Not sure why there should be problems for Lebron here, he literally said few weeks ago that he wants to play more off ball going forward, probably less minutes too. That makes the Rockets a perfect fit for him. I don't know if Harden wants him here, but Chris does, he wants to win.
I don't want to believe Harden would be against Lebron here...he's going to win the MVP this season, he got already paid...winning the chip is the only thing that should matter for him at this point. I trust Harden to be smart enough to understand this and make it work, he's not dumb as Melo and Westbrook, they will work on the court.
I'd love that too, but it's hard to defeat not only the Warriors, but the league front office as well. LeBron is not only the best player in the world, but he's also insurance against the BS officiating that will undoubtedly come the Rockets' way if/when they run into Golden State next postseason. Silver and the NBA want the Warriors in the Finals......but they also want LeBron there. So the favoritism evens out and we may actually have a fairly officiated series which is all a fan could ask for. Also, the added bonus of signing LeBron is that it would ruin the NBA even worse than Durant bolting to the Warriors did. The entire Eastern Conference would be rendered meaningless. And only 2 teams in the West would have any shot at winning the title. The entire regular season and 3 out of 4 rounds of the playoffs would be a formality. At least back in 2017, there was LeBron in the East to keep that conference relevant and the tiniest bit of suspense that maybe the Spurs could give the Warriors a run for their money in the West.
I see some discussion here on the “hows” regarding getting one LeBron James. I put together 3 scenarios: - clearing cap space - above the cap and matching Capela - above the cap and letting Capela walk It’s based off what I understand about the CBA. Would love input from others with CBA knowledge to refine it so we all know and are educated on exactly what’s possible or not. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...on-recruiting-cap-magic.291285/#post-11797801
the only reason why this team needs lebron is to get the benefit of officials. this team was good enough to beat GS but they needed a boost from the outside. 4 all stars/all nba players, 2 mvps couldnt get it done on their own.
From what I've read, the Rockets would obviously have to move Ryno's contract and probably EG's as well. Not sure if they'd let Ariza walk or sign and trade him for someone else(Gordon would have to be replaced). But Ryno and EG's salaries pretty much add up to LeBron's current deal if he opts in(like CP3 did last summer). And obviously the Rockets would have to match Capela's offer sheet. No way you let him walk. Put it this way. If LeBron wants to be here, Morey will find a way to make it happen. It may cost us EG which will hurt, but Ariza and Ryno won't be missed.
Losing Ryno and Ego are given. What it’ll require to keep Capela is CP3 taking a cut and signing a bunch of vet min players. Ariza maybe for the TPMLE. It’s different this time around than last year because LBJ’s optin salary is so much bigger, Capelas offer sheet and we’d be hard capped again making it difficult to fill out the roster. But it’s doable if CP3 takes a cut. Or LBJ just signs for the TPMLE and everything would be solved
Considering that a good amount of our key players are on the wrong side of 30, getting LeBron or another top 5-10 player is the only way I see us beating the Warriors in the next few years. We had some things go right for us at the end of games 4 and 5 which gave us a 3-2 lead in the series, and I think we would have won had CP3 not been injured. But CP3, Ariza, Tucker, Gordon are all probably gonna be a little worse next year due to age decline. Anderson and Nene look done. There's no guarantee that we'll get back to this point. It would be a mistake for us to not make any changes and just hope for better injury luck. Maybe it would be enough but it doesn't seem likely to me.
I could see CP3 taking a cut in pay(albeit a slight one) if it means getting LeBron. I doubt he'd do it for anyone else, but those two are very tight and I don't think Paul would prevent LeBron from becoming a Rocket and all but guaranteeing him a ring just so he could earn a few extra mil a season.
The truth is that LBJ to Rox is just as bad as KD to Worriers as you go from a one team league to two team league in a league of thirty teams. But not sure Rox or any other team has a choice. KD's move to record breaking 73 dynasty (and some injuries) facked it all up as you potentially went from a list of 7-8 decent contenders in GSW, SAS, OKC, HOU, CLE, BOS, TOR, down to just ONE.
