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He confirmed what was already a truism: LeBron James chose to break his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers and will be officially Sunday's free agent. There are firm candidates to take over the services of Rey in addition to their current team: Los Angeles Lakers start in pole position . San Antonio Spurs Houston Rockets Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics also made contacts. The other 24 franchises in the league, of course, would also be willing to do the impossible to add James.
The relationship between LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers has been pending for a long time: the team selected him in first place in the repechage. 2003 when James was only 18 years old and had just left high school. After seven years in the team, in 2009 forced his departure to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a memorable Miami Heat team, with which he would win two titles. In 2014, he refused to renew with Miami and returned to Cleveland to win a ring with the state team where he was born (James is from Akron, a city under 50 kilometers from the house of the Cavaliers).
However, his triumphant return – those who, years ago, had burned his shirt 23 sales broke when the super before returned – the last two seasons of the Cavaliers They have disappointed LeBron. This is not entirely the fault of your team; Cleveland had nothing to do with the Golden State Warriors, who were already a great team, adding Kevin Durant and becoming an almost invincible team.
LeBron James in the final against Golden State. (AFP)
But the direction of Cleveland Cavaliers also has its responsibility: for example, Dan Gilbert, the owner of the franchise, did not renew his contract last year to the director of basketball operations , David Griffin, who had been the architect of the return of King . As it turned out, LeBron James never forgave that to Gilbert, who brought Koby Altman to replace Griffin. With Altman, James never fully understood.
Today, LeBron returns to be a free agent, and at his 33 years, there are many in the tank. Which team is more likely to get their services? A priori, the Los Angeles Lakers fulfill the necessary conditions.
LeBron James has left a contract that would have paid $ 35.6 million next season This, even for the NBA, is a lot of money. They won the Lakers with a young team and "cheap" in comparison to their competitors. In addition, James owns a home in Los Angeles where he often travels in his spare time, so that Hollywood would be a popular destination. What's playing against the Lakers? That LeBron's past experience of adding to a team (Cleveland) was not positive, while it was reaching a team that already had stars (Heat, with Wade, Haslem and later Bosh). In this sense, and although it is not said in public, James asked the Lakers to take the services of Paul George or Kawhi Leonard (or both, I do not know for sure) before he signs. It is almost a fact that George will go to Los Angeles, but the salary that these players demand may jeopardize the dollars allocated to Rey .
Although James broke his contract, we can not rule out that the best World Player Continues Cleveland Cavaliers . The striker has a strong affection for the team and is already the most important player in the history of the franchise. In addition, few teams can offer you as much money as the Cavs. Like everything in the NBA, marketing plays its role and should be possible "Second Decision" (the first time he left Cleveland he announced it in a program called [19459005TheDecision) is a strategy to make James the center of lights in the league, even if defeated. Of course, LeBron James is mega-competitive and is still old enough to fight for titles, so before he can sign it, Cleveland will have to do a strong cleanup and present James with a serious project.
Gregg Popovich and LeBron James. (AFP)
San Antonio Spurs will play a sentimental letter that can tip the scales: his trainer, Gregg Popovich. It's hard to know if James Popovich is more fanatical or vice versa, but the reality is that mentor Manu Ginóbili and LeBron have mutual admiration. In addition, LeBron James has always praised the consistency, organization and work spirit of the Spurs. Against him is playing in San Antonio that his star, Leonard, wants to leave the team because he does not feel comfortable. Perhaps convincing LeBron James to join the team serves to convince Leonard to stay and convince Leonard to remain helpful in convincing LeBron James to join him. Whatever it is, to hire 23, the Spurs must get rid of several expensive salaries (Pau Gasol, Danny Green and the Tony Parker history, among others), and it will not be easy .
The Houston Rockets become almost the black shadow of Golden State this season, and in fact they surpbaded them in the regular season by taking first place at the Western Conference. The Texans bet strong for the duo Chris Paul-James Harden (voted best player of the season a few days ago) and got more than enough income. The team led by Mike D & # 39; Antoni has a fast racing and throwing style with a game of numerous pbades that can perfectly enjoy the game of James, as physical and fast as talented to help. On the other hand, the Rockets have in their favor more or less $ 20 million, plus what they get to clean up their team, to sign the Rey and become the second "Super team" of the NBA. The counter would be the city, which is not particularly the player's preference.
Los Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics are also immersed in James' conversations. Both teams have a balanced attack style and many audiences, without a prominent figure in particular, and with a collective defense and rotation. These styles can fully exploit the quality of James. Moreover, being in the East, none of them would pbad with Golden State before the final. However, with the exception of the Spurs, these two franchises are the ones that can offer less money since they are not willing to part with their young jewels, of course everything is possible for LeBron James …
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