LeBron James opted out. That said, what does James opting out have to do with his pending free agency? Does it help the Cleveland Cavaliers?
After informing his agent Rich Paul, news broke that LeBron James will opt out, declining his $35.6 million player option for next season. James, due to the uncertainty of the Cavs management and NBA landscape, has chosen the “1+1” contracts, giving him a way out if he so desires.
This time around, James opting out strongly hurts Houston’s chances of landing the King. With so many bad contracts, Houston needed Cleveland to take a few off their books to retain Chris Paul while signing James. That said, the same thinking could be applied to LA.
According to Joe Vardon, “Sources suggested to cleveland.com that his interest in joining the iconic Los Angeles Lakers is strong.”
The Lakers need to find a way to shed themselves of Luol Deng’s contract. With the trade rumors looming large, the likelihood that the Spurs take on a contract like Deng’s isn’t likely.
At the end of the day, the Lakers will have to make the decision if trading away their future is worth one season. Both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard want to play in Los Angeles, and both could be free agents next season as well.
That said, LeBron James’ best option might be to take that “1+1” again. Give the NBA another year to sort this mess out before the ultimate tornado comes in 2019 as Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, and most likely LeBron James will hit the open market.
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There are numerous moving pieces in creating this superteam in LA, and before James makes his decision, it’s likely that’s he’ll wait for the other pieces to be in place.
What will that look like?
Well, the next several days could go many ways.
In my opinion, the Cavs need to proactive. They need to keep themselves as contenders for LeBron instead of just hoping that their LA superteam doesn’t work.
Assuming that doesn’t happen, George will be the first to make a move. His signing in LA would shift their attention to Kawhi. The Lakers have the assets, but it has to be more than Ingram and a future pick.
Throughout the next few days, reports will come out, and the landscape of the NBA will change. But, will anybody be able to catch Golden State?
Without Kawhi in LA, I’m not even convinced the Lakers would be better than the 2017-2018 Cavs let alone the 2017-2018 Rockets. Without the Big 3 in LA, they aren’t touching the Warriors.
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One more season, LeBron. Sign the 1+1, tell the management to make a move for a young, contracted star like McCollum and let’s make this happen. In the famous words of Collin Sexton, “Let’s do this.”