Stephen A Smith: Chris Paul says Lebron wants to be in LA (+ stuff on PG)

The good news is that you know CP is keeping Morey informed every step of the way, so I think the odds are good that the Rockets know how to proceed. Unfortunately, given how tight-lipped and leakproof the Houston front office is, we may not hear about it. But IMO, I think Daryl has a good idea by now as to what paths are feasible.

 

Co sign everything you said. I DEFINITELY believe screamin a is plugged. But Paul just throwing that info out there like that??? Yeaaa I’m not believing that

 

LeBron is a long shot, but let's not forget that "espn insiders" were saying Dwight Howard was going to stay in LA on the day it was official that he was coming to the Rockets.

 

I don't think I've seen a single person dismiss what SAS is saying. They're doubting the motives BEHIND what he's saying.....meaning that CP3 and LeBron are scheming. There's a difference. SAS definitely has ties to the players, and is in-the-know.

 

They didn't say that. They say that Dwight was having second thoughts. They never said he was staying in LA on the day he said he was coming here.

 

Ahhh now the CP3/Harden "Bounce back" instatweets make sense.

Spoiler

I kid! I kid!

 

"So is CP3 a LAKERS Homer!?!?," said CyberX excitedly

 

I agree with you completely, but I think most of us are trying to grasp at straws really. It's going to be a major downer when LeBron announces he's going to LA.

 

If this was indeed true..... and for the record i think its complete BS.... why the hell would CP3 be leaking info like that to people about his BFF.

IF its true then the Rockets should look towards Boogie/KW/or Love.

 

Fair that tis 'fairly obvious'. Fair that 'every source' is blowing smoke outta a cold papal stack? I'm fairly dubious to just what is real...

 

The Lakers have cap space, no moves need to be made. That basically means Chris Paul just announced to the world that LeBron is signing with the Lakers, I do not buy that for a second that it's that simple.

Where does he want to play, no clue, very possibly LA, but there is a reason Lebron gave CP3 the OK to have SAS say this.

 

Lol at anyone who believes that Paul would leak this type of thing to Screamin' A

 

Amen brother

 

If LeBron is willing to go to LA without PG13 there, he truly doesn't give a rat's ass about championships. And no, Kawhi being traded there isn't enough. Unless it's LeBron, PG13, and Kawhi(and some semblance of a supporting cast), the Lakers won't come close to competing with the Warriors or Rockets.

 

The second thoughts were based on false information. LA had a pretty good idea his visit to them was to
say good bye.

 

M-I-S-D-I-R-E-C-T-I-O-N

 

Not true. Howard was actually upset because he didn't have a chance to call Mitch Kupchek before the news got out.

 

I wonder if CP3 actually leaked anything. Seems so strange that he would be spilling beans about Lebron's free agency plans when these guys have been incredibly tight-lipped about their futures. Lebron knew about the CP3 trade before it went down, they speak to each other constantly. They've said nothing about their plans before.

I think the leverage for Houston argument is tinfoil hat theory, but it's not ridiculous for real life situations. Part of getting a deal you want is making the other party feel like they've won and changed your mind. When buying a car you don't want to let the dealer know that particular car is your first or only choice. You've price shopped, you're more interested in others and they're going to have to give you a better deal to get you to change your mind. If Cleveland didn't think Lebron was serious about going to LA or Philadelphia they be able to rake Houston over the coals in negotiations. Does Houston really want to be the team that gave up Lebron James over multiple future picks or Capela? Meanwhile, if Cleveland was totally convinced Lebron was going to walk for nothing they'd be more amenable to getting something for him via sign and trade. Because that's a win situation compared to what they were facing before.

Again, I don't think CP3 would leak any information for leverage. I don't think that's how the NBA works really. But the conspiracy theorists argument for leverage isn't illogical on it's face, just not applicable to NBA free agency and trades.