First of all it would be the biggest free-agent signing in NBA history but I would not be a fan of it what so ever. Lebron James,Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant on one team? The NBA would lost a lot of fans and people would not even tune into watch any longer, then again it might be fun trying to see another NBA team get together their super-team to counter that type of dynamic trio but as a long time NBA fan
it’s the last move I would like to see happen simply because that would be the last straw in comparing Lebron James to Michael Jordan and probably drop him off the top 10 list as far as best player of all-time goes.
To be the best you have to beat the best, Michael Jordan overcame the “Bad Boys” in the 1990’s which bullied him for several years and punished him every time he drove to the basket. He never joined them he just got in the gym and got stronger and with the help of Scottie Pippen’s development got over the hump. Michael Jordan prevented Hall-of-Famers such as Reggie Miller,Patrick Ewing,Karl Malone,John Stockton, Clyde Drexler,Shaquille O’Neal,Gary Payton, and Charles Barkley from ever winning a title while he was on the basketball floor. He retired from the game in his prime to play the game of baseball in honor of his father and the Hakeem Olajuwon lead Rockets picked up 2 titles in a row in his absence, if Michael Jordan was still playing he might have 8 NBA titles to his collection.
Back to Lebron James though, how would that work in Golden State? Lebron James loves control of the offense so I just can’t see how that would work since Durant and Curry would have to sacrifice having the ball waiting for Lebron to make his move to the hoop for a kick-out. Would Steve Kerr allow Lebron to play his way? I don’t think so and you have to believe the Warriors would at the very least have to get rid of Klay Thompson and possibly even Draymmond Green just to open up the cap room to sign Lebron James. I’m not a fan of it what so ever since Lebron James will more then likely not sacrifice his game to be part of Steve Kerr’s motion offense which involves constant moving off the ball,multiple screens to free up Durant and Curry for shots coming off screens, and constant movement on defense. Would Lebron James look forward to that at the age of 34? I highly doubt it.
As a competitor Lebron James should be looking to beat the Warriors not join them, anyone who applauds Lebron going to the Warriors is clearly not a true NBA fan and does not want to see competitive basketball. Even with Lebron’s style of play you would have to think they would somehow make it work since the amount of talent on one team would just be too hard to match-up with. At this point it is hard to evaluate where Lebron’s head is, is his motive to beat the Golden State Warriors for a 4th NBA title and add that huge feat to his resume? Or is his motive to get ready for the back-end of his career where his family and business endeavors are more important then basketball? He has already said he has nothing left to prove in his career, does not sound like someone who’s prime motivation is to compete for titles but then again he has said he is chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan so which one is it?
He is still 3 titles away from matching Michael Jordan and judging off what I have watched from Lebron James this season he clearly has slowed down. His stats are still there but judging off what I’ve seen in every Cavaliers game he does not look like a player who wants to carry the load any longer. On the Cavaliers with Kevin Love sidelined for 6-8 weeks and all the miscommunication with Isaiah Thomas at best Lebron leads the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals but loses once again. This team just does not have what it takes on the defensive end to pull off a win in the NBA Finals, defense matters. The Boston Celtics rank second in allowed points in the NBA and blew out a healthy New York Knicks lineup without their leader Kyrie Irving holding the Knicks to 73 points. The San Antonio Spurs have managed to stay among the West elites without their superstar Kawhi Leonard with defense and no true star beyong Lamarcus Aldridge, the Spurs are only allowing a league best 97.5 ppg which speaks to the brilliance of Gregg Popovich.
Anyways Lebron James to the Golden State Warriors sounds like a pipe-dream specially at this stage of his NBA career. Lebron James should look to sign with a young team in which he could serve as a mentor and his job on both ends wouldn’t be so taxing. On the Spurs Gregg Popovich would be sure to put him in the right position to compete for a few more titles if he does decide to play another 4-5 years but would he buy in to listening to Popovich is the question and sacrificing his game and stats? That’s why I believe he will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers because they boast a lot of young talent with young legs, he could cap off his career by winning a title with a young up and coming roster and be the first superstar to win a title with 3 different franchises. Forget about catching Michael Jordan in rings, in a 3-4 year span you’ve got to believe the Lakers will at least win 1 title with Lebron James on the roster.
To conclude the Lakers sounds like the ideal move for Lebron James. Kyle Kuzma is a young up and coming scorer with a score first mentality who with an off-season of further development to get stronger physically can possibly become a top 10 scorer next season. Same goes for Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram who have both shown flashes of being great players and with another off-season of development will be sure to have break-out seasons next year. Add in Lebron to mentor those 3 over the off-season and the Lakers will be on to something special.
D-NBA 