Сагсан бөмбөгийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн өндөр оноо авсан тоглогч карьерийнхээ 24 дэх улирлыг өөр багт үргэлжлүүлэхээр болсон нь чөлөөт агентын зах зээл дэх хамгийн сонирхолтой үйл явдлын нэг болж байна.
Леброн Жеймс Кливлэнд Кавальерс, Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс, Лос-Анжелес Клипперс, Майами Хит, Миннесота Тимберволвз, Сан Антонио Спөрз багуудын аль нэгэнд нэгдэх магадлалтай байгаа юм. Кливлэнд Кавальерс нь тоглогчийн хувьд танил орчин төдийгүй санхүүгийн хувьд боломжит нөхцөлийг бүрдүүлэх боломжтой баг хэмээн шинжээчид үзэж байна.
Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс нь Стефен Көрри, Дрэймонд Гринтэй хамт аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөх боломжийг санал болгож байгаа бол Миннесота Тимберволвз нь залуу од Энтони Эдвардс болон хамгаалалтын бүрэлдэхүүндээ Жеймсийг нэмснээр аваргын бөгжний төлөөх өрсөлдөөнд хүч нэмэх төлөвтэй байна. Сан Антонио Спөрз нь Виктор Вембаньямагийн хөгжилд туршлагатай тоглогч хэрэгтэй байгаа энэ үед Жеймсийг багтаа элсүүлэх сонирхолтой байна.
Лос-Анжелес Клипперс болон Майами Хит багуудын хувьд цалингийн цэс болон багийн бодлогоос шалтгаалан энэхүү шилжилт боломж багатай хэмээн үнэлэгдэж байна. Жеймс өөрийн ирээдүйн багийн сонголтыг хийхдээ аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөх боломж, тав тух болон багийн дотоод уур амьсгалыг нэн тэргүүнд тавьж байгаа ажээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
LeBron James is leaving the Los Angeles Lakers. On Tuesday, news broke that he will play a record 24th season elsewhere, setting off what could become the most fascinating pursuit of this edition of NBA free agency.
So where should the league’s all-time leading scorer go next?
The Athletic asked our writers covering teams that could be linked to James – the Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors – to make the case for why their team is the best fit for the next chapter of his career.
Cleveland Cavaliers
I don’t know if he should come to Cleveland. What I do know is the conditions are ripe for him to do it.
LeBron will be 42 five days after Christmas. He will be in his 24th season, having made all the money there was to make, said everything there was to say and scored all the points there were to score. His decision to continue his career – but to do it away from Los Angeles, where his wife and daughter live – suggests to me that he wants to win, be comfortable and to carry only a portion of the burden that has been asked of him throughout his career.
In Cleveland, he still has the first mansion he ever bought or built. He probably won’t like that the team is moving its practice facility to the west side of downtown from a spot that is maybe 10 minutes from his mansion, but that won’t happen until February. His mom, Gloria, still lives on the property. He will be, of course, adored at him and applauded nightly on the road for giving the NBA a storybook ending to his career by going home, again.
The Cavs made the Eastern Conference finals last year and lost to the eventual NBA-champion Knicks. Yes, it was a sweep, but I kind of, sort of buy that Cleveland was done in for that series by earlier missteps in the playoffs. I’m not saying the Cavs beat the Knicks if they hadn’t screwed around with Toronto and Detroit, but I do think the conference finals would’ve been a tighter series.
On the roster are James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, two prolific guards. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, two excellent, versatile bigs who can protect the rim and run toward it on offense. There are some strong role players likely to be on the team like Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson. All that Cleveland needs is strength on the wing.
Know anyone who can provide it?
With all those players I just mentioned, LeBron’s burden would be lighter than at any point in his career — including when he was the Lakers’ third option behind Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. The winning part, obviously, is spelled out, and his familiarity with the area plays into his comfort level. So does his potential salary.
The Cavs could, with relative ease, get far enough below the NBA’s first apron to pay James $15 million next season. It’s a huge pay cut from the $52 million he made with the Lakers, but it, symbolically, is much more palatable than the veteran-minimum $4 million the Cavs could pay him now.
If they move Max Strus into another team’s cap space and let Dean Wade walk in free agency, just to speed this up, the math works. James gets a palatable salary and the Cavs get the face of the franchise back for one final act. Losing Wade and Strus would sting, but James is no slouch, and it is possible a younger player could emerge to fill a role toward the end of the bench.
I’m not saying this is what James should do. But gosh, it seems like he might. —Joe Vardon, senior NBA writer
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors’ pitch remains simple: Come to the Bay and play with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Come to an organization that has the culture to handle the superstar wattage that LeBron brings with him. Joe Lacob has proven over and over that he will spend whatever it takes to compete.
Off the court, LeBron could deepen his business interests in Silicon Valley while enjoying everything Northern California has to offer, from world-class golf to wine country. On the court, he would get to ride off into the sunset alongside Curry, a fellow all-time great who can ease the burden on him night after night whenever he’s healthy.
While it remains unlikely given the age of the rest of the core pieces on the Warriors’ roster, James would have the ability to win his fifth title for his fourth different team. In the process, he would also help Curry win his fifth title as well. The eyes of the basketball world will be in San Francisco all season if James decides he wants to be a Warrior. — Nick Friedell, Warriors writer
LA Clippers
Let me try and do this with a straight face. After all, it’s not as if we are talking about a team that had the NBA’s worst record over the previous five seasons before James signed there as a free agent in his prime because LeBron James absolutely did that with the Lakers.
The Clippers have a few legitimate selling points. They have Tyronn Lue, James’ championship-winning head coach in Cleveland, whom the Lakers tried to lowball in 2019. They have a star point guard in Darius Garland who shares an agency with Lue and James. They also have Trent Redden in the front office, another key figure from Cleveland’s championship front office.
James could stay in Southern California and join a team that has an opening at power forward with John Collins being an unrestricted free agent. Maybe Kawhi Leonard — James’ adversary in two NBA Finals before declining an opportunity to join James with the Lakers in 2019 —would be down to give it one more shot with James in a Clippers uniform.
Let’s be real, though. You and I both know that is not happening. LeBron James is prioritizing the story.
There is no chance that a former ‘90s Chicago Bulls, Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees fan that chose the Lakers is going to go to the Clippers when the story is a priority. And the Clippers are making it quite clear that they are finally going to be future-focused for the first time this decade. No disrespect of course, but I do not feel like I’ll be on Freezing Cold Takes or a news conference at Intuit Dome introducing 41-year-old LeBron James. — Law Murray, Clippers writer
Miami Heat
Giannis Antetokounmpo has never hidden his admiration for LeBron James. Early in Giannis’ career, matchups against James were always among Antetokounmpo’s favorite games each season because served as a measuring stick.
As Antetokounmpo became an MVP himself, the object of his admiration for James shifted to the all-time great’s ability to keep his body performing at an All-NBA level as he entered his third decade in the NBA.
On top of that, the Heat roster needs more talent and James could absolutely help Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, providing playmaking, scoring and size. But coming back to Miami feels far-fetched. Miami’s cap situation will limit the money that he could make taking his talents to South Beach for a second time, and beyond that, there isn’t much compelling evidence that James’ relationships within the organization remain especially strong.
With other destinations being able to offer more money and more fun, I’m not sure Miami will end up too high on James’ list of potential new homes … even if it’s one of the places he’s already played. —Eric Nehm, Bucks writer
Minnesota Timberwolves
Do I think LeBron James will come to Minnesota? No.
Do I think he should come to Minnesota? Absolutely.
If James is prioritizing winning a fifth championship, it is hard to find a better situation for him than with the Timberwolves.
After trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid this summer, the Wolves have a ready-made spot in the starting lineup for him at power forward. They also could put him in between two top flight defenders in Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels so he wouldn’t have to expend nearly as much energy on that end of the floor as he had to do last season with the Lakers.
On offense, Minnesota has Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball to handle the heavy lifting, but James could be a perfect facilitator and crunchtime scorer that would connect the entire operation. His experience as a winner of the highest order would also be exactly what Ball needs as he transitions to a team with real expectations.
James is on record as being a huge fan of Edwards, most recently beaming at All-Star weekend when Ant won MVP honors. James says happiness is a big part of his decision. Ant would put a smile on his face every day.
The Wolves have youth and talent so that James wouldn’t have to go all out in the regular season. He could save his bullets for the playoffs, where he would be the center of the team’s offensive universe.
If James came to Minnesota and ended a championship drought in men’s sports here that dates back to 1991, it could be the closing argument for his claim to the throne as the greatest of all time. — Jon Krawczynski, Wolves writer
San Antonio Spurs
This may seem like the ultimate ring-chasing option, but the Spurs present a nuanced opportunity for James. The team’s primary target with the midlevel exception is a four, and he’s one of the best fours in the game. San Antonio doesn’t need him to completely own the offense, but rather fit into the system it’s been building but then be able to take over in crunchtime.
The Spurs just lost the NBA Finals because they fell apart in the fourth quarter, struggling to generate clean looks or capitalize on the ones they found. If there’s one thing they can count on from James, it’s that he can put everyone in the right spots late in games and execute. Though there are spacing concerns if they replace one of their shooting wings in the starting lineup with James, it’s still LeBron. They need someone with his composure and control over the game.
Going to the Spurs could present him with a unique mentorship opportunity, being the teammate who could put Victor Wembanyama over the top and win his first of what he aims to be many championships. Does James want to actually aid one of the few players who could have a shot at the GOAT title? It would be a humbling decision for James to take that step, even if he could frame it as adding another title to help settle the debate between him and Michael Jordan. But is that really something that is going to matter to him at this point?
The bigger question is how James fits into the Spurs’ dynamic. They had one of the league’s strongest locker rooms last season that truly played for each other and had a good balance of personalities. They bought in to Mitch Johnson and flourished as the season went on. James has dominated the environment everywhere he’s played, but this will unequivocally not be his team. Is that something he’s willing to embrace? Can he accentuate the culture the same way Chris Paul did a season ago?
Most importantly, will he take the MLE and take a big step back from being a max player? It’s likely the only way to bring him in, unless a De’Aaron Fox trade is on the horizon or the Spurs want to consolidate their shooting depth at the wing by moving Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and whatever else would be needed to make a larger James contract work.
— Jared Weiss, Spurs writer
