LeBron James is once again an unrestricted free agent, which begs for one question to be asked, “Where will LeBron go?” The first time around, in the summer of 2010, in an aired television special labeled “The Decision”, LeBron chose to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and “take his talents to South Beach” to play for the Miami Heat, where he would go on to win his first two championships. After the heartbreaking Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, “The Decision Part II” was underway. To the dismay of Heat fans, James opted to return to Cleveland for a second go-around, and ended up winning the 2016 Finals in dramatic fashion over the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Now we find ourselves in a brand new situation.
LeBron and the Cavs were just swept in the Finals by Golden State, and James found himself on his worst team since 2010. The 2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers lacked a real supporting cast that could help LeBron ease on having to “carry the load,” so to speak, especially on the offensive end on a nightly basis. This embarrassment in the Finals has many of James’ fans and the media, making the assumption that he will part ways with the Cavs for a second time in his career. I tend to agree with this narrative, as I don’t see anything beyond hypothetical and unlikely trade scenarios that could cause LeBron to stay in Cleveland.
Recently, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith released a list of the seven teams LeBron will meet with this offseason. These include the Cavs, Heat, Celtics, Rockets, Lakers, 76ers, and Warriors. I personally have narrowed down this list to three realistic options, the 76ers, Rockets, and Lakers. Each of these three teams, I believe, offer LeBron the best options to succeed in competing for championships for the years to come, even as he ages. The Sixers have a young core of Ben Simmons, who serves as a younger prototypical clone of LeBron, and Joel Embiid, arguably the best center in the league, in addition to many role players that play their respected positions well and can hit their shots. In Houston, (if the monetary situation works out with their other pending star free agents) LeBron would be playing with his good friend and superstar point guard, Chris Paul and the MVP-elect James Harden. He will be also be joining a team, that without him, took the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference Finals and came very close to beating them. Lastly, if LeBron joined L.A., it would be a big boost for his brand and would allow him greater opportunities outside of basketball for his post-NBA career life, in addition to handing him a young core of talented players that will be looking to compete for many years. This situation is a bit more difficult than the first two though, as these young players are much more inexperienced than that of the 76ers and lack the talent of the star players of the Houston Rockets. The counter argument to this claim though is that star players are wanting to join the Lakers already, and would be especially inclined to join if LeBron opts to go there. These include the likes of Paul George (also a free agent) and Kawhi Leonard (still a member of the Spurs, but is demanding a trade).
All that being said though, I have decided that I see the Philadelphia 76ers having the best odds of landing LeBron and fully anticipate him joining there. The main reasons being that they allow LeBron to stay in the easier Eastern Conference and they have not only a young core of players, but ones with the highest ceiling out of the teams James is currently looking at. This Sixers team allows LeBron to have less pressure to have to score every point on offense and take care of almost every aspect of the game on his own. It is also built to compete even when he inevitably declines in skill over the years due to aging. By going to Philly, LeBron can sign a 4 or 5 year contract with the assurance that they will compete for a title each and every year of that deal, in addition to getting paid at his ideal rate, as the Sixers’ cap situation is extremely flexible. They also have expendable pieces they could ultimately use to construct a blockbuster trade for another star, such as a Kawhi Leonard, to make their team even better.
To conclude, when it’s all said and done and LeBron eventually retires from the game of basketball, he will go down as a top two player of the game, regardless of the team he chooses to go to in this free agency period. James, always striving for greatness, though, will not find that his already phenomenal career resumé will be enough and will be looking to continue to compete for titles for many more years. I think the ideal place will be with the Philadelphia 76ers and I anticipate LeBron will find the success he expects with this basketball team.