What are the potential training effects of LeBron's decision? | Bleacher's report

Editor 's note: Every day this week, beginning of free agency Sunday, Bleacher Report will look at all angles of LeBron James' upcoming decision with reports and features from our hottest NBA journalists. Today, B / R looks directly at all affected people, and indirectly, by LeBron's choice.
Part 1: LeBron's options on the court are unlimited

LeBron James is a few days from the June 29 deadline to become a free agent–a movement that will trigger an avalanche of back and forth.

Eight consecutive trips to the finals is one thing, but every time LeBron enters free agency, it's the Super Bowl version of the NBA. In the discussion of who is the greatest of all time, James is still working on his resume. But in terms of who will go down as the greatest free agent of all time? It's not even close.

In addition to being a dynasty to a man, James has secured his place in history as the most influential figure in the era of the NBA players' movement.

Although her decision to leave Cleveland for Miami in 2010 was clumsy and badly received, she nonetheless marked a turning point in the modern era of the NBA superstar. James alone has opened the floodgates for other stars to dictate the terms of the commitment.–from Dwight Howard to the Lakers and Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks, Chris Paul to the Clippers and Kevin Durant to the Warriors.

In 2018 and beyond, the pace will continue. According to James' trajectory, this time he will have huge repercussions in the landscape of the free agents of the NBA, not to mention serving as a tipping point in the league's balance of power.

With LeBron-a-palooza once again on us, let's look at some of the key players, teams and other entities that will be most affected by Decision 3.0.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could be back to square one: James came home in 2014 with the goal of delivering Cleveland's first major professional championship since 1964. In 2016, he delivered. In his post-final media address, James took care not to be stuck in a corner with a question from Jason Lloyd of The Athletic about whether he considers this promise fulfilled with a title.

"It's a trick question at the end of the day, and I did not fall for that," he said.

From this we can deduce that James will not feel compelled to come back with the Cavs simply because he has come home with a trophy in four trips to the final in his second tour of duty in Cleveland.

If James leaves, the Cavs are back to square one. There will remain an All-Star on the list, Kevin Love, the No. 8 Collin Sexton's choice and significant future amounts due to Love, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, Jordan Clarkson and, if they decide to keep, Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr.

"S 'he leaves," said an East Conference officer at Bleacher Report, "it' s not a good deal financially for them".

Which brings us to …

Kevin Love can be on the move again: "Being tired of being the best player of a team that missed the playoffs in Minnesota, Love welcomed the opportunity to be traded to Cleveland and team up with them." James and Kyrie Irving in 2014. With Irving in Boston and James at another career crossroads, L 'amour understands that it could be collateral damage–and that another change of address could be in his future.

"I've always wanted to be here," Love told reporters after the finals. "I've always wanted to earn here, but as you know, it's probably going to happen, it's always the case, it's as good to be wanted, but at the same time, it's going to be interesting to see what's going on, you know. "

Tyronn Lue has a decision to make: The pressure of coaching a team led by LeBron eventually forced Lue to take a leave during the season to deal with health issues. He was limpid after the Cavs were swept by the Warriors in the Finals that he's waiting for and wants to return next season regardless of James' decision. If James leaves, does this give Lue the opportunity to settle and grow as a coach and leader without the tremendous pressure that comes with training? James? Or is he also looking for a quick exit?

Chris Paul and the current Rockets will get used to seeing each other better: The chatter on the front office vine from the NBA is consistent with ESPN reports Brian Windhorst and Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal in recent weeks: James' family is not in love with the idea of ​​moving to Houston. Add to this reports from Stephen A. Smith of ESPN Paul tells people that James is heading to Los Angeles, and you have the Rockets positioned as the weird man in a high-stakes game of musical chairs.

Although Paul and Harden represent the kind of talented and cerebral players James said he wanted to play with, James also said "the people who have been with me for the past 20 years will have a say."

Rockets GM Darryl Morey is said to be obsessed with beating the Warriors. If James refuses, where does this leave the Rockets on this quest? As USA todaySam Amick reported: "There remains a strong feeling in the Rockets circles [Paul] The rival leaders are telling B / R that they expect Morey to move quickly and aggressively to Plan B if LeBron says no to Houston, perhaps even putting a full press to surprise Paul George from Oklahoma City.

If that does not work, common sense would be to keep several key players from the team that lost to Golden State in the finals of the Western Conference – players who would have been dropped to make the place to James. As Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com reported, the surest way for the Rockets to get LeBron would be for James to opt for 2018-19 and be traded to Houston. Apart from the unlikely event that Morey is able to find a taker for Ryan Anderson (who owed nearly $ 42 million over the next two years), he should send Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, Nene and at least three other players a LeBron trade job. If LeBron in Houston is a non-starter, the odds of nearly half of the Rockets' list would be changed. And Paul–like James–would be wondering if he will have enough to dethrone the warriors.

If Paul George and Kawhi Leonard stay, James could also: Oh, if only the Thunder had not breathed a 3-1 lead to the Warriors in the Western Conference finals in 2016. How the fates of several stars and franchises could be changed.

Instead, Kevin Durant took advantage of the salary hike to join the Golden State Superteam, and the GM Thunder Sam Presti appealed to George and Anthony last summer in the hope of winning. surrounding Westbrook with enough talent to maximize the rest of his bonus. All he's had is a season of 48 wins and a first-round finish at the hands of Utah Jazz.

For the Thunder, the first shoe fell over the weekend when Anthony refused a free agency offer by denying an early termination option that would have cost him $ 27.9 million next season. according to USA today"Amick, there is" all sorts of optimism "in the Thunder that George is going to re-sign – as well as the pessimism in James' camp that George might have to leave OKC for the Lakers. While James leads the world of basketball, he obviously does not run Oklahoma City. George would still be considered in league circles as a huge blow to all the plans that James might have to form a superteam with the Lakers.

The crucial point of this plan, according to league sources, has been twofold: 1) Hopefully the Lakers can persuade the Spurs to trade them against Kawhi Leonard, the star player dissatisfied, and 2) Let James work his magic and convince a third. Star (eg George) to join him there. The Spurs have closed commercial deals for Leonard since at least early May, and there has been no change in their posture, according to league sources.

If there is no Leonard (or George) in LA, the path to a superteam led by James in Staples Center becomes infinitely more difficult to navigate. Which brings us to …

A trio of top-10 Lakers chooses better to keep their bags packed: The most famous residents of Staples Center have a less than stellar recent record of attracting starless agents, but President Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka have the franchise in a strong position in the LeBron draw. When it comes to adding James and another free agent of max level (eg George), the path is a bit complicated but feasible, and he starts by giving up Luol Deng and stretching the 37 million dollars owed to it in the coming seasons. That would not get the team space for up to two niches, but that would be pretty close, maybe close enough to convince two like-minded superstars to take a little less time to Play together.

But if George and the young nucleus of the Brandon Ingram Lakers, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma are not enough in James' estimation to overthrow the Warriors, things get more complicated.

It's here that the Spurs and Leonard come into play … and where the intransigence of the Spurs to discuss Leonard's dealings becomes a major obstacle to the Lakers' plan.

A Lakers package for Leonard should, at a minimum, include Ball or Ingram, plus an additional salary. A West Conference official told B / R that the Lakers' preference in this scenario would be to keep Kuzma. Julius Randle could be strange man because the Lakers would probably need to lose their rights on him to fill the list.

From the Lakers 'point of view, the collateral damage of James' decision could affect each of their last two choices # 2 (Ball and Ingram) and their No. 7 pick of 2014 (Randle).

The 76ers-Celtics rivalry is about to become much more interesting: The stakes are simple here. If LeBron stays in Cleveland, it becomes a three-team race for Eastern Conference supremacy … and as long as LeBron is in the East, the road to the finals passes through him. As he has proven this season without a shadow of doubt, it does not matter who he is playing with.

If it goes in the West, we plan to play Sixers against Celtics in the Eastern finals in the foreseeable future.

The forecasters are on the chances of the Sixers to land James in free will; Indeed, James' introspective comments during the finals on the type of players he wants to surround seem to diminish the likelihood that he will join 20-year-old players whose preparation for the championship should be accelerated. one of his favorite terms. But hey, Twitterverse basketball can dream, right? If one way or another James makes the unexpected and decides to team up with Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric in the city of Brotherly Love, we will watch LeBron against Kyrie on a trajectory of collision for the right to play the Warriors in the Finals.

A partnership with DeMarcus Cousins ​​could make Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo a little agitated: If this seems like a strange trio to put in the crosshairs of LeBron 's free agent decision, it' s not so far – fetched.

James has always been a big supporter of Cousins, after tweeting the eulogy of Cousins ​​in January–Before Cousins ​​broke his left Achilles tendon in January and missed the rest of the season.

James is also known for calling Cousins ​​"the best fat man in our game". Cousins ​​is an unrestricted free agent, and how his recovery from the Achilles injury affects his worth–both in the eyes of James and those of the market–worth to be watched.

If James could convince Cousins ​​to team up with him next season, where would that leave Davis? In the end, the era of superstar player-movement that James launched in 2010 will touch the next wave of star players wondering how long they will have to wait for a chance to compete for a championship. The next two are Davis and Antetokounmpo, whose chances of attracting an all-star All-Star player to New Orleans and Milwaukee, respectively, are slim to none.

With so many tentacles to James' imminent decision, the effects of training will be felt in the short and long term. And while Adam Silver is the commissioner of the NBA, he is most certainly LeBron James who actually directs it.

And with the clock already running on the 3.0 decision, LeBron's power to change the fate of stars and franchises has never been so big.

Ken Berger covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KBergNBA.