Is it Possible to land LeBron in 2018 & keep Gordon, Ariza & others cap wise?

First - I actually think the chances are better to land Lebron now than they would be had we landed Melo which would have made it cap wise nearly impossible given they Melo would likely opt in and Lebrons not coming here is CP3 isn’t staying.

Second- I think Ariza can be resigned with the MLE but at soon as the Rockets are done with the playoffs, I would be shocked if Morey wasn’t working the phones to try and find potential deals to move Gordon, Anderson, and maybe even Tucker.

The likelihood of Landing Lebron is always going to be slim to none so I’m not too worried about it and I doubt Gordon and Tucker will be concerned about Morey shopping them in case. Even they have to understand... it’s Lebron. You make it happen and if you get traded for or traded to sign Lebron... you just tip your cap.

FYI I think Lebron stays in Cleveland or goes to the Lakers to form a superteam....maybe with CP3 if this year doesn’t go well.

 

True

 

I agree with this totally. And if lbj does want to come here after the season for whatever reason/turn of events, then he can force it. Let's not forget he was ultimately traded to Miami after much bluster from Cleveland.

 

I wouldn’t spend much mental energy on trying to figure out cap figures. With two max players on our roster and with the depth we have + without a huge cap increase like a couple years ago, the only way to add another max player is via S&T and that means CLE would need to play ball. Otherwise it’s only MLE money.

 

Yes, Morey will work his magic.

 

no he wouldn't...Lebron's not coming here if CP3 isn't here

 

You realize it'd be Cp3 doing the recruiting right?

LeBron wouldn't come here if paul isn't here. Heck Paul was supposed to be traded there originally.

 

Not quite, but he is among the closest, and he is Lebron's best friend by a long shot.

 

LMAO Why would Lebron come to Houston? He dont care about the reduced tax compared to LA.
If he leaves, its because he cant catch Jordans ring total, so he's going to LA to TRY and trump Jordan by winning with a 3rd team and with the "greatest" franchise in the Lakers. Thats the only way he can surpass Jordan in terms of legacy.

 

Get rid of Ryan Anderson
I believe Cp3 is bird and Melo would have to take the mid level or lower

 

For a second I thought @Drexlerfan22 was banned. Where is his Morley is gay thread?

 

In the trash can, where it belongs.

 

While getting lebron is likely far fetched, it isn't in the realm of impossible.

Signing him outright likely isn't the course of action. The only feasible way to see us get him is th same way we got cp3.

We would have to get lebron to agree upon an opt-in trade right before free agency. Lebron, like cp3, has enough power to convince ownership to worship his request.

So from clevelands perspective, if your losing lebron, you may as well get some assets for helping him out.

Thus, you could trade ego, Anderson, and a 1st for lebron.

Ego still has great great value even on a rebuilding team as a desirable asset. Ryan is gonna be more attractive at only 2yrs left but is likely shipped to a 3rd team. You get the 2019 1st that is likely super late but still a commodity.

 

Agreed. A "Chris Paul-like" opt-in is the most plausible way for the Rockets to acquire Lebron next summer . . . which, for the record, I still think is EXTREMELY unlikely.

First off, unlike CP3, I seriously doubt Lebron will take a penny less than a four-year full max deal next summer. Whether as a free agent (not enough cap room) or via sign-and-trade (hard cap issues), it would be exceedingly difficult for the Rockets to acquire Lebron under a new contract. But as a straight up TRADE (no signing involved), in which Lebron opts in, that is at least somewhat plausible.

To even make such a move work, the Rockets would need to be able to match salaries to acquire Lebron's $35,607,968 salary on his player option year for 2018-19. To do so, the Rockets would have to send out a minimum of $28,406,375. Given that high a total, any package would likely have to start with Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker. But even then, the Rockets would have to add a lot more salary.

Also, factor in that Cleveland would have to WANT to make this deal. They're not going to do Lebron or the Rockets any favors. Now, if Lebron is truly ready to walk (e.g., to the Lakers) for nothing, there may be SOME incentive for the Cavs to make such a move. But don't take that to mean that they'll take just anything the Rockets are offering. For instance, I doubt the Cavs--who already have Kevin Love and Kyle Korver under contract--will want anything to do with Ryan Anderson's contract, even if he would only then have two more seasons left on it. Also, they may not want to take on any salaries via sign-and-trade (such as Trevor Ariza or Tarik Black), as they might then have some hard cap issues to deal with. Plus, I'm guessing it'd take at least two future first rounders for them to even consider such a trade.

So, you'd probably be looking at a trade package of (at least) two first rounders (2019 and 2021?), Gordon, Tucker, Nene and then 3 minimum-type salaries (think Williams, Onuaku, Taylor, Zhou or anyone else they sign to a multi-year deal mid-season).

Is that enough to get Cleveland to play ball? They already have Jae Crowder and Tristan Thompson, so there is less need for a rugged defender like Tucker. If Lebron leaves, the Cavs would likely be looking to go young, so there isn't much need for Nene (again, they already have Thompson and Love). While Eric Gordon is a good player, they'd still have J.R. Smith and are still saddled with Iman Shumpert and Korver. Frankly, if I'm Kobe Altman, I'm not sure the Rockets have much of anything I'd want. They'd have to REALLY want those (likely late) first rounders.

Bottom line: Is it POSSIBLE for the Rockets to get Lebron? Yes. Is it at all likely? No. But that won't keep Morey and the Rockets from trying like hell to make it happen.

 

FIFY

 

Serious question: are people *actually* still confusing me with @DrexlerFan ? For the umpteenth time, I'm not him. It's starting to get really irritating getting notifications about people bashing me, when I'm not actually who they're talking about.

 

According to main stream media, Lebron wants to play with Ball in LA. Then again main stream media also said Clinton would win by a land slide.

 

You can hardly blame them though. it's too similar.

 

I couldn't blame them the first 2 or 3 times. Past that it starts getting irritating. I wouldn't care if the other guy posted reasonable things, but instead he posts crazy crap and argues with everyone, and I don't want people to start assuming I'm him.

But yeah, they are confusing. Clutch should make that guy pick a new name. He's been here 3 months, I've been here 15 years. I ain't changing mine!