LeBron James is entering free agency for the first time in earnest since 2014 when he left Miami for Cleveland in a fairly stunning decision. In 2014, the decision was pretty much between Miami and Cleveland, with few believing the Cavs were actually going to land him, but this year feels more like 2010, when a number of teams felt they had a legitimate chance at landing LeBron.
This year there are four teams that seem to be in the running for James, starting with Cleveland, with the Lakers and Sixers not far behind given their cap space and the Rockets, who are intriguing because of their ability to compete for titles but almost impossible to make work financially. The Spurs also may be in the mix, with Gregg Popovich hoping to make his case to LeBron as well.
There isn’t a perfect option for LeBron, as there isn’t a team ready to compete right now with the requisite cap space to give him a max deal in one of his apparent desired locations. So, LeBron is likely going to have to settle in some way. He’ll have to sacrifice with his contract, the ability to compete for championships, or moving his family to some location that may not be the most desirable.
Dwyane Wade is as close to LeBron as anyone in the NBA, but even he says he’s out of the loop when it comes to James’ decision making. That said, much like Chris Bosh, it hasn’t stopped Wade from offering his thoughts on how LeBron will approach this summer. Wade told Chris Mannix and Caron Butler on the Chris and Caron Show on Fox Sports Radio that he thinks James is less concerned about making the perfect basketball decision than he is about being happy and making his family comfortable (via Cleveland.com).
“I don’t think it’s a basketball thing,” Wade said. “I mean obviously he’s shown this year he can get to the Finals no matter what the circumstances are. I don’t really think, for him, the basketball decision of saying, ‘Oh, let me go team up with three All-Stars,’ I think at this point in his life it’s more so of a lifestyle thing of, ‘Where my family is going to be the most comfortable’ or ‘where I’m going be the most happiest at.’ Because basketball-wise, he’s so great he can bring along and take along whomever.”
This certainly jives with what James said after the NBA Finals, when he noted that he’ll be talking with his family and looking strongly at where his children, who are each at important stages in their lives, will be happiest at.
The two spots that make the most sense with regards to his family are Los Angeles and Cleveland, the two places where LeBron owns homes. Picking up and moving to Houston would require not only a family sacrifice (although they would be close with Chris Paul and his family) but a financial one as well. Moving to Philadelphia would move his family to a completely new area with unknowns, but keep him in the East and allow him to take the max.
Even within this line of thinking, you can make the case for most any of the potential landing spots, but it does explain the recent shift in odds favoring him heading to the Lakers.
