Marc Stein: Christopher Paul is already recruiting Lebron

Will it?

As it is, he could fall into the Dominique Wilkins and Adrien Dantley zone.

If he wins titles, even with LeBron, he will be more memorable.

Would Dwayne Wade been though of like he is, had he not played with James? How about Bosh? Would Green or Klay or even Curry get near the praise they get if they were not on title teams? Curry isn't the best player on the Warriors even.

What about Scottie Pippen? Would he be on television without having played with Jordan?

 

Wade got one championship as the FMVP for Miami. LeBron is a two time FMVP in Miami, he's done more and won more for Miami than Wade. Harden already has an MVP in Houston without LeBron. If they max out LeBron, Harden will have plenty of opportunity to be the main guy once LeBron's on the wrong side of his 30s. If Harden isn't capable of being the main guy by then, that's on him.

 

The Cavs roster can't really be improved much. They're stuck with so many huge contracts. At least the Rockets have only the Ryno albatross to discard. Cleveland has 4 of them! Over the next 2 years, Hill makes 37 mil, Thompson makes 36 mil, Smith makes 30 mil, and Clarkson makes 26 mil. And all of those are guaranteed deals. No player or team options. Love BTW is also signed for 50 mil over the next 2 years, but at least you could argue he's worth the money(when healthy). Basically the Cavs' only asset is that #8 pick. Maybe they could move that and one of their contracts(Tristan?) for a solid player, possibly even a borderline All-Star. Would that be enough to keep LeBron? I'm doubtful. Especially because that would essentially be it in terms of major roster moves. No one will want anything else they've got unless the Cleveland front office is prepared to throw in a bunch of their own future first rounders.

As far as the Rockets and their ISO offense, I don't see why it can't work with LeBron mixed in. CP3, Harden, and LeBron can all hit the outside shot. And LeBron adds the postup dimension to their offense they didn't have this season(aside from the occasional plays they did it with CP3). Plus if anyone can make this work, it's D'Antoni.

 

point being is wade legacy doesn't really get affected bc hes already got one without him. the comparison bw the two doesn't really have any bearing. while other accolades are always nice, at the end of the day its actually getting that championship trophy

 

Eh, maybe. He was the catalyst that built the Rockets to where they are, in that hypothetical scenario. That would have to count for something. But I do agree that this could be a spin for the media.

 

Good points on the Cavs roster situation.

Regarding the Rockets, I think the biggest adjustment overall if LeBron came over would be the willingness to play off the ball by both LeBron and Harden. Harden played off the ball some this year but only when he wanted a breather. The offense ran through him first as it should. He also needs to do a better job getting into the play when he’s off the ball. There were a handful of times I saw Harden not get the ball with CP3 taking the play to his side. Harden just stood there allowing his man to sag help on CP3. Maybe that was by design so he could cut or drift away further for an open 3. I’m just a bit concerned that LeBron and Harden will butt heads a lot on situations like that. Especially when they’re down or in high pressure situations. D’antoni might actually have to stagger LeBron and Harden instead of Harden and CP3. D’antoni is a player’s coach, but I’m always nervous for LeBron’s coach haha.

 

I kind of agree Hardens legacy will be hurt the most. He might be remembered much like Paul Pierce after they got KG and Ray Allen.

 

After the 76ers fiasco, I can't see Lebron going there. Plus, as has been mentioned, Boston is legit. There's no advantage to the East anymore. There is no way Lebron can join a non-Boston team and go toe to toe with the Celtics, unless maybe it's the Sixers. But the fit is weird. Simmons next to Lebron doesn't seem like a situation where the talent is going to be synergistic. What would they trot out - Embiid, Covington, Lebron, Saric, Simmons? It's a weird lineup with not enough shooting. It's certainly talented and you would have 4 bigs who can shoot and 4 who can handle the ball, but if Simmons doesn't have the ball in his hands, he becomes far less useful.

I think Houston makes the most sense if Morey can make it work - that requires dumping Anderson. Then, Philly. Then Cleveland, because of the loyalty narrative. Then, LA - because it's LA. Don't see any other realistic contenders.

 

yall really talking legacy? KD already threw that out of the window when he joined warriors. so **** the legacy and lets get some rings with lebron (I hate lebron as a player but respect the crap outta his game)

 

Also 3 of the best iso players.

And they are all physical players, GSW has problems when teams get physical with them.

T H I C C

 

James doesn't seem to care about that though. He was fine with a smaller role in OKC. I think he just wants to get paid and win.

 

The Rockets are the best basketball fit for LeBron. CP3 and Harden are better than Embiid and Simmons in the short term and unless Simmons develops a reliable jumpshot this summer, either he or LeBron have to play the role of spot up shooter when on the court together. It’s a waste of their skillsets. Paul George is a much better fit for Philadelphia than LeBron is.

 

So how do we fit LeBron under the triggered hard cap if CP3 and or Capela don't take big discounts?

 

Durant is such a pseudo tough guy. He has always been soft his whole career. I still remember reading that he could not do one rep of 225 pounds on the bench when he was coming out for the draft.

 

Huh? Paul pierce hardly took his team anywhere even though the eastern conference was trash. Harden has taken the Rockets by himself places Paul pierce never could. Was Paul pierce even involved in any mvp discussions at any point in his career??? Hardens been in 3.

Joke comparison.

 

Lane only stays open if Rockets can continue to be prolific 3 point shooting team. Lane also closed up in WC Finals when Clint on the floor.

Even with LeBron, Rockets identity still has to be 3ball or layup AND relentless switch D.

 

If we keep Tucker, I can see us running a death lineup of Paul/Harden/Ariza(?)/LeBron/Tucker.

Tucker and LeBron are capable of defending all 5 positions, and that's a lineup capable of switching anything on defense. Teams would have to go small to match up with us.

 

He’ll always have his legacy at Treasures. Long live the booty.

 

harden's legacy:

1) tremendously helped kd and wb to the finals. OKC never went to the finals again.
2) since he got here carried the rockets in the regular and post season farther than any superstar not named lebron
3) both times he has a top 20 player playing with him, they get to the wcfs
4) players mvp/mv runner up, mvp runner up/stolen mvp, expected mvp
5) this years playoffs 2nd only to lebron in terms of performance/heaviest burden to carry
6) got chris paul here.. hopefully get lebron thru cp3 here as well

7) can he win a chip being the most lethal offensive weapon on the court?

 

I didn't realize people downplayed Pierce that much? Even if Lebron comes and brings a lot of hype with him, I don't think narratives on Harden will change much, and after all Lebron would be coming to Harden's team, not Harden hunting for rings by signing elsewhere. All Harden has to do is play well and he'll get at least some respect, and it would be hard for him to tarnish his legacy as badly as Durant has (I wonder if Durant is looking at the Rockets now and realizes he could have won with them and stayed a hero instead of branding himself the eternal coward by signing with the Warriors?).

I was talking to some people a couple of days ago and the topic of the NBA came up and it came out that their relatives and neighbors down in Brazil practically worship Harden. So at least he's loved somewhere in the world...