Now that TSIO*O (*Officially), where will LeBron play next season?
Now that TSIO*O (*Officially), where will LeBron play next season? 33 votes
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HoustonHow I see it:
Houston - The obvious frontrunner. The team that gave the Warriors the best competition, Houston makes the most sense on the surface. But how would LeBron fit with two other ball dominant stars (assuming Paul stays, which we must assume for this exercise - if he doesn't Bron isn't going to Houston)? This is a real question IMO. I don't think LeBron makes Houston better than GS but I know a lot of people will think he would. As a fan I'd love to see this if only to see LeBron leave the safety of the East.
Boston - The other frontrunner. Boston is actually closer to winning a title than Houston is IMO and adding LeBron would make them every bit as talented as GS and probably deeper. A lineup of Irving, Heyward, Tatum (or Brown), James and Horford would have more than a punchers chance against the Warriors, especially with Rozier, the other of Tatum or Brown and mainly Stevens on the bench. My guess is this is the scenario GS wants the least. There are at least two and probably three problems with this scenario though: 1. Kyrie just ran away from LeBron, you'd almost have to trade him if you do this. Rozier looks ready to take his place but you know Kyrie steps up bigtime in the Finals, you don't know that about Rozier. 2. LeBron has always liked to call the shots on the court, he's not going to get to do that with Stevens there. Would he go for that? 3. LeBron has always liked to call the shots with the roster, he's not going to get to do that with Ainge there. Would LeBron go for that? Ultimately, I don't think Boston happens.
Philadelphia - The Process is rolling and LeBron would obviously accelerate it significantly. Nothing would take the attention of Colangelo's alt handles and jumbo collars like bringing in LeBron. On the court, he appears to fit well - a lineup of Simmons, Fultz (assuming he finds his shot), LeBron, Saric, Embiid is scary. Even if Fultz is donezo, it shouldn't be hard to find a shooter at the two to replace Reddick if need be. LeBron hasn't shown a willingness to work with young guys in the past (hello Andrew Wiggins), but I'm guessing Simmons and Embiid have proven themselves well enough that LeBron would overlook that in this case. The real question here is whether the front office shitshow will scare LeBron off. I'm guessing it will. If they don't fire Colangelo, it should.
LA Lakers - The Lakers clearly don't have enough to be contenders right now, but LeBron plus Chris Paul or even Paul George could hypothetically get them close. If this happens the Lakers almost have to trade Ball who is an awful fit as a ball dominant guard who can't shoot but doesn't bring the scoring that Simmons does either. Obviously if they sign Chris Paul anyway then Ball's a backup and it's a moot point. But assuming they don't, Ball creates a dilemma. And clearly we know James doesn't want to play alongside IT. Does a lineup of Ball, Kuzma, James, George, CENTER have enough juice? Switch out Paul for George and add Ingram back in and you're getting close (Paul, Kuzma, LeBron, Ingram, CENTER).
But does LeBron want to be fodder for the LaVar Ball show? Between the roster holes and the off the court pain in the ass, I don't think he's going here, but you can never count the Lakers out for a big name.
I don't think Boston will take him, and I think LeBron will ultimately decide the Lakers need to much help, so it's going to be down to Houston or Philadelphia. If Philly ires Colangelo I think they're the favorites, if not it will be Houston. EWIBI.
I'll take the Rockets.
mod power at @dnc 's request: Fuck everything I wrote above. Philly. Cook that shit. -
PhillyGosh, looking at it strictly from W-L/chance-to-win-ship perspective, Boston makes the most sense. Irving + Ainge + Stevens makes that questionable though. Well said.
Philly. -
HoustonI voted for what I would choose.
Philly is interesting and if I was Lebron and 3 years younger I might go there.
Boston would be funny if Lebron was traded for Kyrie.
If he chooses the Lakers he’s basically deciding he’s more interested in life after basketball. -
Houston#myRockets
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Houston
I think LeBron wants to beat GS badly enough that I think he could accept having a strong GM if that meant he had Boston's roster. And likewise I think he wants to win badly enough that he would say (and probably mean) all the right things about having a strong coach. But we're talking about a guy who has basically been his own coach for damn near 1400 NBA games,, suddenly relinquishing on court control is easier said than done. There's some things that are deeply engrained in him at this point that I don't think he can just turn off. Ultimately I think LeBron needs Boston more than Boston needs LeBron, and it will be the Celtics who say no because they see it being too much of an on court challenge, which is ironic since on paper LeBron fits the Celtics' roster better than anybody else's.Gladstone said:Gosh, looking at it strictly from W-L/chance-to-win-ship perspective, Boston makes the most sense. Irving + Ainge + Stevens makes that questionable though. Well said.
Philly. -
Houston
This is an interesting scenario.allpurpleallgold said:I voted for what I would choose.
Philly is interesting and if I was Lebron and 3 years younger I might go there.
Boston would be funny if Lebron was traded for Kyrie.
If he chooses the Lakers he’s basically deciding he’s more interested in life after basketball. -
Write InPortland
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Race's LakersI picked the Lakers because that is what we are hearing here. That Lebron is ready for his post life
I love the Celtics idea. The thought of Celtic Fan saying how much he has always loved Lebron is awesome. And despite my well documented hatred of young talent I came away very impressed with Tatum. He wasn't afraid at all
Houston would mean rings -
Write InLeBron James to the Seattle Storm. Hardy har har
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HoustonHouston for one season. Weak coach who doesn't know WTF he's doing, he's buddies with Paul. Also, no state income tax. LeBron should go full mercenary status for the next 3 seasons and pick the team he can push over the top each season.
Warriors are done if he goes there. Burnout from 4 straight trips to the Finals. They almost tripped over their own dicks vs Houston this year. -
Philly
so he can fuck up 3 franchises for the foreseeable future?BleachedAnusDawg said:Houston for one season. Weak coach who doesn't know WTF he's doing, he's buddies with Paul. Also, no state income tax. LeBron should go full mercenary status for the next 3 seasons and pick the team he can push over the top each season.
Warriors are done if he goes there. Burnout from 4 straight trips to the Finals. They almost tripped over their own dicks vs Houston this year.
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HoustonI voted for Houston but after seeing the arguments Boston makes a lot of sense. Also, the East safety net and basically consolidating what talent there is in the East. I'll laugh my ass off if Kyrie gets unloaded in that scenario.
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Houston
Mods, please to be changing my vote to Philly. TIA. -
Houston
I got you pookie.dnc said:
Mods, please to be changing my vote to Philly. TIA. -
Houston
Also, what kind of loose cannon dip shit throws away a great career to snipe people on fake made up twatter accounts? That dude is stoopid.dnc said:
Mods, please to be changing my vote to Philly. TIA. -
PhillyColangelo couch sale opens the door for Philly to hire a GM that LeBron likes.
Playing with Ben Simmons could prolong LeBron’s peak by at least a season by taking a lot of the offensive pressure off of him. He doesn’t have to have he pressure of creating offense every possession... but will still be the primary scorer. Which will be huge for keeping his body healthy the more he ages.
The main reason I don’t think he’d work in Houston is that their system is too reliant on iso ball... too many possessions where LeBron wouldn’t even touch the ball. -
Phillylol @ throwing his wife under the bus
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PhillyLeBron said he wants to play off ball in the next phase of his career. I doubt he'll truly do that, but he could feasibly fit with Simmons. If Fultz has what he showed in those last regular season games and gets his shot back, that's the best situation for LeBron. Simmons, Fultz, LeBron, Saric, and Embiid might actually be the best lineup in the NBA outside of the lineup of death. That's the place for him.
Side Note: LeBron and Simmons have the same agent. They've also worked out together in the past. Just worth keeping an eye on. -
Philly
Just name Lebron as GM/Player/Coach. Save a bunch of admin salary and they are all going to have to do what he says any how.NEsnake12 said:Colangelo couch sale opens the door for Philly to hire a GM that LeBron likes.
Playing with Ben Simmons could prolong LeBron’s peak by at least a season by taking a lot of the offensive pressure off of him. He doesn’t have to have he pressure of creating offense every possession... but will still be the primary scorer. Which will be huge for keeping his body healthy the more he ages.
The main reason I don’t think he’d work in Houston is that their system is too reliant on iso ball... too many possessions where LeBron wouldn’t even touch the ball.
btw, Tyron LueFS/LebronPlayerCoachFS sucked dick last night. GS ran the slip screen for layups about 20 times with no adjustment.
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Lue is an idiot, duh. I love the anti-Bron narrative still clings to 'he WANTED this team and assembled it himself!', despite many reports stating Bron begged them not to trade Irving. I'm sure LeBron told Cleveland that he wanted 38 year old Kyle Korver to be the 2nd best player.
He'll go to the Lakers with Leonard.
Free agency is going to be more interesting than the finals.
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PhillyOne big advantage Philly has is their energy. They have a bunch of younger guys that can give Lebron a breather on some offensive and defensive stretches. Also, Lebron should prefer playing in the East. Outside of the Celtics there isn't any team he'd have to compete with on a night in and night out basis. Unlike the West, where Golden State rules and you still have to deal with San Antonio, and the trending up Timberwolves, and Jazz. If Philly can shore up the shooting along with having Embiid and Simmons, this team could cruise up until the Eastern Finals. And if you put Lebron in Philly with a couple shooters along with what they have now, Golden State vs. Philly would be a coin flip. Also, imagine the length on that team as well...
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Houston
Of course LeBron didn’t want them to trade Kyrie. He created the environment Kyrie wanted out of though.BaldwinIV said:Lue is an idiot, duh. I love the anti-Bron narrative still clings to 'he WANTED this team and assembled it himself!', despite many reports stating Bron begged them not to trade Irving. I'm sure LeBron told Cleveland that he wanted 38 year old Kyle Korver to be the 2nd best player.
He'll go to the Lakers with Leonard.
Free agency is going to be more interesting than the finals. -
Philly
the west is down too now. not east bad butgreenblood said:One big advantage Philly has is their energy. They have a bunch of younger guys that can give Lebron a breather on some offensive and defensive stretches. Also, Lebron should prefer playing in the East. Outside of the Celtics there isn't any team he'd have to compete with on a night in and night out basis. Unlike the West, where Golden State rules and you still have to deal with San Antonio, and the trending up Timberwolves, and Jazz. If Philly can shore up the shooting along with having Embiid and Simmons, this team could cruise up until the Eastern Finals. And if you put Lebron in Philly with a couple shooters along with what they have now, Golden State vs. Philly would be a coin flip. Also, imagine the length on that team as well...
gsw and...
rockets? coached by tardcake d'antoni and 34 yr old paul
spurs are ??? + when will pop retire
jazz pdx minn meh -
Houston
East is still by far the inferior conferenceGladstone said:
the west is down too now. not east bad butgreenblood said:One big advantage Philly has is their energy. They have a bunch of younger guys that can give Lebron a breather on some offensive and defensive stretches. Also, Lebron should prefer playing in the East. Outside of the Celtics there isn't any team he'd have to compete with on a night in and night out basis. Unlike the West, where Golden State rules and you still have to deal with San Antonio, and the trending up Timberwolves, and Jazz. If Philly can shore up the shooting along with having Embiid and Simmons, this team could cruise up until the Eastern Finals. And if you put Lebron in Philly with a couple shooters along with what they have now, Golden State vs. Philly would be a coin flip. Also, imagine the length on that team as well...
gsw and...
rockets? coached by tardcake d'antoni and 34 yr old paul
spurs are ??? + when will pop retire
jazz pdx minn meh -
Phillyshoutout to @dnc this is a great thread. pretty sure nba twitter has driven me clinically insane. if i disappear it's because i decided to stab a random person on the street. brb.
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PhillyTrust LeProcess
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Philly
New Orleans would be a top 3 team in the East.dnc said:
East is still by far the inferior conferenceGladstone said:
the west is down too now. not east bad butgreenblood said:One big advantage Philly has is their energy. They have a bunch of younger guys that can give Lebron a breather on some offensive and defensive stretches. Also, Lebron should prefer playing in the East. Outside of the Celtics there isn't any team he'd have to compete with on a night in and night out basis. Unlike the West, where Golden State rules and you still have to deal with San Antonio, and the trending up Timberwolves, and Jazz. If Philly can shore up the shooting along with having Embiid and Simmons, this team could cruise up until the Eastern Finals. And if you put Lebron in Philly with a couple shooters along with what they have now, Golden State vs. Philly would be a coin flip. Also, imagine the length on that team as well...
gsw and...
rockets? coached by tardcake d'antoni and 34 yr old paul
spurs are ??? + when will pop retire
jazz pdx minn meh
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Phillyyeah i said the east is still worse d00ds, but the west kinda sucks too. the nba sucks. lebron definitely should stay in the east
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Houston
I don't think the west is really down though. It sort of was this year since San Antonio was out of the mix, but the Rockets were a better team than any non GS team the past 5 years, GS is GS, and you've got a ton of good if not great teams in the west: Portland, Utah, OKC, New Orleans, SA, Minnesota and Denver (who didn't even make the playoffs) would all be top 4 or 5 seeds in the east. It's just a much deeper conference. The Clippers finished tenth in the west and would probably have been no worse than 6th in the East.Gladstone said:yeah i said the east is still worse d00ds, but the west kinda sucks too. the nba sucks. lebron definitely should stay in the east
There's just a lot more easy wins in the East, same as it ever was.
Try listing the best players in the game. How deep do you have to go before you get 2 players from the East? 5?
LeBron (1)
KD
Curry
Harden
Paul
Davis
Westbrook
Giannis (2)
Towns
Kyrie (3)
Draymond
Cousins
Embiid (4)
Klay
Olapido (5)
And that's being pretty generous to Olapido after one great year.
The path is just much much easier in the East. -
You actually believe that Kevin Love, JR Smith, and Tristan Thompson would have the contracts they do if it wasn't for LeBron?BaldwinIV said:Lue is an idiot, duh. I love the anti-Bron narrative still clings to 'he WANTED this team and assembled it himself!', despite many reports stating Bron begged them not to trade Irving. I'm sure LeBron told Cleveland that he wanted 38 year old Kyle Korver to be the 2nd best player.
He'll go to the Lakers with Leonard.
Free agency is going to be more interesting than the finals.
