Where Should LeBron Go Next?

Lebron James is arguably the best player in NBA history. Being in eight straight finals with (or without) partners in crime (like Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving), building a 3-6 finals record with those teams. James is the last year of his contract IF he doesn’t accept his player option and has NBA fans and experts questions where the King is going to go. If he’s looking for good advice, here are a few teams he should think about going to.

1. Los Angeles Lakers

The reason he should go to the Lakers is plain simple: he has a good connection with Magic Johnson and is a big fan of Lonzo Ball. They have plenty of cap room to sign Lebron and bring back budding star Julius Randle. The Lakers have a nice young future to look forward to, and if they bring in the King, they’ll make it over the hump.

Why Not?

The Lakers have a nice future even without Lebron, with Lonzo having an amazing season along with Brandon Ingram and power forwards Kyle Kuzma and Randle. There also isn’t much three-point shooting, but they have a lot of cap so it’s not hard to get another free agent.

2. Philadelphia 76ers

The reason he should go to the land of brotherly love is you’ll have the King in Lebron and the Prince in Ben Simmons. Yes, the 76ers don’t look like they need him but, it’ll make them the scariest young and coming team along with the Boston Celtics. They’ll be the best team in the East hands down. Now that they got beat by the Celtics in five, they’ll have blood to be the best.

Why Not?

They don’t need him, as I said before. Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz are the main ball handlers and Lebron likes to have the ball in his hands during games. Meanwhile, Simmons is a driving point forward who can’t shoot threes. Also, he’s the next Lebron and having them both on the same team would not be a good idea.

3. Houston Rockets

Houston had the best record this season at 65-17 with their star players in James Harden and Chris Paul. James going there would make them an unstoppable force in the West and may even bring the Rockets their third championship since they had Hakeem Olajuwon in the 90’s.

Why Not?

There is no cap space there. Harden is making 30 million next year while Chris Paul is going to be a free agent along with Clint Capela, who is restricted. They’d also have no bench after trying to free the money and room that they can. He wouldn’t get paid, nor would he be the main ball handler.

4. New Orleans Pelicans

New Orleans has a good team led by all-stars Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins, with a little help from Jrue Holiday. Demarcus is a free agent so they’ll have some cap room for Mr. James. Lebron could still lead the team in New Orleans, and with James passing like Magic Johnson, he could throw oops and flashy passes to Davis for easy slams. Surrounding them with some good three point shooters, which they started off with with Nikola Mirotic and Ian Clark, would help.

Why Not?

Davis is an amazing player in New Orleans. I really don’t have a reason why James wouldn’t want to be here, besides being in a stacked western conference. He’d be alright in the West but it would be hard for him to end up in the finals.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

Why leave? It’s his home where he’s from. Yes, he did fulfill his promise to bring a championship. They have an alright future with Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson. They also have the Nets pick which is #8 in the upcoming draft. So they could get a Trae Young to replace Kyrie Irving or even Mohamed Bamba if he seems to fall that low.

Why Not?

No one wants to come to Cleveland anymore. They aren’t really a championship team even with Lebron. They’d have to get Paul George in free agency, and it still might not work. It’ll be hard for him to leave again, but it might be for the best.

***

Lebron is going to have to make a big decision this summer, debating on whether to stay in the ‘Land or to leave and explore new land with new players. Maybe he’ll even just go into retirement (Probably not but there’s always that possibility). Ultimately, he needs some time off from the media to just turn and look at himself: “Where am I going to go?”

Photo: Lebron James by Erik Drost on Flickr

Link to Article: https://chspineneedle.com/2018/06/13/where-should-lebron-go-next/