King James: Chase rings, Promote Brand or Go with his Heart?

The biggest topic of the NBA offseason is going to be none other than the best basketball player in the world right now, Lebron James. There is speculation in almost every single direction. I'm going to lay out what he could do and what I fully believe he will do. 

The first possible destination would be the 76ers:

They have arguably the best young talent assembled. You start off with Ben Simmons. Though this was his first season playing in the NBA (he lost a season due to injury), he was phenomenal. Him and Mitchell for the Jazz were arguably the best rookies in the league. Along with Simmons is Joel Embiid. For the first time in his career, he stayed healthy for the majority of the season. And when healthy, he showed why he was the #1 overall pick. He has a post game. He has a clean jump shot. He can rebound and block shots with efficiency. And he can shoot threes! Unreal for a guy his size. 

We cannot forget SG Robert Covington and SF/PF Dario Saric as an immensely talented nucleus. They will most likely lose sharpshooter J.J. Redick in free agency, but nonetheless the majority of the team will still be intact. 

The next team he could join would be the Boston Celtics:

Like the 76ers, the young talent on this team is unreal. You start with Lebron's former teammate Kyrie Irving. Before getting hurt this season, he led the Celtics to the #1 seed in the conference. After he got hurt, they fell to the #2 seed in the conference, losing the top seed out to the Raptors. Joining Irving is Jayson Tatum, who also had an outstanding rookie season and Jaylen Brown, who showed he could handle the load of playing more this season. Their bench is outstanding as well, led by PG Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. Lest we forget their rock, Center Al Horford and free agency signee from last year, All-Star Gordon Hayward. 

The next team we have is the L.A. Lakers:

This could be one of the darkhorses in the race to get James. They have the cap room. They have a few young players that could become good with the right leadership, starting with PG Lonzo Ball and SF Brandon Ingram. They could feasibly sign not only Lebron, but another top-end player with the cap room they have (maybe Paul George?). Lebron is known to have property in the Los Angeles area and his family is said to be quite fond of the LA scene. If team President Magic Johnson can work his magic (pun intended) and convince King James to join the Lakers, it could be showtime again for the purple and gold. 

The next team that has been rumored for James' services is the Houston Rockets:

It is no secret that James has always wanted to play with one of his best friends, Chris Paul. Paul just so happens to play for the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were within one game of reaching the NBA Finals this season, but came up short after Chris Paul injured his hamstring in game 5. The Rockets would definitely be one of the teams to beat if James were to join up with Paul and James Harden in Houston, but they would have to significantly deplete their bench in order to have the cap room to sign James. While a three headed monster of James, Harden and Paul would look pretty nice, I highly doubt this one will happen. 

The last destination that has been rumored for James is his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers:

Cleveland is James's home. He grew up in Ohio. Went to High School in Ohio. He was drafted by the Cavs. Even though he couldn't win a Championship with the Cavs in the beginning of his career and left for the Miami Heat in order to secure two championships, he still came back to the hometown team. It was there, in 2015 - 2016, that he achieved his goal of bringing a championship to the state of Ohio and the fans in Cleveland. The only possible problem with James staying is the cap situation and the lack of talent surrounding him. Even though James was able to lead the Cavs to a Finals appearance this season, they should not have been in it. They lack depth, shooters and a guy James can lean on if his game is not 100% on a particular night. They also do not have the cap room to sign any pending free agents, so unless they were able to swing an unbelievably one-sided trade to bring a superstar in, it is likely they will have the same players around next season. 

Even though it is rumored that it is a five team race for Lebron, I fully believe it is only two. I do believe that James wants to win more championships. However, I think after the season he just had; the ups and downs and exhaustion after playing every game in the regular and postseasons, I feel it will be either the Cavs or the Lakers. The Cavs are the home team. The Lakers present opportunity for him and his family to create a brand and life after basketball. While it is hard for me to envision James leaving the Cavs again, I do fully expect to see him on the west coast next year, repping the purple and gold, the new version of the showtime Lakers. 

What do you guys think will happen with Lebron? Let me know!

Thanks for reading and Happy Steeming!

One love,

@jgullinese