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,190,058
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Rockets, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Jazz named sneaky landing spots for $101 million Lakers superstar originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It can be challenging to keep up with all of their wild offseason moves when it feels like they're happening at once.
That’s exactly how it felt on Wednesday, as the Utah Jazz sent Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign-and-trade, the New York Knicks’ NBA champion center Mitchell Robinson left for the Boston Celtics, and the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
Of course, the biggest storyline of the offseason has to do with the Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ next destination. The four-time NBA champion isn’t returning to the Lakers for the 2026-27 season, leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Golden State Warriors as viable landing spots.
However, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz went out on a limb and named the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Clippers as sneaky landing spots for the future Hall of Famer. Without a doubt, the idea of James joining the Rockets appears to be the most plausible option of the bunch.
“With so much talk of LeBron James possibly joining friends with the Golden State Warriors, what about another future Hall-of-Famer and Olympic teammate,” Swartz wrote Thursday.
“James and Kevin Durant together would still be an incredibly tough duo to defend, as the latter was an All-Star and made the All-NBA second team this past season while averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and shooting 41.3% from three.”
Believe it or not, Swartz isn’t too far off base. The primary reason the Heat, Cavaliers, and Warriors are in the running for James is that they appeal to him from a team success standpoint. The Heat just paired Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Cavaliers are coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, and the Warriors are a big move away from likely making a big-time postseason run.
The Rockets have experienced back-to-back first-round playoff exits but have the pieces necessary to remain in the Western Conference hunt.
Adding James would only move them closer to contention, as he would provide the franchise with an age-defying forward who still can’t be stopped with a full head of steam and is always making the teammates around him better. Not to mention the 22-time All-Star has won four championships and has never been afraid of the bright lights.
Should fans expect James to team up with Durant in Houston? No, considering two parties have expressed mutual interest in one another.
However, it’s far from the wildest free agency idea in existence.
More NBA news:
Lakers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Bucks named top landing spots for $48 million Warriors NBA champion reject
Spurs predicted to outbid Warriors for $101 million Lakers star, four-time NBA champion
- Luka Doncic sends clear message to Lakers on roster they can't afford to ignore
Continue reading...
