After the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors, losing three of the last four NBA Finals to that same team the first thought was LeBron is leaving Cleveland. Looking at the current roster it makes a lot of sense to believe he may bolt, but I don’t think it is as simple as what we see on the surface.
This team clearly missed the co-alpha dog skills of point guard Kyrie Irving and I personally think they would’ve had a great shot at taking down the Warriors if they had him, but if was a fifth we’d all be drunk, right? No, Kyrie so this team has roster headed by Kevin Love, Collin Sexton (rookie), Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Korver, Larry Nance, Jr., J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson and Jeff Green. Can they flip any of these players to get a star in return?
I think Koby Altman’s main job is to flip a few of these players to get a co-star who can take some of the ball handling duties away from James, if he can accomplish that because of the caliber of the teams in the East he could possibly keep the Northeast Ohio star around. Can they get Kemba Walker from Charlotte? He would be a playmaker that would ease the pain for this franchise. Can a combination of Sexton, Clarkson and a pick land Walker? It would give the Hornets a young player with potential to help with the rebuild because the pieces they have put around Walker have fizzled out and they won’t want to cash out on Walker with the team they currently have. (Shout out to my guy Martel for bringing that to my attention) Could they sign Dwight Howard after he bought out by the Brooklyn Nets? If James would be willing to play with Howard they could bring him in on a one year veteran minimum type deal to see if it works, this team could use the rim protection. Can they somehow make a move for DeAndre Jordan? There are moves to be made, but can the Cavs pull it off?
If Cleveland doesn’t make a slick move you could see LeBron go to the Lakers, but I think him going to Los Angeles will only become a reality if the Lakers can either sign Paul George or trade for Kawhi Leonard. As a Lakers fan, I know you want the Superstars, but who do you feel comfortable in giving up? If George stays in OKC, it makes the chance stronger that James stays with the Cavs unless he wants to go to Philadelphia and play with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Houston is also a team to look out for, but they would have to trade too much of the team to have a shot at signing James or they would have to have him opt-in and still have to trade great assets to acquire him.
Who do you think James plays with in the 2018-19 season? I’m taking a wild guess and I think somehow the Cavaliers find a way to keep him home.
