Another NBA season has concluded,
which means it has come time for a league wide reshuffle. Teams who fell short
of their goals will attempt to buy, sell and draft their way back into the
playoffs. Contenders will try and do whatever it takes to add that one extra
piece they felt they were missing in their last campaign. Free agents will
waltz around the league listening to multi-million dollar offers left and right
until they feel they found their new, or same place in the league. This summer
of free agency is sure to not disappoint, with LeBron James and Paul George
yielding most of the attention. Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio after a
disastrous season filled with mismanagement, harsh words and disappointment.
All three big name players have the
opportunity to completely shake up the league. Their superstar skill levels
have the opportunities to fill in the missing piece for a contender, or send a
team on the cusp to the next level. No player has that ability more than LeBron
James, the biggest name on the market come July 1st.
A LeBron James free agency brings along all
the media attention the sports world can conjure up. Experts and former players
argue on television and radio about what they think is the spot LeBron will
land. The latest criticism comes from a former teammate of James, Shaquille
O’Neal, who gave LBJ advice based on his own career to not go chasing rings.
Towards the end of Shaq’s career, he began a tour around the NBA to find more
championships, stopping off in Boston, Cleveland and Phoenix, all unsuccessful
attempts. The former Laker’s star center told LeBron his book is already
finished, and adding pages to the index isn’t what he needs.
Clearly
Shaq didn’t compare his career to LeBron’s before making that claim. In Shaw’s
15th season, he averaged 28.4 minutes, 17.3 points and 7.4 rebounds
per game, in 40 games played. Comparatively, LeBron averaged 36.9 minutes, 27.5
points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists, in all 82 games. While Shaq put up commendable
numbers for a 15th year player, he can’t compare himself to a man
who is putting up higher numbers than he did in his prime. LeBron is not in a
“championship chasing” situation. He has the ability to elevate a team to the
next level. Teams shopping for LeBron in free agency are the ones championship
chasing. LeBron is not at the end of his rope, and his statistics and
physicality suggest it. LeBron averaged over 40 minutes per game in the
playoffs, sometimes coming off the floor for a minute or two every game.
James, if he chooses to leave
Cleveland, would be an invaluable asset to any team around the league. Most of
the rumors so far center around James landing in Los Angeles, based off the
news that his son, LeBron James Jr, enrolled in private high school in LA.
While this is can be considered a hint to where LeBron will land, no one should
consider this a done deal. James has plenty of meetings set up this summer all
over the league, and it still remains a question as to where he will land. If
his goal is to “chase” rings and surpass Michael Jordan as the greatest
basketball player of all time, staying in Cleveland is not the choice, unless
they add a big name free agent or trade piece. While Los Angeles seems like the
top choice as of now, take a look at the team they have. Even without a trade
for Kawhi Leonard, this team is in shambles. Lonzo Ball did not develop into
the rookie of the year candidate he was built up to be, and the team lacks a
true star outside of their young guns, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball. Their
finances are riddled with awful contracts that would be difficult to offload.
If I was a general manager of an NBA team, I’m not actively seeking to pay Luol
Deng just over $17 million/year for the next three years. Brook Lopez,
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Julius Randle and Isaiah Thomas are all free agents,
with questions surrounding who gets signed.
Let’s say Magic Johnson pulls out
all the stops and can land LeBron. It is common understanding that they will
land another big name, and if LeBron signs does Paul George follow, or vice
versa? Even with LeBron and PG, there is no way this Laker team is deep enough
to make a run, especially in the incredibly competitive Western Conference. LeBron’s
quest to take down the Warriors does not pass through Los Angeles where the team
is arguably worse than the team he is leaving, and seeing the warriors earlier
in the post season doesn’t bode well for the king.
“Well what if the Lakers get Kawhi
in a trade?” People who believe Kawhi will go to Los Angeles really need to
think about what they’re saying. First of all, Los Angeles would have to lose
their best young talent, Kyle Kuzma, and the up and coming Brandon Ingram AT
THE MINIMUM. On top of those players, another piece would more than likely need
to be moved, along with a plethora of draft picks. So sure, they get Kawhi too.
They’re looking at a possible starting lineup of Lonzo Ball, Paul George, Kawhi
Leonard, LeBron James and a center TBD. What’s left after that is basically the
equivalent of a high school varsity team. There is no talent in LA, and
bringing in three superstars on huge contracts, as well as dishing out the
majority of their current talent is not the route to go for the Larry O’Brien
trophy. Second, and more importantly, why would Popovich and the Spurs send
their best player to a conference rival? When Paul George wanted out of
Indiana, Larry Bird very smartly sent him to Oklahoma City, an out of
conference team. Gregg Popovich is one of the greatest coaches of all time, and
he is not stupid enough to send Kawhi to a rival. When Carmelo wanted out of
New York and wanted to end up in Houston, the Knicks sent him to Oklahoma City.
It is clear that in this league, players who want out of their current team
before their contract is up don’t always get what they want. More on Kawhi
later.
So now that LA is basically ruled
out, where else can James go? Some people think Boston, but that would cause
overcrowding in minutes and ball distribution, possibly causing Boston some
team chemistry. What I don’t get about Celtics fans crying for LeBron to come
is are they not satisfied? With arguably their two best players out for the
playoffs with injuries, the young Celtics team took LeBron and the Cavs to a
Game seven. Once they add Kyrie and Gordon Hayward back into the lineup, they
could really make a run in June. I’m a firm believer of the saying “If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it.” Boston played unbelievably without Irving and Hayward, so
imagine what potential they have if the entire team is healthy. Sure, it may
mean Rozier and Tatum experience serious minute reduction, but a team where
Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier need to come off the bench sounds like a
contending team to me.
The place for LeBron has to be
Philadelphia. I truly believe the sixers are one piece away from really making
noise in the league, and LeBron could be that piece. He has publically said he
likes Philly, and that team has the most upside. Simmons, James and Embiid
sounds like a great big three to lead a team. Allowing Simmons and Embiid to
learn the game from LeBron only improves their chances of winning year after
year, including if and when LeBron retires and the team sticks together. LeBron
should play the small forward position, with Simmons or Fultz running point,
Reddick at the two if he re-signs, then Dario Saric and Joel Embiid in the
front court. I see that team demolishing the Eastern Conference and shocking
the Warriors to win the Finals.
Now that leaves Paul George to sign
somewhere. After the Oklahoma City Thunder were embarrassingly eliminated by
the Utah Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, everyone
and their mother wrote PG13 out of Oklahoma City and directly to Los Angeles. George
has expressed interest in playing for LA since his days as a Pacer, hoping to
either get traded there or jump on the bandwagon during free agency. George’s
first free agency will be an interesting one, however I believe he should stay
put. Since I see very little practicality in LeBron landing in Los Angeles,
I’ll use the same reasoning for Paul. Why go? The team is garbage, and George,
as much as he wants to play for the hometown team, would be stupid to go there.
He needs to stay in Oklahoma City. Sure, his first year didn’t go as well as it
could have. But leaving Russell Westbrook after just one season is idiotic.
George has said the Thunder had problems jelling together as a team, and their
timing and chemistry was off for a long time, which anyone who watched the
Thunder at some point this season would agree with.
If I’m Paul George, I’m giving time
with Russ a second chance. He has said he liked how Oklahoma City operates as a
franchise. He developed a chemistry with Andre Roberson, who got injured after
win six of a win streak for Oklahoma City. A thunder blog hints that George
wants to run it back in OKC with a healthy Roberson, who is considered to be a
draw to stay of sorts for George.
So, LeBron to Philly and George
stays in Oklahoma City. Now what about Kawhi? What NBA fans need to remember is
that Leonard is under contract with the Spurs for another season, and despite
all his demands to be traded, he could be suiting up in the black and silver
come October. As I mentioned before, Popp would be stupid to send him to LA, or
any Western Conference team for that matter. Where can he land? While it’s
unlikely the Spurs play a role in creating a new super team in the East, Philly
has the most to offer San Antonio. Simmons demonstrated the ability to play the
point during Fultz’s absence, possibly paving the way for Fultz to get shipped
out, possibly alongside Saric, Covington and future picks. If San Antonio
received that offer, it would be hard to turn down. That would create a
starting lineup for the sixers of Simmons, Reddick, Leonard, James and Embiid.
Boston, Houston and Golden State would be the only other teams in the league
with the firepower to take that team down, and even those teams would struggle
doing that.
According to Leonard, there is still
a possible meeting between Popp and Leonard in the mix, which would ideally
pave the way for his return to the court. Personally, it seems like it would
take a lot on San Antonio’s part to reconcile with their supposed franchise
player. The medical staff grossly mishandled his injury, causing more missed playing
time then Leonard cared for, similar to what happened with Spurs legend Tony
Parker recently. Popp has also ridiculed Kawhi’s family, calling Leonard’s
Uncle a poison in Kawhi’s life. If I was Kawhi, I’d really struggle with making
up and moving on. If the drama and disagreement continues, Kawhi could be sent
off somewhere in the East, and for his sake, hopefully Philly. LA seems
unlikely, and Leonard has listed the Knicks as a possible spot, but even as a
Knicks fan, I don’t see an offer they can put together to convince the Spurs to
send Kawhi away.
July 1st is slowly
approaching, and with it will come a new landscape for the NBA. Not to be
forgotten in all of the free agency talk is the NBA Draft, which could end up
altering decisions to be made by the league’s best. All us fans can do is sit,
speculate and wait.
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