Is LeBron to the LAKERS a Forgone Conclusion?
With NBA Free Agency looming, there’s a lot of talk as to where LeBron James will wind up signing this Summer.
Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles appear to be in the race to land The King’s services for this upcoming season. But is it even a race? Does one of these teams already have the upper hand? The more I think about it, the more I think yes. I long thought that he would wind up in Houston, but now I’m starting to lean in a different direction. That direction, the one we’ve all known for months now, is Los Angeles. LeBron is going to be a Laker, it just makes way too much sense.
Let’s start with this cryptic tweet from Lakers CEO and co-owner Jeanie Buss:
Do not ever underestimate
.
.
.
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Nothing else to say— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) June 14, 2018
I love shit like this. NBA off-season is when the Twitter fingers start to heat up throughout the entire league. Does this mean that LeBron already committed to LA. No, maybe? Who knows. One thing we do know for sure though is that Buss and LeBron we’re BOTH spotted in New York yesterday. Maybe they met up and talked? Again, who knows. I’m just connecting dots.
Next, the Lakers cap situation. They have enough room to throw the bag at LeBron, something we all know is important to him. And not only do they have room to throw a bag his way, but they have enough space to land another top free agent as well. Paul George? Chris Paul? DeMarcus Cousins? All of these players are viable candidates to wind up in LA if LeBron does. Paul George to LA has been a rumor for almost 2 years now. I think he’d love to go home and play with The King, especially after the disappointing season he just had with Russell Westbrook in OKC.
Finally, the lure of playing in LA. Remember a few weeks back when D-Wade said that LeBron’s decision would be more of a “lifestyle choice”? I’ve never been, but Los Angeles seems like the clear-cut favorite among these cities as far as “lifestyle” goes.
Also, the Lakers have sucked for a few years now. Don’t you think LeBron would want to be the one to dig them out of that hole? LeBron signing in LA would immediately re-ignite the Celtics vs. Lakers rivalry. Kyrie vs. LeBron would be EPIC, and he’s the kind of guy that would eat that shit up.
Long story short, LA makes too much sense to me. Philly also makes a ton of sense, but who wants to live in Philadelphia? Not me. Houston and Boston would have to do a lot of work just to create the space, which makes me think that they aren’t real threats to sign LeBron. So that leaves the Lakers, the one team who can sign both LeBron and basically whoever the hell he wants to be his wingman. They could maybe even swing a trade for a disgruntled superstar like Kawhi or Lillard and make a super-team. LeBron to the Lakers. Book it.
-Nick Cherico (@NickCherico2)