A new home suited for a King

With the championship parade in the past and the NBA off-season looming, one can only begin discussing the possibilities of what’s next for LeBron James.

Name any sports show, commentator or reporter…they have all covered the topic. And much like them, I’ll do the same.

After being beaten 4-1 by the new benchmark of ‘superteams’, the future of LeBron challenging Golden State for another ring with Cleveland’s current roster is unlikely. Below you’ll find my perspective on potential teams suited for LeBron in his championship hunt.

Cleveland:

Cleveland is home and if you look at Cleveland’s performance against the eastern conference this past post-season, the odds are in favour of them returning to the Finals. With a few free-agent moves by GM, David Griffin, the Cavs can revitalize their bench which lacked spunk during the Finals. This would put them in a better position to compete while keeping their core intact. Also, the possibility of acquiring Paul George without giving up Kevin Love, is suspect. Even if the trade were to happen, how would the Cavs benefit? Yes, it provides them with another scoring threat who likes the ball in his hands, but it removes a PF who spaces the floor, plays relatively good defense and does not address the teams need for a rim protector.

Side note: Don’t expect the Cavs to be a sure thing coming out of the Eastern Conference next season. They are absolutely front runners but with Boston and Chicago looking to make a big splash this off-season (keep in mind Boston also has the number 1 pick in the upcoming draft), the pressure is slowly building up on the Cleveland to make a move.

Clippers:

The possibility of LeBron going to an L.A based team is all people can talk about these days. He does own a house within the area and it would provide him with a great platform for him to expand his business operations outside of basketball. The Lakers don’t pose a chance at acquiring him merely because of the ‘work’ the team needs; therefore, the Clippers make the most sense.

The Clippers are in a unique position because both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul can explore free agency (player options). Hypothetically, if LeBron and Chris were to choose the Clippers, the core team would include them and DeAndre Jordan. This would keep them above the cap space and with the third highest salary in the NBA, it would provide them with little room to compete against the Warriors. Simply put, LeBron and Paul are both getting older, DeAndre is a more athletic Triston Thompson but still can’t hit a jump shot and their bench is lackluster to say the least.

By moving to the Clippers, LeBron may face more challenges than he currently does with the Cavs.

San Antonio:

LeBron going to San Antonio would give him the best opportunity to challenge the Warriors and compete for a championship for a couple of reasons.

First, LeBron has a great respect for Greg Popovich. Despite LeBron’s role in past coaching decisions or replacements, the display of their knowledge orchestrated on the court would be a work of art. Secondly, a roster filled with LaMarcus Aldridge, LeBron James, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard sounds very enticing. This is based on one condition though, which is Pau Gasol’s player option. If he chooses to resign, San Antonio could still trade him to free up cap space or retain role players in return. By paying LeBron between 25 and 30 million, San Antonio would still have an extra four to five million for extra players to support this talented line up*.

*This is based on the organization reaching last year’s total salary, meaning the organization could choose to spend more.

----

So, what will he do? Will he stay home and continue to fight for the ‘Land’ or will he take his talents to a new beach located on the west coast?

Time will only tell…