The first thing you need to know is that LeBron considering the Lakers is a real thing and always has been. Secondly, Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst are two of the most connected people in the business when it comes to LeBron, so you know they got this information from a very high level source.
It is a delicious fantasy. And yet, in the modern NBA, where superstars change teams and seismic shifts in power seem to shake the league every summer, it’s certainly not impossible. Lakers history is filled with similar feats of engineering, most recently in 2008, when they plucked Pau Gasol away from Memphis to team with an in-his-prime Bryant for two NBA championships.
So imagining James’ last act coming in purple and gold isn’t without basis. But as of now, it’s also a longshot, according to league sources. Still, expect the atmosphere, and the intrigue, to be as thick as the winter storm battering Cleveland when the Lakers and Cavaliers play Thursday night.
But history also offers lessons on the difficulty of projecting James’ intentions in free agency.
This is all true, but here is what BSO sources are telling us. James hasn’t made any definite decisions and likely the decision will come down to what happens to the Cavs in the playoffs, but also that he is trying to downplay his willingness to leave Cleveland while the season is going on.
More than anything else that is killing LeBron are Finals losses, because it is the one thing frankly Michael Jordan has over him. As an all around player, from a statistical and longevity standpoint he is better than Jordan, but you can’t get around Jordan is 6-0 in Finals with 6 Finals MVPs.
I always say the best thing that happen to Jordan was not dragging a subpar team to the Finals, because it doesn’t matter if you are Michael Jordan or LeBron James, in the end the best overall team normally wins.
LeBron wants a situation where his team will have the best chance to win the Finals. That might not be the Cavs any more, which is why teams like the Sixers and Rockets are popping up.
The Lakers just with LeBron aren’t a Finals team, if they can somehow manage LeBron and another star, they would be in the mix.
I have been told that LeBron doesn’t want to end up like Jerry West or Wilt Chamberlain with a losing record in Finals, meaning when he goes back to the Finals he needs to make them count.
It is likely if he stayed with Cavs he would continue to go, but the chances of him winning as the team is currently constructed are low.
If I were a Lakers fan I wouldn’t give up hope, there is too much that can happen over the next few months that can change things, but the Summer of LeBron is coming and there will be many suitors for his services.