Well one thing is for sure: the 2014 NBA summer is picking up steam as the news cycle never ends, and of course, most of it deals with LeBron James.
ESPN reports that LeBron James’ list of potential destinations are the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, in that particular order, according to CBSsports.com. Very interesting how quickly this list came out after the opt-out was announced.
The one team that has been rumored all along that is now suddenly left off the list is the Los Angeles Clippers. The rumors are now that LeBron worries about chemistry between him and Chris Paul on the court. While they may be the best of friends off the court, they are both ball-handlers and neither play great off-the-ball.
We all know the Heat are still the favorites, but seeing Cleveland in the number two spot warms many hearts in the state of Ohio. Let's put them aside for the moment though until anything surfaces that the James - Gilbert relationship has strengthened.
The overall theme of this list deals with the strength of conferences. Despite how care-free James is about jumping-ship constantly, he’s very smart and very calculating. The Western Conference is head and shoulders the tougher of the two conferences. The Rockets are listed as the number-three team, but being in the West hurts their chances mightily.
A dark-horse in the chase for LeBron is the biggest city in the world, New York. After dealing with the aftermath of the Knicks – Mavs trade yesterday, Phil Jackson and New York all of sudden has a little more cap space to play with at the moment. Is the “Zen-Master” plotting to shed even more salary for this summer?
If that miracle does happen, then the Knicks can actually dream of a LeBron – Melo duo in Madison Square Garden next season (and a statue of Phil Jackson built and placed on every block in the city), but it’s still a very far-fetched concept for New Yorkers to dream about.
The more you think about LeBron James’ career decisions, the more you realize everything is a calculated laid-out plan.
This about the type of player he is. Yes he is a scorer, there’s little doubt about that, but as he enters the back-nine of his career he might be thinking of playing along-side a more dominant scorer and shooter. He handles the ball better than anyone and has court-vision that makes Magic Johnson blush, so what better running-mate could he ask for than Carmelo Anthony. James’ career mark of 6.9 assists per game will go up as his career continues, according to BasketballReference.com.
Running along another, bigger scorer (Anthony), would allow for him to take a more distributing role which would be less-taxing to the body.
Realizing that maybe the two biggest reasons he went to Miami were these: having a running-mate in Dwyane Wade and being convinced of a solid franchise by Pat Riley, a man who has done it many times in multiple organizations.
New York Knicks could have Carmelo Anthony as his running-mate with a young supporting cast of Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr. and now Shane Larkin (thanks to the Mavs trade); and they also have the legend that is Phil Jackson running the show.
Could the LeBron chase come down to two legends going head to head in Pat Riley and Phil Jackson? LeBron is not only the best in the world but he's a student of the game. Just another testament to how smart and calculating the LeBron camp is. His respect for legends of the sport is immense.