Cavs – Lakers game improved L.A.’s chance of signing LeBron

LeBron James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers is far from a longshot.

On Thursday night, as the championship-contending Cleveland Cavaliers took on the upstart Los Angeles Lakers, all eyes were trained on LeBron James and Lonzo Ball.

The first overall pick in the famed 2003 NBA Draft class and the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft class.

The three-time champion and the neophyte.

The King of the NBA and the Big Baller of Los Angeles.

Future teammates.

At least that’s the case if you were betting your money on James leaving the Cavs this offseason to lead the Lakers, his favorite team growing up, back to the Promised Land. It’s not out of the question and if Lakers president of basketball operations and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson could put a mini-Magic in Lonzo and a Magic-MJ mashup on LeBron on the same team, the league would swoon at the passing display this duo could put on.

James has donned the Cleveland Cavaliers’ wine and gold colorways for 11 seasons and counting, leaving for four seasons to rock the red and black of the Miami Heat while learning how to win championships by the Biscayne Bay. Despite the media and fan reaction to his first departure from Cleveland, this upcoming free agency has a different tone.

There’s still fear he could leave but there’s also acceptance if he goes. He’s the best player in the world and a state hero. The fans really don’t want him to go anywhere.

Yet, James brought Cleveland their first championship in 52 years and brought the Cavaliers their first championship in franchise history. Between that and the charitable work he does for local families through the LeBron James Family Foundation, the $41 million scholarship foundation he started for the University of Akron (located in his hometown), his new public school for at-risk kids and a myriad of other charitable contributions to the community he’s been as altruistic as superstar athletes can be and raised the bar for what it means to be a professional athlete both on and off-the-court.

He’s done so much that provides tangible help to the underprivileged people in American society he should be afforded, at the least, the opportunity to play for any franchise he likes (except the Golden State Warriors).

So, next season, James could very well don Lakers purple and gold and do so for the three years that follow. Four years is the maximum length of the max contract he can sign this summer and this summer only thanks to the NBA’s Over-38 rule.

You may have heard but not only can the Lakers sign James in the offseason but they’ll have enough cap space to sign James and another max player in the offseason (likely Paul George with the way the Oklahoma City Thunder’s new Big Three are struggling to gel).

The general consensus is that they plan to add James and Player X to a stable of young talent that includes Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram – the three young pieces that have displayed franchise cornerstone talent.

Ball is currently averaging 9.1 points, 7.2 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Kuzma is averaging 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range. Ingram is averaging 16.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from long-distance.

Kuzma is the oldest of the trio at 22-years-old after playing three seasons at the University of Utah. In his senior year of college, Kuzma averaged 16.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three-point range.

Ingram, the only non-rookie of the trio, is a second-year pro who averaged 17.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from three in his single season at Duke University (one season). Last season, Ingram averaged just 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range.

Ingram’s sophomore surge should give hope to those that want Ball’s efficiency to rise from the subpar numbers he’s been putting up early in his rookie season (33.2 percent from the field, 26.5 percent from three). As should Ball’s numbers from his lone season at UCLA, which painted him as an efficient scorer; he averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 55.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three.

Ball’s only real weakness right now is his scoring ability but as Ball physically adjusts to the speed, strength and athleticism of the NBA, his basketball IQ should allow him to return to being an efficient player as he picks apart defenses and picks his shots carefully.

Imagine adding George and James to that young group, two special athletes who can do everything needed on both sides of the court to win (shooting, finishing at the rim, rebounding, passing and defending multiple positions). Two players that can be the go-to scorers (and playmakers) while the rest of the team chips in wherever needed.

With Ball standing tall at 6-foot-6, the Lakers could switch 1-4 with ease as George, James, Ingram and Kuzma (their potential sixth man) are all 6-foot-9. Between the crafty Ivica Zubac and springy Larry Nance Jr. they also have a couple of young and interesting options to play center.

The team will do work and while James leads and teaches the Lakers how to win a championship, he’ll be surrounded by players and a head coach who want to play team ball (“the right way”).

James saw that much first-hand on Thursday as the Lakers presented a genuine challenge to the Cavs.

Ingram was the Lakers leading scorer and dropped 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 10-15 from the floor and 3-4 from three. Ball was the primary playmaker and had 13 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals while shooting 5-11 from the field and 3-8 from three. Kuzma was the top scorer on the bench with 20 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 8-16 from the field.

You add a guy who averages 27.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game for his career (James) and 18.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game for his career (George) and it’s blouses.

Trust me, the Lakers are far from a long-shot. If they were, James wouldn’t be touring private high schools in the Los Angeles area when they haven’t done that in Philadelphia, Houston or any other city.

Besides, how cool would it be for James and Kyrie Irving to restart the Los Angeles Lakers – Boston Celtics rivalry?

Related Story: LBJ was recruiting Paul George to Cavs

*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com and www.sports-reference.com