LBJ is not going to Philly because he cannot win in Philly. Simmons can't shoot and they won't be able to keep Reddick and sign LBJ. CP3 and Wade have a tighter relationship with LBJ than Griffin ever could. Griffin doesn't move the needle on LBJ one bit. Philly got Simmons and Embiid but they busted The Process. Hinkie last year would have drafted Tatum and kept the pick that went to Boston. He also wouldn't have made some of the other dumb shortsighted moves the NBA, I mean Colangelo, made. LBJ loves Bledsoe but you don't see him targeting Milwaukee. Ultimately, LBJ is getting his money no matter what so this is 100% about beating the Warriors. LA can't do that either and he is leaving Cleveland because they failed. Griffin is just another BS personality that people liked and went to ESPN like Fizdale to rebuild his image for his next job. Griffin is just a name and not all that special until he met LBJ. Cle got gifted the #1 pick 3 years in a row with Irving, Bennett, and Wiggins with Thompson and Waiters thrown in there. I'm not impressed. When LBJ came over they essentially wasted 10 #1 picks in trades of which only KLove remains. Go look it up.
This might sound stupid but can someone elaborate on the ranking and how are we clear the favorite to land Lebron, like what are those numbers represent ???
First off, I don’t necessarily disagree with you. I still think if LeBron wants to win Houston would be a good spot for him if he decides to move on from the Cavs. Honestly I am remaining pessimistic just because we have no idea what can or could happen. But I think you may be underestimating Griffin (who is employed by Turner Sports, not ESPN btw). - Yes Wade may have better influence on LeBron but the Heat are in a horrible cap hole. I don’t disagree with you on CP3 (which is why I’m not taking Houston off the table at all) - The Sixers ownership has now shown with the hiring/firing of Colangelo they are already willing to break whatever “process” was going. Why would they be unwilling to throw away assets if they thought they could get LeBron on a short term loan? - It’s not like the Sixers were eliminated the first round of the playoffs this season. Embiid and Simmons now have a full season together and multiple rounds of playoff experience that’s actually worth a bit. - I agree that Griffin does not have a perfect record, but he has been willing and able to completely churn a roster to make it approachable for LeBron. And let’s be honest: Thompson has been flaky but was very impactful during the 2016 NBA Finals win for the Cavs; Wiggins has shown some upside but has had a bad basketball IQ (and was traded because of LeBron); the Bennett draft has not turned out well for most teams; and Irving would be in Cleveland if he did not fall out with LeBron last summer. Like I said, it’s just a scenario that could occur. I’m not rooting for LeBron to go to the Sixers, it would be annoying. But to say that Griffin wouldn’t move the needle may be naive. Do I think it’s earth shaking? Not completely. But when a team has moveable assets in a conference LeBron has dominated for 7 years straight you have to keep an eye on it.
If you bet $100 on each team on that list you would win that amount listed per team. Houston at $140win/$100bet is the most likely so given the least return. Cleveland / 76ers / Lakers would all net you $350/$100bet The others on the list are self explanatory 12/1 = $1200 , much longer odds
I saw Jordan for pretty much his whole career and I think that LeBron James is better. It’ll really be something unbelievable if we add the best player of all time to a, mostly intact, 65 win team. I’ll celebrate if he comes to the Rockets.
I didn't mention Wade as an influence to the Heat just that person has more sway with LeBron than a GM. The Heat are not even in the discussion and you brought up Wade. Sixers ownership lacks direction which was my point with Colangelo. They bailed on Hinkie and it was his plan that worked and the horrible trades after show the effect of Colangelo so currently you have a failed front office with a scandal and no leadership. You don't fix that in a couple of weeks. Simmons, Embiid, and co are not ready and don't have the weapons and LBJ isn't patient or has the time. Cle, Phi, and LA cannot win and have no shot. LA will be used though and even Philly. Griffin first appeared on ESPN. He has often been on The Jump but that is beside the point, it is the same reason. Being able to churn a roster because LBJ tells you to doesn't give you value. I mistakenly gave him credit for Kyrie but he arrived after so literally he had no draft success. Griffin may be gone but the seedings for these things happened under him. He also traded a way a ton of picks including 2 for Mozgov. I counted it up one time and it was like 10 1st picks worth of players and all you have to show for it is KLove. That to me is a pattern of failure and like everyone he rode LBJ's coattails. Literally what did he do? He had Kyrie, Thompson, LBJ was a gift and brought KLove. What would he do with Philly's stock of assets created by Hinkie? He hired David Blatt and then Tyronne Lue. Don't you think better judgment in picking a coach may have reduced the drama and issues that have occurred over 4 years? How else am I supposed to judge a GM? Woj: Players don't pick organizations on a GM.
Water is wet ?! If Lebron opts Out the Rockets have no cap space with which to get him and S&T options would be extremely limited with the tax apron being their spending limit , nearly impossible under those circumstances. If Lebron opts in , Rockets have to be a frontrunner ...
Yep. Just 3 weeks and we'll have a better idea even if we don't have an actual answer. This applies to a few players we're talking about , not just LBJ. PG13 and DJ also have options - if DJ Opts in we can stop talking about him because we aren't going to trade for his $24.m contract. But with LBJ and PG13 we want an opt in as trade is the only real option. Reckoning day - June 29th 2018.
We will probably have to know before then. We will have to have a deal in place around then. Lebron if he wants to leave isnt going to want to opt in until a deal is made. So we might know before the deadline.
June 26 is my date prediction. I think it'll really "heat up" around the weekend of 23 and 24, finalized on 25th then announced on the 26th.
