One more thing to add: CP3 + Harden + Melo + improved Capela + depth (Gordon, Ariza, Tucker, Nene) does not guarantee a championship with GSW still out there. My guess is Morey leaves the door cracked for Lebron. Lebron makes you the favorite, and no single role player we could sign right now is worth giving up on even a small chance at LeBron.
I doubt we would even offer picks....or be able to. Cleveland takes a hit anyway if he leaves in the offseason. This trade actually keeps them in the playoff picture....probably top 4 with Boston, Washington and Miami (Toronto isn't going to be good). Some teams are OK with not winning it all....the playoffs are the priority. Cleveland probably doesn't want a rebuild after Lebron leaves. Again...im not saying this is likely or even probable. What I do believe is: 1) Wade will get a buyout and will probably look at Houston or Cleveland. 2) Morey is smart. 3) It's possible.
It would take a sign and trade to clear out space because we cant get under the cap with harden, melo, and cp3 cap hit and holds
One thing to keep in mind about Lebron is that he has a no-trade clause like Melo. If disfunction returns to Cleveland and Lebron says he's not resigning, then he could also say exactly where he wants to go, just like Melo has done. This leads to a team trading a superstar for crap, because sometimes crap is better than nothing.
I think with current roster, if we didn't make WCF and make GSW sweat we have little chance landing Lebron. Let's worry about next season first
I'm assuming lebron would come as a SnT like miami did when they acquired him. no way clevland would knock back a deal with a couple 1sts and a capable player whose an asset
Great thread, OP. Also good input here from @finsraider and @justtxyank. Very timely and appropriate. Because Morey is definitely thinking about this possibility and trying to stage for it properly with the Melo trade. That's why the Melo trade is taking so long and likely won't actually be completed for a couple months. Although agreements could be secured over next few days. Just a few points for your consideration. 1. Banana boat is as real as it gets. These guys want to play together. Lebron and Paul are as tight as any twosome in the league. 2. These guys are all mega-rich. They want to win. Winning is their legacy and will yield them more lifetime wealth than an extra few million dollars in salary right now. 3. These guys are all at the age when they've got to make it happen. Paul and Melo especially. They have no rings. 4. To win rings they know they've got to come together because the Warrior juggernaut is too great. They've got to get four or five of them together to punch out the dubs. And they know that. 5. Durant set a new trend. He joined a fantastic team. And now he's giving up the dough to keep it together. Lebron started the three superstar thing. Durant took it to the next level with four superstars and making monetary sacrifices. These guys know they've got to take it to the next level. Either four better players than the Dubs four with an equivalent or better bench. Or possibly even five great players. 6. These guys are basketball geniuses. Lebron and CP3 are two of the greatest minds to ever lace them up. They can see the landscape and determine where their best chance lies for success. Paul is already here. He chose Harden and us. That speaks volumes. Simmons is talking about Wall, LeBron, DeMarcus, and George meeting up with the Lakers next summer. Possible? Sure. But if you were Lebron would you take Wall, George, and DeMarcus over Harden, Paul, and Melo? ============================== Will it happen this season? It would be very difficult to get it done during the season. But after the season is over..possible. Or next season? Very possible. And Lebron can force it with his opt out. He may not be able to force a trade. But if he wants us he could flat out sign with us. Harden is signed and sealed. We will have birds rights on cp3 and Melo. All three guys (Lebron, Paul, and Melo) could sign 1+1 deals. You give Lebron his big salary (whatever he works out with cp3 and Melo), Cp3Melo take a one year paycut (costly for one season), then they re-sign max deals in 2019 (with the projected much higher cap). That's the under the cap play for next summer if LeBron cannot get the Cavs to trade him after the season. What that means is Morey has to keep good assets on the shelf that he can unload after the season without taking back salary. That's why its critical that we don't have any crap contracts coming back with Melo. Gotta be able to clear the cap so these guys can team up. That's worst case scenario. Under the cap. The next worse case scenario is sign-and-trade in the summer of 18 because it imposes the hard cap for 18-19. Although if melo and cp3 took substantial one year paycuts we could conceivably build out around the big 4. The best case would be a pure trade with LeBron opting in to his last season ala CP3. That would free us of a hard cap restriction going into the 2018-19 season. However, getting a trade done before the moratorium next summer would be very difficult because we are hard capped until July 1. As was shown it's theoretically possible. But very difficult. The best optimal case would be for LeBron to opt in and then be traded after the moratorium. We would be free of the hard cap in making the trade and would have a lot more options available to us to execute the trade and acquire other pieces. But.....to do that would require a trust factor between LeBron and Gilbert that I don't think is there. Not unless the deal was agreed to and announced prior to the moratorium and even then Gilbert could backpedal after the moratorium. However that would ruin Gilbert with the players and doom the cavs as long as he owned the team. Bottom line with all this is if LeBron wants to come here it will get done, somehow, someway, because he'd be coming here to play with the other three. They'd make the sacrifices contractually to get it done, even if it was a snt that hard-capped us next summer. We're going to get a fourth guy. Eventually. Could be LeBron. Could be somebody else. If it's not LeBron....Lebron could still come here. Morey gonna keep moving the chains. Touchdown.
Right, it's certainly possible if guys are willing to take pay cuts. That's the ONLY way though aside from he fantasy of a Cleveland mid season trade. I have no idea whether or not guys will do that so I won't say it's impossible or not, but that's the only way. Paul and Melo would need to re-sign for smaller dealers (1+1) like you suggested using bird rights. Much smaller deals depending on what Lebron would want to sign for. But you nailed it. If they are determined to make it happen at any cost, they can make it happen. But the players have to decide it's what they want because it will require significant sacrifice on THEIR part.
That's the first thing I thought when Harden signed his extension last weekend. Reeked of Harden suspecting a banana boat plan and going to management to find out where he fits into that plan. Doubtful cap would allow Lebron, Harden, Paul, Anthony combo.
