Marc Stein: Christopher Paul is already recruiting Lebron

Interesting

 

But bye Clint. Take Ryno with you.

 

It's a no brainer...if Lebron wants to win more championships he's going to sign with the Rockets! Rockets are the ONLY team that can beat the Warriors!!

 

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/20...20101104_1_lebron-james-chris-paul-friendship

Chris Paul is LeBron son's Godfather.

Time to secure the bag

 

He made up his mind already......S H I T

 

Only problem is we haven’t secured cp3

 

CP3 coming back no question.

Reports already coming out that he and Harden working together for next season

 

Was so disinterested that I did not know till now that they are the Champions yet again.

 

I think the easiest decisions would be staying or sabbatical.

I am messing, Houston is an obvious choice.

33 yr of age - kids going to high school. Dang.

 

Main thing might be that Lebron is confident that he, with just a couple other pieces, will be a title challenger anywhere. Ppl keep saying Lakers are bad and ia gree ,and i really don't see him going there. But I don't think that their roster would be why he doesn't go. If magic land lebron, theyll certainly land someone else as well. That's the issue here and why Sixers/Rockets fans should be worried about LA.

I just don't want him to go to Spurs which i think is on the table.

CP’s injury free and working out already ?

 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23303509/lebron-james-hit-free-agency-again-anything-possible-nba

[...]

With the Cleveland Cavaliers losing in the Finals for the second straight year, the choices and options in front of him are complex. Put more simply, James might not see any option he truly likes at this point.

Despite whatever assumptions exist, for months James and those closest to him have made it clear no decision about the future has been made or the choices even fully vetted. There's no well-formulated plan ready to be executed.

There are a few issues James will have to work through and probably prioritize. And perhaps he'll have to make some tough compromises.

But something that should be understood when it comes to James this summer: anything is possible. Repeat: anything. Making assumptions on things he's said in the past, feelings he's had in the past, bad blood, rivalries, weather, anything from the past could be a mistake. James believes he's got a blank check to do what he wants and perhaps the only thing that's clear about this free agency is that he's not afraid to use it.

FAMILY CONSIDERATIONS

James' oldest son, Bronny, is 13. His younger son, Bryce, will turn 11 next week. They will be able to voice their feelings on the decision this time. They have spent time in Miami and Akron and even Los Angeles in the summers. Bronny is a standout basketball player who has a chance at an NBA future, and his development and comfort through his teen years, of course, is important.

James' wife, Savannah, was already a driving force in 2014 when James came home to Akron. James loves watching his sons play basketball.

It's hard to see him being apart from his family, which includes 3-year-old daughter Zhuri, at this stage of his life. In 2010, he left Savannah and his young sons in Ohio when he first moved to Miami. Now, where they want to live is a deeper factor.

THE CASE FOR CLEVELAND

[...]

But there remains little to no trust between James and owner Dan Gilbert and a limited relationship with general manager Koby Altman, who is less than two years older than James.

[...]

OPT IN, ARRANGE A TRADE

[...]

Never becoming a free agent and instead getting traded would be beneficial to James because the no-trade clause in his contract would carry over to his new team, which would also inherit his full rights. Then he could sign an extension of up to four years with his new team six months after a trade, creating a five-year commitment for more than $200 million if he wanted it.

For the Cavs, this would open the door to getting a return for James and helping them start a rebuild instead of losing him for nothing. For James, though, this would mean he'd have to vocalize that he wanted to be traded away from Cleveland.

This route is what James' close friend Chris Paul did with the LA Clippers last summer. Like Paul, James would choose the team he'd get traded to and be able to approve of the players changing hands. It's not unlike a sign-and-trade concept that the Cavs used to trade James to Miami in 2010 but has fewer restrictions. In short, it's a complicated but legitimate path, especially because it opens the door for James to go to a team that doesn't have the needed $30 million-plus in cap space to sign him outright.

For example, the 76ers have significant cap space this summer but not enough to sign James outright to the max. It's possible that if James wanted it and the Cavs found a deal, the 76ers could trade for James and still retain the ability to sign their own free agents like JJ Redick and Amir Johnson, plus have exceptions available to add more talent.

The rules don't allow teams to talk to James before July 1, after his option pickup date. So to execute this type of deal, they'd need a player to recruit him -- which isn't against the rules. James Harden helped lead the Houston Rockets' effort to land Paul last year.

James could also pick up the option and stay with the Cavs for another season and push back locking in his future for a year. At age 33, with the chance for the biggest contract of his career, that would not seem probable. But like these other options, it remains a possibility. It's James' option; the Cavs wouldn't have a say in the matter.

THE UNRESTRICTED ROUTE

[...]

Things change rapidly in the NBA, though. Teams that don't have cap room today could create some if they needed it or felt they could get James. The books are tighter this summer; there isn't as much overall space as there has been in the past three offseasons. That means the cost of offloading contracts will be more expensive and harder than in seasons past.

There are still doors, and that brings other teams into play that might have elaborate plans to acquire James. The Rockets are at the head of this list. It would be a challenge for them to re-sign free agents Paul and Clint Capela and find a way to add James. But it's not impossible, and general manager Daryl Morey is known for his scheming.

Pile it all together and what James has is a lot of scenarios, many of them messy. Right now, there's not a sure bet in the bunch. There's a lot on the line; much of the league will revolve around what he does. It's going to take time, it's going to take thought and it might be unpleasant.

Welcome to another LeBron James free agency.​

 

Does Houston have notable high school basketball programs? I wonder if that will hurt us.

 

Based on the 5,797 times he's mentioned how stacked GS is over the last two years, I think he knows he needs an extreme amount of support to beat them. The question will be is beating them the top priority, or other stuff?

 

I believe Houston has great aau programs. Been a hotbed for a while.

 

Lol Houston, TX has everything

 

Not sure about High Schools, but the NBA seems to have a lot of players from the Houston area. DJ, Okafor, GG, Jimmy Butler (Tomball). Sure there are more that I do not know.

 

One of his sons actually plays for a Houston AAU team if I’m not mistaken

Sorry but the Lakers just don’t scare me. He’s not coming West to be under Gs and Hou

 

Yea. Bronny. I remember them talking about CP3 going to his game.

 

I don’t think blue chips is based out of Houston, but they travel all over the country so the home base doesn’t really matter. Houston Hoops AAU team is number 12 in the country right now barely ahead of brad beals team.

And bronny is a monster.. his team now has been killing really good teams. Wades Son is nasty as well