LeBron James still has no clue what the immediate future holds, but that hasn’t stopped analysts/insiders from speculating about what the Los Angeles Lakers’ star forward’s offseason could consist of.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst’s Tuesday afternoon report regarding James’ potential landing spots bodes well for the Lakers and Golden State Warriors, but isn’t great news for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“If it doesn’t work out with the Lakers, I’d watch the Warriors,” Windhorst said.“I know that everybody loves the idea of LeBron in Cleveland, but Cleveland needs perimeter defense. It would be a great story.”
“He would definitely help them, but Cleveland needs interior toughness and perimeter defense, and LeBron can do some of that. Also, that would require LeBron to play for three million bucks.”
“If he wants to play for three million, he could do it, but until I hear from (James’ agent) Rich Paul that LeBron is ready to play for three million, I’m not going to believe it. But, I’d watch Golden State. He played with Steph Curry and Steve Kerr on the Olympic team. We know he’s close with Draymond Green. I still think it’s the Lakers. I say 51% Lakers, and then we’ll see.”
Although re-signing James doesn’t appear to be Los Angeles’ No. 1 priority (per a report from Lakers insider Jovan Buha), it’s still encouraging to know that Windhorst believes that James, who can still contribute to winning at the highest level despite his defensive limitations and age, is firmly in the mix for the four-time NBA champion.
In the Warriors’ case, it’s all about adding game-changing talent during the final chapter of Curry’s career, making the timing of James’ free agent status near perfect. Signing James would give the Warriors another prolific scorer who shines bright under pressure and has the championship pedigree the franchise desperately needs.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Windhorst's informative intel makes a storybook reunion with James slightly less likely (but not impossible). The idea of James going back home to finish his NBA career is easily the most enthralling of them all.
That said, the Warriors and Lakers appear to have a leg up on the 2016 NBA champions, which isn’t a positive development in early June.
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