LeBron James Trade Rumors: Will King James Leave the Cavs Next Season?
LeBron James just brought Cleveland Cavaliers one step closer to become the champion of the Eastern Conference, but he might bring his talent somewhere else at the end of the 2017–2018 season.
James, who is being considered as one of greatest basketball players of all time, will enter the unrestricted free agent this summer. This makes him a sought-after person in free agency market. However, according to Lakers Nation, James might consider leaving Cleveland once again and head to another team in October.
According to the report, the Los Angeles Lakers is one of the teams who is looking forward to acquiring King James' talents. But ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith said that he should also consider signing up with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Houston Rockets if he wants to bring his career to another level.
Smith said that if James wants to counteract the deal between Boston Celtics and Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, he should join the 76ers' roster. But if he has other plans, he should think about joining another team.
"If he wants a title, I believe Houston would be the best place for him to go. If you're LA and you get another starter with him, alongside that young nucleus, you'd be competitive in the west," Smith stated, according to a report from Express UK. "But the two best options appear to be Philly and Houston," he went on to say.
In case James decided to sign up with the Lakers, reports claimed that he will be joined by Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Paul George in the team since he will also become a free agent this coming summer.
If this happens, Lakers center Brook Lopez said that James and George will be welcome additions to the team's roster.
"Obviously they are two supremely talented players and they have both changed the face of the teams and it is definitely going to be an interesting off season when it happens," Lopez told Times of India.
Any team would actually want to have King James on their team, especially after he steered the Cavs to sweep the Eastern Conference semis over Houston Raptors.
James also broke a lot of records this season alone. He became the second player who had at least 10 points for the 800th game in a row after Michael Jordan. He also became the seventh player in the entire NBA history to have 30,000 career points in January 2018. He was also hailed as the first player who reached 30,000 points, 8,000 rebound, and 8,000 assists in February. On March, he made another feat when he scored in double digits for the 867th time, which broke Jordan's long-running record.
The 33-year-old small forward also has three NBA championships under his belt. He was also hailed as the Finals MVP thrice and NBA MVP four times. He also made it in the NBA All-Star game for the past 14 seasons and was recognized as the All-Star Game MVP this year.
James has yet to announce his plans for the 2018–2019 NBA season.