LeBron’s Next Move Depends On the NBA’s Worst Lineup
The Brooklyn Nets lost more games than any other NBA team in the 2016-17 season—and the Cleveland Cavaliers need them to be just as bad this year if LeBron James is going to stay in northeast Ohio.
A report from the New York Times claims James is “increasingly restless” at the Cavaliers, although he could yet be persuaded to stay if Koby Altman can revamp a team that has lost an All-Star point guard in Kyrie Irving and gained one in Isaiah Thomas from the Boston Celtics.
A key part of that deal, of course, was the Nets’ 2018 first-round draft pick that the Celtics acquired in 2013 in the trade that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to New York.
The Times notes how a confluence of factors could lead to James’ inevitable departure from Cleveland, for a second time—or how circumstances could fall into place for the Cavaliers so that remaining with his hometown team is left as the only, logical, option.
Isaiah Thomas could perform like he doesn’t have a troubling, troublesome hip injury. Russell Westbrook and Paul George could decide they like the quietude of the Midwest over the neon glare of Los Angeles.
Most importantly, the Nets could once again finish stuck fast to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, losing 60-plus games again and sending the first or second pick in the 2018 NBA Draft to the Cavaliers.
If all of that happens, then the fantastical, purported Los Angeles Lakers team of James, Westbrook, George and Lonzo Ball directing them from the point would appear dead in the water.
Then, James gets a rejuvenated Thomas and an elite prospect to nurse through the juvenile stages of his professional career. James could be the big brother that he was to Kyrie Irving, and see out the end of his career where his emotional attachment will always be strongest.
The NBA’s worst team from last season could certainly help the Cavaliers out by being equally terrible in 2017.
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