Udonis Haslem reveals LeBron visited with Haslem, Dwayne Wade in Miami before NBA Finals Spoiler “Right before they started the Finals against Golden State, I spent some time with ‘Bron,” Haslem said during a visit to the Heat’s youth camp at South Broward High School. “He was in Miami. Me, him and Dwyane got together and we spent some time together and we just chopped it up and we just talked.” Relocation, however, was not on the table. “That,” Haslem said, “wasn’t part of the conversation.” But that doesn’t mean it might not be again. “Obviously, he was getting ready for the NBA Finals,” Haslem said. “But there are great pieces here and we all know the city loves him and we all know what he’s capable of doing. “I’m sure the organization and I would love to have him. But, as a friend, once again, I support LeBron with whatever decision he makes. So we’ll see.” Haslem stressed that it was not as if James’ mind was on anything but the Finals during the brief reunion. “Nah, not at all,” he said. “Our conversation is way deeper than where LeBron goes next year.” He said it is an enduring friendship that transcends team affiliation. “A lot of things that I give him a different point of view on, and he gives me a different point of view on a lot of different things, too. So we police each other,” Haslem said. “That’s the one thing we do. We aren’t afraid to have those uncomfortable conversations with one another and check each other when each other is wrong or kind of lose sight of what’s most important. And that’s what we’ve kind of been doing, focusing on a lot of business things. As well, knowing in the back of our minds that we have decisions to make.” TYRONN LUE on LeBron's Future: DEEP BREATHS AND HEADSHAKIN' Cleveland Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue has finally stepped out after his team was swept in the NBA Finals ... and we had to ask about the one thing everyone wants to know -- LeBron's future. Ya gotta watch the video ... Lue's body language is a combination of frustration, pain and uncertainty. Don't get it twisted, he was totally nice on his way out of Craig's in West Hollywood -- where he had dinner with Chauncey Billups -- but it's obvious LeBron isn't his favorite topic right now. And why? Everyone knows it's almost certain Bron is leaving Cleveland, which leaves Lue with a bad team and not a lot of job security. Don't spend too much time worrying about Lue ... he signed a 5-year $35 million contract in 2016 and the first 4 years are fully guaranteed. He'll be just fine ... with or without LeBron.
https://cbssports.radio.com/articles/stein-no-slam-dunk-scenario-lebron If LeBron James leaves Cleveland, he has plenty of worthwhile destinations, whether it’s Houston, Philadelphia, Boston, or somewhere else. But one franchise has an advantage over the others. “Certainly the Lakers because they have the ability to say, ‘Look, you come here, LeBron, and we’ll have room to sign someone else to bring with you,’” New York Times NBA writer Marc Stein said on Reiter Than You. “That naturally puts the Lakers at the forefront of the conversation.” Perhaps, but would James want to go to the West and have to beat the Rockets and Warriors just to get to an NBA Finals? Especially with a franchise that has finished with a losing record five years in a row? “Of all the teams we can name – Lakers, Houston, Philly, whoever you want to name – it’s not perfect,” Stein said. “There’s just no slam-dunk scenario (where) LeBron signs and instantly the Warriors are quaking.” And why should they? They’ve won three of the last four NBA titles, including each of the last two in dominant fashion. “He has basically three weeks to work on it,” Stein said of James. “As studious as he is, I think he’s going to be looking at all manner of situations and probably scenarios that have not been reported and that no one has thought about yet.” Spoiler _______________________________ Marc Stein: Latest on Paul George? The buzz is...he has not committed to stay. There's no done deal but more & more I've been hearing from people who believe the Thunder have a far better chance than any of us believed when they lost to Utah in the 1st round. No one can say with 100% certainty but I think the Lakers they know it's not just July 1 comes & he signs. They have some work to do to convince George to come because the Thunder & George have made a connection to some degree. If not a done deal he'll be a Laker, can perhaps Sixers, Rockets, other teams who want to make a run, that it wouldn't be on deaf ears? No, you have to imagine he'll listen to all pitches. There's no need to rush to a decision 2 weeks out. He'll listen to them all. Think Daryl Morey won't try? We know what the Rockets are about. They won't stop. They'll explore LeBron, Paul George & any other name we can suggest that gives them a chance to make another run. No one in OKC is feeling especially secure. After LeBron, his free agency is at the top of the list. As you talk to sources (regarding LeBron), where are the places we should be looking at with optimism? Certainly the Lakers because they have the ability to say 'You come here, we'll have room to sign someone else.' That naturally puts the Lakers at the forefront. LeBron made it clear after game four that he will seek input from everyone in his family, that's a factor. He got family stuff to think about. He has to see if I'm going to leave Cleveland, is there a team that really puts me on par or close to par with Golden State? He talked about family but also said I'm not ready to stop chasing the Warriors. Because all the teams we can name, it's not perfect. There's no slam dunk scenario, LeBron signs & the Warriors are quaking. He has 3 weeks to work on it. I think he'll be looking at all situations & scenarios not reported that no one has thought about. Landing spots that would be shockers but not impossible? San Antonio is one. Stephen A. Smith reported that LeBron has a list of 6 teams + the Cavs. Spurs were not on that list. If Popovich says 'Will you hear me out?' I have to think LeBron takes that call. Does he opt in like Chris Paul & force a trade before July 1? He could do that. The line we've been hearing all long is LeBron is not gonna think about it until the season is over. I understand that approach but I have to think the thought about what to do in the future has crossed his mind. While maybe he doesn't know exactly where he'll go, I have to think he had some ideas by the time game four was over. Stay in Cleveland? Sense I get is people still think it's on the table whereas game four, if you were in the building, it felt like goodbye. It doesn't strike me as out of the realm of possibilities he could say "None of these situations are so overwhelmingly good, I have to do it." Cavs could strip it all down & bring in pieces that fit better. I do think the Cavs, as of right now, are operating as if he's still on the team. Are there moves we could make to appease him? Can we do anything with the 8th pick? No question they'll explore all avenues. Koby Altman's first year? He did the best he could. Trading Kyrie was not a Koby Altman call. That was a Dan Gilbert call. Had it all been up to the GM & you know LeBron doesn't want you to make the trade, I could have seen them bringing him to camp but the Cavs as an organization made that move...the Brooklyn pick was believed to be more attractive than it turned out to be. That pick was coveted for a long time by a lot of teams. Cleveland said we're not gonna be in the same position as 2010. We're not gonna expose ourselves & have no building blocks if he leaves. Those kind of decisions, not just Cleveland, comes with ownership input. Lakers asking Lonzo/Kuzma to tune it down. Nothing to see here or something problematic? Nothing between them that is problematic. Image wise, not great. I don't know that LeBron would really factor that into a free agency decision. Based on little evidence we've seen, he's a Lonzo Ball fan. I can't see LeBron running from the Lakers because of a diss track. I do think it was wise for the Lakers. Concern about Kyrie not interested in signing an extension? No surprise. Too much money he'd be sacrificing. Celtics weren't surprised. It's something to monitor. Danny has shown he'll trade anyone if he feels the need. There continues to be people convinced Kyrie has eyes on New York. Are they married forever? Too soon to say that but if I'm Kyrie, I want to give the Celtics every chance. Why would you want to go anywhere else? If we're making a list of things for the Warriors to be worried about, the Celtics have to be high on it.
That's factually inaccurate. Lebron gets traded to Houston and Golden State is immediately done for.....and they'd know it. The Warriors couldn't have gotten by the Rockets last year without a CP3 injury and a team of Capela Lebron Tucker/Ariza Harden CP3 legitimately might sweep the Warriors.
And here's where i agree with you, it's not like we would get Lebron by trading Harden...if we get Lebron, we're definitely on par if not ahead of the Warriors. Even in the worst possible scenario where we somehow lose Gordon, Ariza and Capela, we would still be right there by just signing a couple of decent veterans and a MLE guy. Random names but: Noel (MLE) Lebron Tucker Harden Paul Wright Luc Green Wade Nelson ...and that's the worst scenario i can see where we get Lebron. In a good one we end up with: Capela Lebron Ariza Harden Paul Wright Tucker Luc Green Bradley/Evans/Reddick/Pope (MLE) DeAndre might also join if bought out later in the season. The Warriors bench is not as good as it was two/three years ago, outside of Iggy which is getting pretty old they're decent players at best (McGee, Zaza, West, Looney, Bell, Swaggy P, McCaw, Livingston), you put them in any other another team and half of them don't even make the rotation...and they don't have a starting caliber center either (not that they desperately need one, but still). They still do great cause they have always two all stars on the floor to start the second and fourth quarter, but we would have two between Harden, Lebron and Paul out there in the same part of the game.
This. And to be clear, I don't think that makes it any more likely for Houston than it was, say... last Friday, when Cleveland lost. But the lack of intel from connected NBA people should throw a bucket of cold water on all the TMZ-style gossip over the past week. If LeBron were set on LA, I can guarantee you PG would be, too... and if that were the case, you'd have dozens of people in the loop and all sorts of recruiting going on. Things would leak. LeBron may ultimately choose LA. It's not a barren destination by any means. There is real appeal to it. But there's a lot of people wishing it to be true at the moment. Whatever the odds were last Friday night, that's what they should be today, IMO. Because we're pretty much in the same place.
LBJ would be far more spectacular on Houston than in any shape or form on Cleveland. CP3 went from "not being able to fit with Harden" to us having an expected win percentage of 80% in the minutes he was on the court. PJ Tucker went from a journeyman to being a highly valuable stretch PF within this offense. If LBJ weights winning a championship most heavily upon his decision he comes to Houston easily.
What a load of horse ****, did he not see the WCF where the warriors were on the brinl of elimination and ld have been done in 6 if not for cp3 injury? Add lebron to the mix and houston goes from 65 wins to 76 and a 4-0 or 4-1 over gsw
NBA 2K confirms Lebron is leaving NBA 2K14 (2013): LeBron James leaves the Heat and goes back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. NBA 2K15 (2014): Kevin Durant leaves the Thunder and goes to the Warriors in 2016. NBA 2K17 (2016): Paul George leaves the Pacers and goes to the Thunder in 2017. NBA 2K18 (2017): Kyrie Irving is reportedly being traded to the Celtics before the game even releases. (Yep, this has happened before. EA Sports had to put out a printable cover for Madden 09 after Brett Favre joined the Jets.) The only omissions from this trend are James Harden, Anthony Davis, and Stephen Curry, who were on different covers of NBA 2K16 in 2015, and are still kicking it with the Rockets, Pelicans, and Warriors, respectively. Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan will be on the Canadian cover of NBA 2K18, and he’s sticking with the Raptors through the 2020-21 season. So maybe this is all a weird coincidence that most of the NBA 2K cover athletes in recent years would leave their teams in a year or two, or there really is a 2K curse and it’s a messed up version of the tagline from the 2006 movie Stay Alive: “You get featured on the cover, you leave for real.”
seems like Marc Stein had a little too much Henny GS isn’t quaking if Lebron goes to Houston? Really? Stop it... CP3 and Harden plus role players was nearly enough to take down GS. We’re talking about adding a GOAT candidate to the roster. Sure, we’d lose a couple of role players, but please, GS is very worried about Bron to Houston
Are you joking? Haven't watched CJ McCollum much, huh? Why would Portland even take that Deng contract?
