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CLEVELAND, Ohio – While LeBron James deflected most questions about his future following a sweep of the NBA finals at the champagne-soaked hands of Golden State Warriors, the MVP offered a small window on his free agency priorities.
"The thing I've always done is considered, obviously, my family," James said. "Especially understand where my boys are right now in their age.They were much younger the last time I made a decision like this four years ago.
" I've been a teenager, a pre-teen and a little girl who was not as good. So sitting down and all things considered, my family is a huge part of everything I will decide to do in my career, and it will continue to be that. "
Moments later, James was talking about staying in" championship "mode."
It's hard to put too much stuff in what a player says, especially after another frustrating final defeat, but these are the preferences he has established: family and victory, in no particular order, of course.
The Cavaliers must hope that the balance will lean more towards the family.
If the reasons for basketball weigh as heavily as in 2010, when he teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, then again in 2014, when he formed a new super team in Cleveland, the Cavs will struggle to compete.
The Rockets – more than a long kick given the number of moves to perform a sign-and-trade and the improbability of him opting for a deal when the deadli It arrives at 23:59 . Friday night – just finished the best season in the history of the franchise and offers a tantalizing duo James Harden-Chris Paul. If James is looking for a competitor ready for the job, the Rockets match the profile.
The Philadelphia 76ers have already promised Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. They also have assets, including Dario Saric, second rookie of the year 2017, ahead of Kawhi Leonard in front of San Antonio. Other players should also be involved in this potential trade. But the Sixers package would be tough to dominate and the relationship between Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown and Gregg Popovich can not hurt.
What a great match of a quartet by James-Leonard-Embiid-Simmons? 19659002] Then there are the Lakers, the best mix of basketball and "home".
The Lakers have a unique combination of salary space to go chasing stars and young people who offer another path to a third violin.
In a strange way, it is a combination of Miami from 2010, using the money to build a new East conference power in a changing summer of landscape, and Cleveland, who made a handful of transactions after being in asset accumulation mode
In both decisions, there was never any question of what the l & # 39; The team was the previous season or even what the team looked like when James made his choice. It was rather about what James thought the team could become.
It is the advantage of the Lakers. He should salivate thinking about the potential.
While Paul George returning to Oklahoma City seems more viable at the time, signing with the Lakers – the team where George once wanted to be traded and raised for rooting – should only not be discarded.
-George pairing – combined with young grassland talent Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram – looks like a playoff team. Yes, even in the west. And as James has proclaimed throughout his career, he just needs to enter the playoffs and he loves his chances.
If the Lakers go in a different direction and use some of these talented but unproven products The Spurs then look. James and Leonard in Los Angeles with George in Oklahoma City? It works very well.
Then there is the outdoor possibility of all three in Los Angeles. The Lakers should waive the rights of Julius Randle ($ 12.5 million) as a free agent and either trade Luol Deng ($ 18 million), give it up and stretch his salary, or make an exchange or two to clear the deal. 39; space.
James and George with ceiling space and Leonard in a trade. This is possible. And suddenly, the Lakers turn into a championship team with a nasty Big Three.
Then again, there is also a scenario where Leonard goes elsewhere, George stays at OKC with Russell Westbrook and the promise of the next super team collapses quickly. [19659002] What would James do then?
No, Los Angeles does not pull on its nerve as Cleveland does. But he has two houses in the Los Angeles area and his nascent commercial empire is also there. Would it be really surprising for James' family, including his two sons playing basketball, to go home to Hollywood? After all, the James gang is already spending their summers there and LA offers more comfort than any other destination – except for Cleveland, of course.
Here's another thing to consider: If the Lakers are fighting against George and Leonard, it does not work. t change their treasure of commercial assets. It does not change their attractive ceiling situation either. Offers can be made after June 29th. Heck, they can be made after July 6, the day the free agency moratorium ends. Kevin Love only arrived in Cleveland in August, nearly two months after James announced his return. JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov have not completed the Cavs' transformation until January of this regular season.
If James joins the Lakers even without another superstar, because he feels that it's where he and his family would be happiest, then Los Angeles will be one of the destinations the most attractive for free veteran agents willing to take less money or redeem candidates to smooth the edges of the list. The Lakers would also be able to make a blockbuster deal for this other missing star in February.
What they watch in July is not the end-all-all.
Do not forget the Cavs. People close to James have reported since the finale that there is the opportunity to stay in Cleveland.
Only, it is difficult to buy from the basketball point of view. Love is a nice option # 3, but it seemed badly like fellow James racing – a role that he was pushed after Kyrie Irving's commercial demand.
Finding a new acolyte is possible provided that General Manager Koby Altman and his front office a little magic, but there are obvious roadblocks.
Rookie Collin Sexton, the eighth pick in the NBA 2018 draft, is the centerpiece of the most obvious trade. However, the Cavs were delighted when he was still available in their place during the repechage and there was a palpable excitement after the selection. Heck, head coach Tyronn Lue has already planned a portion of his summer to work with Sexton – and Jordan Clarkson – individually. That would take the right agreement to include Sexton.
Aside from him, the Cavs have love, whose possible expiring contract (he has a player option for the 2019-20 season) makes him an intriguing trading chip. But the list of interested teams is probably smaller than some might expect from an NBA All-Star five times.
Kendrick Perkins' contract has been resumed and can be used as a salary filler. The Cavs may be ready to separate from Kyle Korver, a 37-year-old shooter, whose $ 7.5-million deal would improve overall starts. George Hill and JR Smith have unique agreements and, because wages are not fully guaranteed after this season, both could be more attractive than their heavy convention suggests.
Young Cedi Osman may have value. The Cavs also have a commercial exception, which can not be matched with any other player, worth $ 5 million to the north.
Their 2019 first-round pick is reserved for Atlanta following Korver's 2017 trade in the top 10. Their second round of 2019 is also for another team. The Cavs do not have draft picks that other teams, say Charlotte, would like to start a rebuild. Nor is there a stack of controllable young players, the plays that Minnesota and Oklahoma City had used for the last season of Jimmy Butler and George.
Leonard to Cleveland is a chimera. Kemba Walker becomes hard to see.
Contrary to the situation of the Lakers, the pieces do not seem to be there for a huge move – unless a third team is involved. Some smaller movements in the margins seem more likely to arrive at the finish line if that is the direction that the Cavs choose to borrow.
Even the free agency will be difficult. Forget DeMarcus Cousins. Unless he wants to accept the taxpayer's mid-level exception of about $ 5.5 million. J.J. Redick, if he leaves Philly, won $ 23 million last season. Trevor Ariza is probably out of their price range.
Signs and crafts are unrealistic given their inflated ceiling. The Cavs should pay a significant salary and stay below the deck for this to be possible.
Will the final standoff or even a slightly modified version hold back the Celtics, who will receive their two best? the players back from injury? How about the upstart 76ers? Is this situation strong enough to satisfy James' desire to stay in championship mode? That did not seem to be the case in June.
Cleveland 's best shot is the other things that James has referenced after the fourth game, which tops his summer wish list
Maybe it' s his lack of 's. interest in explaining why he would leave Cleveland again. After all, he always said the opposite. Maybe that is the control and power that he has within the organization and a laughing owner with the idea of going deep into the tax of luxury. James may have trouble finding all of this elsewhere. Or maybe it's his family that expresses the desire to stay in northeastern Ohio. There is a unique link with this region.
No matter what happens, the departure from Cleveland must be logical. It will not be for any where. It's quite possible that he does not consider any of his options as significantly better so why not keep the status quo and not hurt (if it's even possible) his legacy?
The Cavs should hope that these thoughts will cross his sentimental attachments. are strong enough to keep him in Cleveland. Because the list is certainly not.
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