NBA Rumors: Could LeBron James and Chris Paul Join the Same Team This Summer?
James has reportedly been placing calls to players on other teams who he would like to play with
This summer, LeBron James faces the challenge of trying to find a roster that is good enough to contend with the Golden State Warriors' quartet of All-Stars.
Whether or not James opts to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers or decides to go to a different team, he will need to enlist the help of other players if he wants to get by his rivals from Oakland.
According to a recent article from The Orange County Register's Mark Heisler, James is already trying to recruit players to his cause. An Eastern Conference general manager spoken to by Heisler shared that James is already calling players on other teams who he is interested in teaming up with.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
As Heisler hinted, one of the players James may be talking to could be none other than the star point guard Chris Paul.
The New York Times' Marc Stein also previously reported that Paul is recruiting James to the Houston Rockets.
Paul and James are known to be good friends, so the idea of them teaming up is not hard to imagine at all.
Currently, there may be two ways for the two stars to find themselves playing for the same team.
The first way is for James to go to Paul's current team. The Rockets would go well over the cap if they decided to bring back Paul and emerging young center Clint Capela next year, but they may be able to sign James if they can work a sign and trade of some kind.
It would take some complex cap gymnastics for the Rockets to add James while retaining their current stars, so if the All-Star buddies want to keep things simple, they could just go to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers have enough cap room to accommodate James and Paul, and they could also surround them with talented young players like Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart. With Paul coming to the team, the Lakers could also dangle incoming second year point guard Lonzo Ball and see if they can get back some helpful role players in exchange for him in a trade.
If there is a desire on the part of James and Paul to play together next season, there are ways for them to make that a reality, and it will be interesting to see if they pursue those or opt to go in different directions.
