The Cleveland Cavaliers have been frozen in time this summer, letting free agents walk without replacing them. James Harden is dangling in the wind. And it looks like the reason may be LeBron James - not the dad, but the "Jr."
Bronny James may have entered the league and joined the Los Angeles Lakers because of his dad, but he has fought hard to earn a roster spot. He is hardly deserving of being a starter for an NBA team, but he has shown enough flashes to hang around at the back end of a roster.
Yet it's also true that the Lakers keeping him around this year after his father leaves for another team would be somewhat awkward. It is very likely that wherever LeBron James signs, Bronny will soon follow via a trade.
Teams have to trade for Bronny James
On the one hand, such a trade should be relatively easy to execute. Bronny fits into the minimum salary trade exception, so any team with a roster spot can take him in. The receiving team can send back a nominal asset like draft rights or a protected second-round pick and call it a day.
The potential hiccup, however, is that the Lakers are currently balancing a multitude of plates, trying to get the math to work on their free agent signings. They are working hard to shave a few hundred thousand dollars off their payroll to make it all click into place. They cannot take back a player in the Bronny James trade.
A receiving team, therefore, must have an open roster spot and room under any hard caps to bring in Bronny. The Cavaliers are concerned with team salary themselves as they try to come down out of the second tax apron, and they are trying to fit in the Jameses this summer: Harden and LeBron. Things will be tight.
The Cavaliers are waiting for Bronny
That reality is why Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported Saturday that the Cavaliers have delayed free agent signings -- whether bringing back free agent players like Harden or adding new players -- until they know where LeBron is planning to sign -- not only to have space for LeBron the elder, but to trade for LeBron the younger.
Momentum is certainly building for James to return home to Cleveland one last time, to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference and give him the storybook ending that he desires -- and which his film crew will document. If that happens, then the Cavaliers will pivot to trading for Bronny James as well.
That is how, nearly a week into free agency, a 13th man on a minimum contract who averaged 2.9 points per game last season is holding up the signing of a former MVP in James Harden. Bronny coming with his dad is viewed as a package deal, and it will take some doing for a team like the Cavaliers to make room for that package.
The fact that they are, however, signals they believe a homecoming is on the table. LeBron James, his son Bronny, on their hometown team for one last season together. You can't make this stuff up.
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