The NBA’s All-Star Weekend was kind to LeBron James. The Cleveland Cavaliers’ forward captained his team to victory in Sunday’s All-Star Game and, beyond that, James was named MVP on the heels of a typically brilliant individual performance.
However, one Eastern Conference executive uttered an interesting quote to Marc Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated over the weekend and, with Los Angeles as the backdrop for the festivities, it included a reference to the Lakers.
In the aftermath of the trade deadline, many believe that the Cavaliers are in an improved position when it comes to keeping James. But this particular front office member believes the Lakers “might have helped” Cleveland directly.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in Cleveland now,” one high-ranking Eastern Conference team executive said. “The Cavaliers put a really good team around him. The Cavaliers have made it really tough for him to decide to leave Cleveland again. The Lakers might have helped them keep LeBron.”
Obviously, the Lakers would be mortified at the thought of James remaining in Cleveland as a result of a move involving the franchise. Los Angeles is clearly positioning itself for a run at James and, potentially, another top-tier free agent. But in the same breath, the Cavs adding Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson may go a long way toward James feeling better about his current situation.
Frankly, it would be easy to argue that the deal to bring George Hill and Rodney Hood to Cleveland may have a larger single-season impact but, particularly with Nance, the presence of young talent would seemingly mean a lot to James in terms of his summer decision. It isn’t necessarily revelatory to fashion the opinion that the Cavs improved their roster at the deadline but, in pointing to Los Angeles specifically, this particular executive certainly has an interesting viewpoint.
