LeBron asked in the postgame: Would you waive your no-trade clause if asked? No, I'm here for the long haul, I'm here for this season right now, trying to figure out ways to still compete. I couldn't give up on my teammates like that. I couldn't do that. I just can't do it. We put too much into the game every single day. We go out & prepare even though win, lose or draw, end of the day we're all brothers. I owe it to my teammates to finish the season no matter how it ends up. I would never waive my no trade clause.
I mean what do they expect him to say? Just like melo said he’s there for the knicks but he freaked out and accepted the trade to OKC before media day
Confirmed: "i'm here for this season" TWICE He used "THIS SEASON" and "TO FINISH THE SEASON" Meaning: Going to the Rockets to join Cp3 next season SAUCES CONFIRMED
I think it's best for him and Cavs to go separate ways... His act is gettin old... He'll still be a Cleveland God! Move On bro!
LeBron will end up as perhaps the second best player in history after Jordan. But he is a player in decline. All that playing mileage on his body have taken it's toll. He's just not the best active player in the NBA anymore. Cavaliers and LeBron are a spent force. Celtics and Raptors have passed them by. Arguably, Wizards and Bucks are as good or better than Cavaliers. Like Jordan after the second three peat, LeBron is has gone to the top of hill and is clearly over it.
That will be the NARRATIVE that will be pushed when he leaves. Pushed out the door. Fine by me. Welcome to Houston.
Lebron's defense has slipped quite a bit. Could see him turning that on during a playoff run and flipping the script. My half assed theory is a 3 team deal with the Cavs trading for Marc Gasol (he waves his trade kicker).
Shams: They're being active. ... They are gonna be aggressive. They are looking at guys like Derrick Favors and before he signed an extension, Lou Williams. DeAndre Jordan is their number one target. If they can somehow convince the Clippers to take on their bad contract (J.R. Smith or Tristan Thompson) & give their own first, they'd jump at that but those scenarios aren't in play right now. Relationship between LeBron & the team right now? It's challenged. He looks around...I don't have the guns or assets to go & compete. I think the that's the way he's looked at it. He's been steadfast in not waiving his no-trade clause. I'm staying & said it last night. I'm finishing this year as a Cavalier. Teams have been privately looking into the situation. People around him made it clear we're not waiving it. Brooklyn pick in play? I have not gotten that sense. I've gotten the sense it's completely off the table. That can change but people around the situation don't see it being moved. ... Michael Lee: Where does he go? What options does he have other than staying in Cleveland? He can't go to LA. He won't win there & they said they won't chase him. Philly? Houston? Will they really put him closer to beating Golden State? It's about winning a championship. To do that, he has to beat KD & the Warriors. Chris Mannix: One reason Philly is realistic, add him, right away they're an Eastern Conference contender. As he ages a bit, he doesn't have to be the great LeBron on that team. You'll have Embiid, maybe Fultz, Ben Simmons & you become a destination place for those free agents. I can see LeBron playing the long game with the Sixers. Sixers have the ability to wait for Golden State to age a bit and be the team that succeeds them. Lee: Are they better than Boston? Mannix: Depends on what Boston does. Probably. Scalabrine: If he's about winning, then you have to have conversations with San Antonio, Milwaukee, Philly, Toronto. There are teams you can go to that are really good. Washington. Is he about winning? Lee: Does it mean sacrifice being a max player? Scalabrine: KD left $10M on the table this year. End of the day, this is his mess. He thought he was gonna go there & I need to beat San Antonio. Warrior thing & KD did mess him up. I think it's about getting through this season & make anything of what they have left. I don't think he's tapped out. Lee: Cleveland screwed up royally last summer - not bringing David Griffin back & trading Kyrie. That meant going all in on LeBron, at least to him. In his mind, that Brooklyn pick meant nothing. He's looking at you're not giving up the Brooklyn pick & refusal to give it up, what are we doing here? You gave up Kyrie Irving, brought back these other pieces and then decide we got these guys but won't go all the way in. Scalabrine: Kyrie didn't want to be there. He didn't want to go through what the Cavs are going through. Kevin Love would say the exact same thing. Who wants to play on this team now? LeBron went from greatest teammate ever in Miami to none of these guys want to play with him anymore. Lee: Look at that last year in Miami, his free agency had to be an even greater distraction than let on. Give the Heat credit. They kept any possible problems under wraps. Now everything is being exposed. I wonder what kind of problems were in place in that last year in Miami. For these guys, they saw LeBron move on & it's tough to commit. Scalabrine: Some of the stuff I'm reading...if you're a writer getting this info from LeBron, like LeBron wasn't consulted, is your relationship with LeBron that much that you think the public is stupid? Like he was hanging out on a yacht & suddenly Kyrie was traded? You didn't know? But you did knew you wanted to trade him for Paul George? But you weren't consulted? It insults the intelligence of those who follow basketball. I look at Kyrie and say...when I came to NY to watch the Cavs play the Knicks and everyone one of the Cavs beat writer came up & told me how bad of a person Kyrie is. That's interesting. He's been cool with me. I know he's weird with the flat earth stuff but you went out of your way to tell me that? Whatever LeBron says, you follow? It's embarrasing for guys to write these articles. Lee: ...They talk to both sides & get to determine their own truth. Won't say they're taking whatever LeBron gives them. That's in defense of the guys that cover the team. Mannix: I'm of the opinion they can make a George Hill (or comparable) deal. Cavs wanted the Kings to swallow the **** burger that is J.R. Smith & Iman Shumpert. Sacramento won't do that. Sacramento is motivated to deal Hill to Cleveland. Wild card is Isaiah Thomas. Where he is now, how much better will he get in March/April? What kind of asset will he be come playoff time? Scalabrine: No idea. NBA is a fine line between good/great, great to all-star, all-star to HOFer. If he can't create separation the way he did in Boston, it'll be tough to be the type of player he wants to be. Is it LeBron? The culture? Was it just Brad Stevens? Or is it Isaiah lacks explosiveness because of the hip? When I watch, he's not the same. I don't know why. It could be A, B or C, I'm just not sure which. Culture, you can change that. Hip? That's not gonna change. Mannix: Defensively, he's getting attacked every time down. Lee: I see a guy who was already a poor defender with now no lateral movement. He's already little. Teams will attack as is. He can't bring it. I wonder if he should even be playing. If he had another year left on his deal, I doubt he's on the floor. I think he's rehabbing & probably has surgery in the offseason. Last year of his deal, put so much in the Celtics & to get traded messed him up and then had to come out & play. He's doubling down by playing because he has no choice. If he has security, he's probably not out there. Also in Boston, he was the guy. Guys in Cleveland are like wait, LeBron is the guy, Love is the 2nd guy, Wade got rings so he's another guy, you're not the guy. You can't start popping off when you have no equity. You need to stay in the background. I think they would have respected that more than if he wasn't acting like he was part of the show.
SAS: If I'm the Cavs, I would package Kevin Love & whatever else you could to get Anthony Davis. Pelicans aren't going anywhere. Anthony Davis in all likelihood is not going to want to stay in New Orleans. You are worrying about LeBron & his future. If you look at LeBron, Houston already took care of James Harden. They have to re-up CP3. They already made that commitment to him off the books. They know what they're trying to do. Many teams, if you want LeBron, 5-years, $200M. He ain't taking nothing less than the max. That's the message he's sent to everybody. It very may well be the easiest thing to do is stay in Cleveland but there is no incentive to do so as presently constructed. You get Anthony Davis, that helps you keep LeBron even though I told you Dan Gilbert ain't too enamored with him staying because he's tired of the drama but he's LeBron damn it, he'll get over it. Anthony Davis, if I'm the Cavs, not saying it's probable but I'm doing everything I can to make it happen. Not just a great player but LeBron would have no excuse to think about leaving.
