Greened Illusion: Lebron to the Celtics

DannyDarwinism

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The quotes around “official” here make it sound like they’re at least considering Sierra Canyon.


In addition to Scottie Jr, Kenyon Martin’s kid also goes there. I always hated that guy.
 

the moops

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Does Lebron James really have to enroll his son in a school this early? Unless there is some rules regarding eligibility, Lebron can just show up day before school and his kid would be welcomed.
 

Soxfan in Fla

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Does Lebron James really have to enroll his son in a school this early? Unless there is some rules regarding eligibility, Lebron can just show up day before school and his kid would be welcomed.
Would allow him to do summer conditioning at the school with teammates when he’s not in AAU if he wants I guess. No other true reason that I know of.
 

TheoShmeo

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Does Lebron James really have to enroll his son in a school this early? Unless there is some rules regarding eligibility, Lebron can just show up day before school and his kid would be welcomed.
I have no idea about the timing question and I also think it’s irrelevant. For LeBron, enrolling the kid now is really just a placeholder. If he decides to play in a city other than Los Angeles, he’ll easily eat the breakage costs and enroll Junior elsewhere.
 

DJnVa

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It’s Lebron, the guy from The Decision. If he’s leaving Cleveland it’s not gonna be leaked through his kid enrolling at a high school.
 

bankshot1

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I'm 40/60 against LeBron to the Celts, as I like where they are at right now, but with apologies to Quentin Tarantino, as to the Bronny situation, wasn't dad reported to be in Philly a couple of months ago checking out schools? Damn shame there aren't any good private schools in the Boston area that might be acceptable. I think we need Mr. Wolfe to start pulling some strings over at Philllips Andover or Buckingham, Brown, and Nichols.
 

HomeRunBaker

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It’s Lebron, the guy from The Decision. If he’s leaving Cleveland it’s not gonna be leaked through his kid enrolling at a high school.
It would be so awesome if LeBron enrolled his son in schools in like 4-5 different cities as "The Decision" approaches.

If you guys thought the first go-around was a mockery wait til you get a load of the 2018 version. It's going to be insane leading up to this draft.
 

djbayko

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It would be so awesome if LeBron enrolled his son in schools in like 4-5 different cities as "The Decision" approaches.

If you guys thought the first go-around was a mockery wait til you get a load of the 2018 version. It's going to be insane leading up to this draft.
Things might get crazy, but I doubt it will be of his own making. His return to Cleveland happened without much fanfare, didn't it? I have to believe he's matured a lot since The Decision, or at the very least learned that that particular brand of self-glorification doesn't go over too well.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Why is he guaranteed to sign before the draft? Is it just because all of the picks that would be involved in trading for him?
I said "leading up to the draft".......the FA signing period doesn't officially begin until July 1st so nothing is going to occur until after that date.

Things might get crazy, but I doubt it will be of his own making. His return to Cleveland happened without much fanfare, didn't it? I have to believe he's matured a lot since The Decision, or at the very least learned that that particular brand of self-glorification doesn't go over too well.
It was pretty much assumed by everyone that he was returning to Cleveland so there wasn't any mass speculation on where he would end up. I do expect this hysteria to be driven by the clickbaits which nowadays pretty much includes everyone in the media.....and not necessarily LeBron. He doesn't have to do a thing for this steamroller to head down the hill.
 

cheech13

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I said "leading up to the draft".......the FA signing period doesn't officially begin until July 1st so nothing is going to occur until after that date.



It was pretty much assumed by everyone that he was returning to Cleveland so there wasn't any mass speculation on where he would end up. I do expect this hysteria to be driven by the clickbaits which nowadays pretty much includes everyone in the media.....and not necessarily LeBron. He doesn't have to do a thing for this steamroller to head down the hill.
This isn't even remotely true. Cleveland was barely in the conversation heading into free agency that summer and didn't even seem like a real option until they started shedding contracts to get the cap room several days into the moratorium.

EDIT:

- Zach Lowe didn't even connect Cleveland and Lebron in his 2014 free agency preview (http://grantland.com/features/nba-free-agency-2014-lebron-james/)
- SI article on July 2nd barely even mentions them in passing (https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/01/lebron-james-free-agency-money-heat-lakers-cavaliers)
 
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RedOctober3829

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June 29 is a key date in that he has to accept or decline his option. If he picks it up, then most likely it’s to facilitate a trade. If he declines, it will force teams without space to go through cap gymnastics to create salary space. As always, the Summer of LeBron is never dull.
 

cheech13

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June 29 is a key date in that he has to accept or decline his option. If he picks it up, then most likely it’s to facilitate a trade. If he declines, it will force teams without space to go through cap gymnastics to create salary space. As always, the Summer of LeBron is never dull.
He'll probably wait until July 1 and become a free agent to keep all his options open, but if a trade to a capped-out team (like Houston or Boston) is most likely it would behoove everyone involved for him to pick up his option and get that trade done before the end of the league year. That way you can use his lower cap number for salary-matching purposes as well as preserve Bird rights. His '18-'19 salary is very close to the max anyway and he'd be eligible for an extension later this year.
 

nighthob

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Just a note, I’m pretty sure that his salary next year exceeds 35% of the cap, and so exceeds a 35% deal on the open market. There’s a very good reason for him to pick up the option and forcing a trade.
 

DJnVa

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Silly season is here--Marla Ridenour, a sports columnist for the Akron Bee, told ESPN Radio that Lebron James "does not like Houston as a city", saying she heard this straight from Lebron when they were there this season.
 

BigSoxFan

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Silly season is here--Marla Ridenour, a sports columnist for the Akron Bee, told ESPN Radio that Lebron James "does not like Houston as a city", saying she heard this straight from Lebron when they were there this season.
In fairness to Marla, Houston is a pretty awful city.
 

Carbo Loading

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Silly season is here--Marla Ridenour, a sports columnist for the Akron Bee, told ESPN Radio that Lebron James "does not like Houston as a city", saying she heard this straight from Lebron when they were there this season.
I was in a meeting yesterday and we were discussing the impact of Lebron coming to Houston or San Antonio on our business (we sell licensed goods and Houston and San Antonio are our two biggest NBA markets) and our CEO who used to be CEO of Foot Locker simply stated "Lebron already told Houston he's not going there."
 

BigSoxFan

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The media might be able to spin this as a Celtics-Lakers revival over LeBron’s services if Houston is indeed a no-go.
Yup. Though I would bet we’ve already been ruled out as well. Probably is LA, Cleveland, Philly in some order. They’ll keep the Warriors as being “in the hunt” as long as possible for the clickbait.
 

JCizzle

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In a hypothetical world where LeBron comes to Boston, I was trying to think of anything close to comparable. We've lost big names to teams like the Yankees, but I can't think of a rival close to LeBron's stature willing to come to a Boston team as a FA in their prime (during my lifetime at least). He's been our biggest rival for almost ten years now between the Cavs, Heat and Cavs again.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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Yup. Though I would bet we’ve already been ruled out as well. Probably is LA, Cleveland, Philly in some order. They’ll keep the Warriors as being “in the hunt” as long as possible for the clickbait.
I've never bought into Philly being a legitimate contender for him. I think it's only LA and Cleveland, and probably really only LA.
 

bosockboy

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I've never bought into Philly being a legitimate contender for him. I think it's only LA and Cleveland, and probably really only LA.
LA definitely seems the most obvious, but he'd be going there knowing he would have a very low probability of playing in another NBA Finals. Just seems hard to go there knowing that he'd have to beat Houston and Golden State just to get to the Finals.
 

Ale Xander

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Am I the only one hoping he goes to an awful big market Eastern Conf. team like the Bulls or Knicks?
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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LA definitely seems the most obvious, but he'd be going there knowing he would have a very low probability of playing in another NBA Finals. Just seems hard to go there knowing that he'd have to beat Houston and Golden State just to get to the Finals.
I don't think he thinks that way. I think he's confident enough that he feels that if he gets George and someone else, that they can win it all.
 

cheech13

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LA definitely seems the most obvious, but he'd be going there knowing he would have a very low probability of playing in another NBA Finals. Just seems hard to go there knowing that he'd have to beat Houston and Golden State just to get to the Finals.
I disagree. I think he only goes to LA for basketball reasons. The Magic Johnson, media empire, Hollywood stuff is all just misdirection and a function of the hot take call-in crowd thinking they know Lebron when he's never shown much of a concern for those things in any of his past free agent decisions. The Lakers can get two stars with cap space and a third through a trade. That's why they are serious contender for his services today, and why they weren't in 2014 or 2010. He's going there if he thinks it's his best shot at winning a championship.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Am I the only one hoping he goes to an awful big market Eastern Conf. team like the Bulls or Knicks?
The thing is that these teams would no longer be awful......they would make a few additional tweaks and become instant contenders in the EC. Neither of these two teams are any worse than this years Cavs team minus LeBron.
 

BigSoxFan

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I've wondered why the Knicks are never mentioned as a possibility. Winning a championship with the Knicks would be pretty cool for his legacy. Is Dolan just too much of an asshole, or is the team in some type of cap hell?
The contracts to Noah, Kanter, and Hardaway give the Knicks very little flexibility and Porzingis is out until next year sometime. There is very little talent outside of the Unicorn.
 

mauf

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Well Lebron to the Lakers just hit a major snag:
Nah.

Maybe LBJ is excited to play with Ball. If so, this won’t change that.

Or, more likely, LBJ is only going to the Lakers if they trade for a third star. Ball is LA’s most valuable trade asset by far, so he’s gone in that scenario.

Either way, this video is a nothingburger.
 

BigSoxFan

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Nah.

Maybe LBJ is excited to play with Ball. If so, this won’t change that.

Or, more likely, LBJ is only going to the Lakers if they trade for a third star. Ball is LA’s most valuable trade asset by far, so he’s gone in that scenario.

Either way, this video is a nothingburger.
I would love to see Ball traded solely to see where his trade value currently rests.
 

snowmanny

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Obviously one of his goals is championships, but the one thing about the Lakers and LA is that while I've heard some commentators say that the pressure to win would be higher there because Wilt and West and Kareem and Magic and Shaq and Kobe all won, James would be a god in town just by making the Lakers relevant again. It's like Gretzky to the Kings x 100. It's one thing to join a team that won 50-something games and take them to the Finals, it's another to take a team that won 136 games over five years and make the whole country watch every game they play.
 

DannyDarwinism

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Nah.

Maybe LBJ is excited to play with Ball. If so, this won’t change that.

Or, more likely, LBJ is only going to the Lakers if they trade for a third star. Ball is LA’s most valuable trade asset by far, so he’s gone in that scenario.

Either way, this video is a nothingburger.
You think Lonzo has any trade value after that abomination?

(It was just a joke. I don't know if there's a bigger Lonzo-stan on this board than me, and Vegas has LA's odd of landing Lebron increasing significantly over the past week to the point where they're a heavy favorite now.)
 
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bosockboy

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I disagree. I think he only goes to LA for basketball reasons. The Magic Johnson, media empire, Hollywood stuff is all just misdirection and a function of the hot take call-in crowd thinking they know Lebron when he's never shown much of a concern for those things in any of his past free agent decisions. The Lakers can get two stars with cap space and a third through a trade. That's why they are serious contender for his services today, and why they weren't in 2014 or 2010. He's going there if he thinks it's his best shot at winning a championship.
I agree he’s going there for baskeball reasons; I’m saying it will be incredibly difficult to get out of the Western Conference. And if they somehow did, you’d still have the Celtics waiting in the finals (knock on wood). Just saying it’s a hard road.
 

mauf

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You think Lonzo has any trade value after that abomination?

(It was just a joke. I don't know if there's a bigger Lonzo-stan on this board than me, and Vegas has LA's odd of landing Lebron increasing significantly over the past week to the point where they're a heavy favorite now.)
Watching Lonzo’s family cry when he gets traded will seriously soften the blow of watching the Lakers sign LeBron.
 

JCizzle

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Nah.

Maybe LBJ is excited to play with Ball. If so, this won’t change that.

Or, more likely, LBJ is only going to the Lakers if they trade for a third star. Ball is LA’s most valuable trade asset by far, so he’s gone in that scenario.

Either way, this video is a nothingburger.
More valuable than Ingram?
 

sox311

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That's what she said.
Easily. Ball is already the better player of the two.
I, and I think most of this board, most boards, and most of the NBA disagree with you here, by a large margin too.

A PG who can't shoot isn't a great thing to be in the league right now. If Lebron goes to LA, Lonzo can book his ticket to Indiana or Orlando. Ingram is the modern NBA Terminator (Jayson Tatum style).
 

Van Everyman

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I am going to say this again: how is NO not one of the most desirable places for him to play? You have AD, Boogie, Holliday, and Rondo. And New Orleans is an incredible city Even if they have to dump someone, that’s still a really good team. And Lebron would be a god in that city.
 

scottyno

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I am going to say this again: how is NO not one of the most desirable places for him to play? You have AD, Boogie, Holliday, and Rondo. And New Orleans is an incredible city Even if they have to dump someone, that’s still a really good team. And Lebron would be a god in that city.
They don't have the cap space, or anything the Cavs would want in a S+T unless Boogie wants to go play in Cleveland.