Ranking the top five franchises LeBron James and LeBron James Jr. should play for.
LeBron James is making his seventh consecutive NBA Finals appearance and his son, LeBron James Jr. is sonnin’ his peer group on the court.
quick reminder that LeBron James Jr. is also going to be an unbelievable basketball player pic.twitter.com/jLGb9vzMmq
— Jordan Zirm (@JordanZirm) May 25, 2017
That got me thinking about James Jr. (Bronny) in the NBA world as his basketball IQ seems like it could be best in his draft class when it’s all said and done. His understanding of the game at such a young age is special and one has to wonder if he breaks down any game film with his dad.
For his part, James has alluded to sticking around the NBA long enough to play with, or against his son.
Via Tom Withers of The Associated Press:
"“When I’m done,” he said. “I feel good.”Good enough for 10 more years?“Yeah,” he said, laughing. “That would give me a chance to play with my son or against my son.”"
James will be 39-years-old when his son comes into the league and should have a couple of decent seasons to play beside him.
King James Gospel looks at where these two might team up and where we’d like them to be.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
This would be like Jeffrey Jordan getting drafted by the Chicago Bulls while Michael Jordan still played for the Bulls.
Just imagine that for a second.
If the son of Cleveland’s prodigal son gets drafted by the franchise whose only championships and championship appearances came when they were led by James, he would arrive to so much fanfare any of these things could happen:
(1) Bronny plays well and is adored by fans.
(2) Bronny doesn’t play well and is adored by fans.
(3) Bronny doesn’t play well and isn’t adored by fans.
The only way fans would treat Bronny badly is if he was full of unfounded confidence and his arrogance was abrasive in nature.
This doesn’t get him out of his father’s shadow in any way, however. Which may be as important as any factor. His father will at least be Cleveland’s Jordan, even if the rest of the world doesn’t agree that he’s reached Jordan status.
4. Expansion franchise
No matter where the franchise is located, whether it’s Louisville, Seattle or Mexico City, watching LeBron James and his son build a team from the ground up will be fun. While James will be the most memorable player in Cleveland Cavaliers history, his son can be the most relevant player in the history of a budding franchise. Then, after James retires, he can be a part of the ownership group (if he doesn’t go ahead and buy Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s shares).
The last expansion team in the NBA was the Charlotte Bobcats, a team with a fair amount of talent at its inception. You could expect similar talent for this future team, a perennial playoff contender.
3. New York Knicks
If LeBron James and Bronny in the Big Apple, they’d be bigger than Broadway and would finally resurrect a struggling franchise that, located in the Mecca of basketball, has no business being so bad. It’s hard to project a middle-schooler to a NBA position but James Jr. has the look of a point guard and if Vince Carter can still play on the wing at 40-years-old, so can James. If Devin Booker or Karl Anthony-Towns joined the James Gang while in their basketball prime, there’s a chance that they’d be able to be more than just a Cinderella story in the playoffs.
In any case, both the Knicks and Wall Street would have something to cheer for.
2. Chicago Bulls
Playing for a franchise made famous by Michael Jordan would be an easy way for Bronny to come into the league with the expectations to be as good as Jordan. For his father, joining the Bulls will be interesting considering that by the time James’ son joins the league, James will likely have passed Jordan in every major statistical category and perhaps even in rings as well. Jordan and James’ names are intertwined like vines on one of their palatial estates but there may be a sense of resentment by their respective fan bases.
How the James – Jordan debate effects the perception and expectations of Bronny would be interesting no matter what but if the James Gang to their talents to the Windy City, it would be the biggest storyline in the NBA from Day 1.
1. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers, led by President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson, should never have an issue attracting top talent in free agency. Two players, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, might be on the team already and uniting the James Gang and the Big Baller Brand in Hollywood -under Magic no less- would be made for television. Especially with Ball’s father and James firing words at each other earlier this season.
With Ball, James and Bronny on the court all at once, there would be a lot of “Showtime”-esque passing and one of the highest collective basketball IQs a starting lineup can have.
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Where would you like to see LeBron James and his son play? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.