I think I’m going to root for Lebron to choose Philly. Embiid is just awesome.
Agree
I was all in on #myRockets but now I think Harden is mostly a loser. Either the Celts or Sixers would be cool. I'd rather him stay East so there will be a few Finals for the ages. I'd probably prefer the Sixers overall because for some reason it feels like winning multiple championships with them would be more of an accomplishment than with the Celtics. Bron to the Celts feels sort of like the junior version of Durant to GS. I don't know shit though.
"Going to Boston would kill two birds with one stone. LeBron would be in a position to break Bill Russell’s record of 10 consecutive NBA Finals appearances (he is currently at eight between Miami and Cleveland), while simultaneously removing the biggest obstacle in his path. It would be the exact opposite move that Kevin Durant made. Instead of joining a team that eliminated him and had already won a title, LeBron would be partnering with a group of young up-and-comers whom he had beaten almost single-handedly. Nike could sell it as LeBron imparting his wisdom to the next generation of players. "
"Going to Boston would kill two birds with one stone. LeBron would be in a position to break Bill Russell’s record of 10 consecutive NBA Finals appearances (he is currently at eight between Miami and Cleveland), while simultaneously removing the biggest obstacle in his path. It would be the exact opposite move that Kevin Durant made. Instead of joining a team that eliminated him and had already won a title, LeBron would be partnering with a group of young up-and-comers whom he had beaten almost single-handedly. Nike could sell it as LeBron imparting his wisdom to the next generation of players. "
It’s different but its not close to the exact opposite
"Going to Boston would kill two birds with one stone. LeBron would be in a position to break Bill Russell’s record of 10 consecutive NBA Finals appearances (he is currently at eight between Miami and Cleveland), while simultaneously removing the biggest obstacle in his path. It would be the exact opposite move that Kevin Durant made. Instead of joining a team that eliminated him and had already won a title, LeBron would be partnering with a group of young up-and-comers whom he had beaten almost single-handedly. Nike could sell it as LeBron imparting his wisdom to the next generation of players. "
LeBron's not going to the Celtics. Kyrie would die in a fire. Boston would prefer he not die in a fire. The article conveniently ignores that Kyrie wants to be the best player on a superteam, not 2nd fiddle again.
Also, Simmons-healthy fultz-Lebron-Saric-Embiid > Kyrie-Brown-Tatum-LeBron-Horford next season. Playing with Simmons and Fultz means LeBron can chill off ball half the time like he says he wants to do. The rest... LeBron and Embiid is probably close to Kobe and Shaq next year, and Kobe and Shaq didn't have Simmons or Fultz.
Playing with Brown and Tatum means LeBron has to handle the rock, and Kyrie gets minimized. Brown, Tatum and Horford are better than what LeBron had in Cleveland with Kyrie. However, if LeBron doesn't go to Philly, I'd want him to go to LA because seeing how he works with Lonzo, Ingram, and PG would be so much fun.
"Going to Boston would kill two birds with one stone. LeBron would be in a position to break Bill Russell’s record of 10 consecutive NBA Finals appearances (he is currently at eight between Miami and Cleveland), while simultaneously removing the biggest obstacle in his path. It would be the exact opposite move that Kevin Durant made. Instead of joining a team that eliminated him and had already won a title, LeBron would be partnering with a group of young up-and-comers whom he had beaten almost single-handedly. Nike could sell it as LeBron imparting his wisdom to the next generation of players. "
LeBron's not going to the Celtics. Kyrie would die in a fire. Boston would prefer he not die in a fire. The article conveniently ignores that Kyrie wants to be the best player on a superteam, not 2nd fiddle again.
Also, Simmons-healthy fultz-Lebron-Saric-Embiid > Kyrie-Brown-Tatum-LeBron-Horford next season. Playing with Simmons and Fultz means LeBron can chill off ball half the time like he says he wants to do. The rest... LeBron and Embiid is probably close to Kobe and Shaq next year, and Kobe and Shaq didn't have Simmons or Fultz.
Playing with Brown and Tatum means LeBron has to handle the rock, and Kyrie gets minimized. Brown, Tatum and Horford are better than what LeBron had in Cleveland with Kyrie. However, if LeBron doesn't go to Philly, I'd want him to go to LA because seeing how he works with Lonzo, Ingram, and PG would be so much fun.
Your hypothetical Philly team isn't better than Boston. Simmons and Fultz can't shoot. Fultz shot 65% from the line at UW and that was before the debacle. He showed flashes this year, but he can't shoot until proven otherwise. I really doubt it happens.
Obviously they should try and get LeBron, but it doesn't seem like a great fit like some pundits are saying.
Boston is also a better organization and has a better coach than Philly.
"Going to Boston would kill two birds with one stone. LeBron would be in a position to break Bill Russell’s record of 10 consecutive NBA Finals appearances (he is currently at eight between Miami and Cleveland), while simultaneously removing the biggest obstacle in his path. It would be the exact opposite move that Kevin Durant made. Instead of joining a team that eliminated him and had already won a title, LeBron would be partnering with a group of young up-and-comers whom he had beaten almost single-handedly. Nike could sell it as LeBron imparting his wisdom to the next generation of players. "
LeBron's not going to the Celtics. Kyrie would die in a fire. Boston would prefer he not die in a fire. The article conveniently ignores that Kyrie wants to be the best player on a superteam, not 2nd fiddle again.
Also, Simmons-healthy fultz-Lebron-Saric-Embiid > Kyrie-Brown-Tatum-LeBron-Horford next season. Playing with Simmons and Fultz means LeBron can chill off ball half the time like he says he wants to do. The rest... LeBron and Embiid is probably close to Kobe and Shaq next year, and Kobe and Shaq didn't have Simmons or Fultz.
Playing with Brown and Tatum means LeBron has to handle the rock, and Kyrie gets minimized. Brown, Tatum and Horford are better than what LeBron had in Cleveland with Kyrie. However, if LeBron doesn't go to Philly, I'd want him to go to LA because seeing how he works with Lonzo, Ingram, and PG would be so much fun.
Your hypothetical Philly team isn't better than Boston. Simmons and Fultz can't shoot. Fultz shot 65% from the line at UW and that was before the debacle. He showed flashes this year, but he can't shoot until proven otherwise. I really doubt it happens.
Obviously they should try and get LeBron, but it doesn't seem like a great fit like some pundits are saying.
Boston is also a better organization and has a better coach than Philly.
That's the only reason Boston beat Philly. Note how the guys who leave Boston struggle: Thomas, Crowder, Johnson...
Stevens makes players perform better than they probably should. Kyrie had easily his best TS% this year - which doesn't make sense since playing with LeBron would seemingly get you open MORE rather than less. Instead, he was a better shooter this year despite shooting a much higher percentage of threes.
In two years, Jaylen Brown went from raw prospect to exploding in the playoffs. Al Horford has been phenomenal (despite leaving his prime, still playing at same levels). Jayson Tatum was way better than anyone expected - 1 BPM in the regular season, and 1.3 in the playoffs, excellent for a rookie. Not close to the level Simmons played at (despite the one point game), but still really good. We don't know about Hayward yet. The point is that Brad Stevens is an excellent coach and probably makes the Celtics look better than they are.
The talent of the Sixers lineup is better. Fultz is working with Drew Hanlen and I think Simmons may as well. That's the guy who built Joel Embiid's game. Fultz' shoulder injury was obviously still not fully healed, and yet in his final 10 games he averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 17 minutes. LeBron is a great shooter now when he's off ball. Simmons was borderline top 5 PG this year, and Embiid may be the best all around C in the NBA. You can only expect those guys to improve. Think about it this way:
Top 5 PG/potential top 10 player - Top 10 SG/PG - best player in the NBA - Top 10 PF - Best center and potential top 5 player
Top 3 PG/Top 10 player - Top 10 SG - Top 10 SF - Top 5 PF - Top 5 C
I wouldn't have really believed in prior to the playoffs, but after the way the season ended I think Bron will go to boston. More than likely in some sort of sign and trade with irving. A few reasons stand out.
Bron is tired of losing with stupid people(and coaching). Yes bron is a bit of his own coach, but so has just about every major alpha of all time. But behind many of those greats was also a solid coach to guide. I think stevens can be that guy with bron. After the JR smith debacle, I truly think that Bron wants a team/organization which is ready to compete both physically and mentally.
Another reason I think boston is a real possibility is that Tatum is better than paul george. Everyone likes to say go to LA and get paul george. WTF? Tatum is that good, and only going to get better. You play him off gordon and bron and he could easily be a great third wheel similar to klay. Bron knows as he ages he'll need help and some youth. Boston has that. They also have picks in the draft and plenty of players to be able to maneuver the team mid year.
Houston is such a bad match in every facet of the game there is no way he does that. Paul is a walking injury. Deantoni is further from anything that bron has ever had in terms of game scheme. Then you add insult to injury when you talk about harden and what makes him good. If he doesn't dominate the ball, he is basically just another guy. So you'd bring hardens ego into play, cut his testicle off and keep a hurt paul. I don't see any of that as being even near what boston has built up.
Philly is just funny. It's like people wanting to build their nba2k lineup. It's cool on paper, but makes so little sense in real nba. Simmons no showed the playoffs, fultz has shown absolutely zero, and embid(while super fun to watch and listen to) is brittle at 23. I don't see how bron looks at that roster and thinks, i could build that into beating GS. Two guys who can't shoot at all(simmons/fultz), and one guy who may only play 4 games out of a 7 game series. No way is he going to philly. You need a team of smart players who can also shoot. I can just imagine watching klay/kd/curry trading 3's for simmons and fultz 10ft'r's. Yup, that is going to go REALLY well.
Bron has 2-3 elite years left in him. Get him around the right team and it may be more like 3-4 if he doesn't have to play by himself. But if he goes to a place like philly he's going to be asked to carry all the load scoring, especially when embid is out. With boston he could sign for 2 years and see what happens. If they win he could stay longer, if they don't, he heads out to LA for the final few years of his career once they have a better core of players(or others hit the market). Anyone who is arguing paul george is some sort of savior to flank off bron is kidding themselves. I don't see him staying in cleveland with the way this season ended. Not the sweep so much as just the guys on the team. I think he's going to want to start over and get away from the whole mess.
I wouldn't have really believed in prior to the playoffs, but after the way the season ended I think Bron will go to boston. More than likely in some sort of sign and trade with irving. A few reasons stand out.
Bron is tired of losing with stupid people(and coaching). Yes bron is a bit of his own coach, but so has just about every major alpha of all time. But behind many of those greats was also a solid coach to guide. I think stevens can be that guy with bron. After the JR smith debacle, I truly think that Bron wants a team/organization which is ready to compete both physically and mentally.
Another reason I think boston is a real possibility is that Tatum is better than paul george. Everyone likes to say go to LA and get paul george. WTF? Tatum is that good, and only going to get better. You play him off gordon and bron and he could easily be a great third wheel similar to klay. Bron knows as he ages he'll need help and some youth. Boston has that. They also have picks in the draft and plenty of players to be able to maneuver the team mid year.
Houston is such a bad match in every facet of the game there is no way he does that. Paul is a walking injury. Deantoni is further from anything that bron has ever had in terms of game scheme. Then you add insult to injury when you talk about harden and what makes him good. If he doesn't dominate the ball, he is basically just another guy. So you'd bring hardens ego into play, cut his testicle off and keep a hurt paul. I don't see any of that as being even near what boston has built up.
Philly is just funny. It's like people wanting to build their nba2k lineup. It's cool on paper, but makes so little sense in real nba. Simmons no showed the playoffs, fultz has shown absolutely zero, and embid(while super fun to watch and listen to) is brittle at 23. I don't see how bron looks at that roster and thinks, i could build that into beating GS. Two guys who can't shoot at all(simmons/fultz), and one guy who may only play 4 games out of a 7 game series. No way is he going to philly. You need a team of smart players who can also shoot. I can just imagine watching klay/kd/curry trading 3's for simmons and fultz 10ft'r's. Yup, that is going to go REALLY well.
Bron has 2-3 elite years left in him. Get him around the right team and it may be more like 3-4 if he doesn't have to play by himself. But if he goes to a place like philly he's going to be asked to carry all the load scoring, especially when embid is out. With boston he could sign for 2 years and see what happens. If they win he could stay longer, if they don't, he heads out to LA for the final few years of his career once they have a better core of players(or others hit the market). Anyone who is arguing paul george is some sort of savior to flank off bron is kidding themselves. I don't see him staying in cleveland with the way this season ended. Not the sweep so much as just the guys on the team. I think he's going to want to start over and get away from the whole mess.
I like your argument for Boston. I think you're downplaying what Philly offers - specifically Saric who's a fantastic shooter and the perfect stretch 4 for their system (and LeBron) and what having a rim protector like Embiid does for LeBron defensively. I also think Simmons/Fultz are likely to take steps forward as shooters, but if they don't they can find shooting to replace them.
But your Boston argument is strong. It's definitely the best place for him if they'll take him. I'm just not sure they'll want him. But given that if they don't, Philly's the best candidate, that certainly makes it more likely as a defensive move.
I wouldn't have really believed in prior to the playoffs, but after the way the season ended I think Bron will go to boston. More than likely in some sort of sign and trade with irving. A few reasons stand out.
Bron is tired of losing with stupid people(and coaching). Yes bron is a bit of his own coach, but so has just about every major alpha of all time. But behind many of those greats was also a solid coach to guide. I think stevens can be that guy with bron. After the JR smith debacle, I truly think that Bron wants a team/organization which is ready to compete both physically and mentally.
Another reason I think boston is a real possibility is that Tatum is better than paul george. Everyone likes to say go to LA and get paul george. WTF? Tatum is that good, and only going to get better. You play him off gordon and bron and he could easily be a great third wheel similar to klay. Bron knows as he ages he'll need help and some youth. Boston has that. They also have picks in the draft and plenty of players to be able to maneuver the team mid year.
Houston is such a bad match in every facet of the game there is no way he does that. Paul is a walking injury. Deantoni is further from anything that bron has ever had in terms of game scheme. Then you add insult to injury when you talk about harden and what makes him good. If he doesn't dominate the ball, he is basically just another guy. So you'd bring hardens ego into play, cut his testicle off and keep a hurt paul. I don't see any of that as being even near what boston has built up.
Philly is just funny. It's like people wanting to build their nba2k lineup. It's cool on paper, but makes so little sense in real nba. Simmons no showed the playoffs, fultz has shown absolutely zero, and embid(while super fun to watch and listen to) is brittle at 23. I don't see how bron looks at that roster and thinks, i could build that into beating GS. Two guys who can't shoot at all(simmons/fultz), and one guy who may only play 4 games out of a 7 game series. No way is he going to philly. You need a team of smart players who can also shoot. I can just imagine watching klay/kd/curry trading 3's for simmons and fultz 10ft'r's. Yup, that is going to go REALLY well.
Bron has 2-3 elite years left in him. Get him around the right team and it may be more like 3-4 if he doesn't have to play by himself. But if he goes to a place like philly he's going to be asked to carry all the load scoring, especially when embid is out. With boston he could sign for 2 years and see what happens. If they win he could stay longer, if they don't, he heads out to LA for the final few years of his career once they have a better core of players(or others hit the market). Anyone who is arguing paul george is some sort of savior to flank off bron is kidding themselves. I don't see him staying in cleveland with the way this season ended. Not the sweep so much as just the guys on the team. I think he's going to want to start over and get away from the whole mess.
I like your argument for Boston. I think you're downplaying what Philly offers - specifically Saric who's a fantastic shooter and the perfect stretch 4 for their system (and LeBron) and what having a rim protector like Embiid does for LeBron defensively. I also think Simmons/Fultz are likely to take steps forward as shooters, but if they don't they can find shooting to replace them.
But your Boston argument is strong. It's definitely the best place for him if they'll take him. I'm just not sure they'll want him. But given that if they don't, Philly's the best candidate, that certainly makes it more likely as a defensive move.
I agree saric is a good option, but there are a lot of what ifs with philly. Can simmons play off bron? Can Fultz do, well, anything? Can embid stay healthy? Those are some major "ifs". Does bron really want to go to a team that lacks much veteran leadership and be in charge of a daycare as well? That has to stick out a bit. He's very much into the I'm going to kill everyone stage of his career, not the party and it's cool to stay out stage. I don't know how that meshes with Bron's attitude.
I see all those question marks as being a real issue to philly getting him. I do wonder if Boston would want him. That's a valid question to ask as you mentioned. maybe they don't watn the headache of the hoopla of having bron. That being said, l have found it funny how against a lot of Boston media are to adding lebron. I read something yesterday about how awful lebron is. Um, the guy has been to almost a decade straight finals. No matter where he goes he's still the best individual player on the planet and will make teams better.
I wouldn't have really believed in prior to the playoffs, but after the way the season ended I think Bron will go to boston. More than likely in some sort of sign and trade with irving. A few reasons stand out.
Bron is tired of losing with stupid people(and coaching). Yes bron is a bit of his own coach, but so has just about every major alpha of all time. But behind many of those greats was also a solid coach to guide. I think stevens can be that guy with bron. After the JR smith debacle, I truly think that Bron wants a team/organization which is ready to compete both physically and mentally.
Another reason I think boston is a real possibility is that Tatum is better than paul george. Everyone likes to say go to LA and get paul george. WTF? Tatum is that good, and only going to get better. You play him off gordon and bron and he could easily be a great third wheel similar to klay. Bron knows as he ages he'll need help and some youth. Boston has that. They also have picks in the draft and plenty of players to be able to maneuver the team mid year.
Houston is such a bad match in every facet of the game there is no way he does that. Paul is a walking injury. Deantoni is further from anything that bron has ever had in terms of game scheme. Then you add insult to injury when you talk about harden and what makes him good. If he doesn't dominate the ball, he is basically just another guy. So you'd bring hardens ego into play, cut his testicle off and keep a hurt paul. I don't see any of that as being even near what boston has built up.
Philly is just funny. It's like people wanting to build their nba2k lineup. It's cool on paper, but makes so little sense in real nba. Simmons no showed the playoffs, fultz has shown absolutely zero, and embid(while super fun to watch and listen to) is brittle at 23. I don't see how bron looks at that roster and thinks, i could build that into beating GS. Two guys who can't shoot at all(simmons/fultz), and one guy who may only play 4 games out of a 7 game series. No way is he going to philly. You need a team of smart players who can also shoot. I can just imagine watching klay/kd/curry trading 3's for simmons and fultz 10ft'r's. Yup, that is going to go REALLY well.
Bron has 2-3 elite years left in him. Get him around the right team and it may be more like 3-4 if he doesn't have to play by himself. But if he goes to a place like philly he's going to be asked to carry all the load scoring, especially when embid is out. With boston he could sign for 2 years and see what happens. If they win he could stay longer, if they don't, he heads out to LA for the final few years of his career once they have a better core of players(or others hit the market). Anyone who is arguing paul george is some sort of savior to flank off bron is kidding themselves. I don't see him staying in cleveland with the way this season ended. Not the sweep so much as just the guys on the team. I think he's going to want to start over and get away from the whole mess.
I like your argument for Boston. I think you're downplaying what Philly offers - specifically Saric who's a fantastic shooter and the perfect stretch 4 for their system (and LeBron) and what having a rim protector like Embiid does for LeBron defensively. I also think Simmons/Fultz are likely to take steps forward as shooters, but if they don't they can find shooting to replace them.
But your Boston argument is strong. It's definitely the best place for him if they'll take him. I'm just not sure they'll want him. But given that if they don't, Philly's the best candidate, that certainly makes it more likely as a defensive move.
I agree saric is a good option, but there are a lot of what ifs with philly. Can simmons play off bron? Can Fultz do, well, anything? Can embid stay healthy? Those are some major "ifs". Does bron really want to go to a team that lacks much veteran leadership and be in charge of a daycare as well? That has to stick out a bit. He's very much into the I'm going to kill everyone stage of his career, not the party and it's cool to stay out stage. I don't know how that meshes with Bron's attitude.
I see all those question marks as being a real issue to philly getting him. I do wonder if Boston would want him. That's a valid question to ask as you mentioned. maybe they don't watn the headache of the hoopla of having bron. That being said, l have found it funny how against a lot of Boston media are to adding lebron. I read something yesterday about how awful lebron is. Um, the guy has been to almost a decade straight finals. No matter where he goes he's still the best individual player on the planet and will make teams better.
I definitely think Boston will kick the tires - they'd be idiots not to. It will be interesting to see how willing LeBron is to sell himself to them. That's not something he's really ever had to do before.
Philly definitely has question marks. I think you're being way too hard on Fultz though. The only question is whether he gets his shot back. That's a huge question, I understand. But he does everything else well, that second unit killed it when he was added back to it. Obviously LeBron isn't coming to Philly to play with a second string no-shot PG, but asking if he can do anything seems overly negative. Unless you're just questioning if the shoulder is going to be a chronic issue, in which case I have no idea.
Embiid's the key to Philly making sense. If LeBron believes in Embiid's health I could see him going there. If he's nervous about it, he probably won't.
The biggest obstacle I see for LBJ going to Boston is LBJ. If he’s willing to play less minutes but play hard on both ends of the court it could work out well. If LBJ wants to play his 45 minutes where he takes large stretches of the game off defensively that won’t work with Boston.
The reality to me is that Kyrie is a massive wild card to this offseason. If Boston isn’t or can’t re-sign him then he’s getting moved.
I wouldn't have really believed in prior to the playoffs, but after the way the season ended I think Bron will go to boston. More than likely in some sort of sign and trade with irving. A few reasons stand out.
Bron is tired of losing with stupid people(and coaching). Yes bron is a bit of his own coach, but so has just about every major alpha of all time. But behind many of those greats was also a solid coach to guide. I think stevens can be that guy with bron. After the JR smith debacle, I truly think that Bron wants a team/organization which is ready to compete both physically and mentally.
Another reason I think boston is a real possibility is that Tatum is better than paul george. Everyone likes to say go to LA and get paul george. WTF? Tatum is that good, and only going to get better. You play him off gordon and bron and he could easily be a great third wheel similar to klay. Bron knows as he ages he'll need help and some youth. Boston has that. They also have picks in the draft and plenty of players to be able to maneuver the team mid year.
Houston is such a bad match in every facet of the game there is no way he does that. Paul is a walking injury. Deantoni is further from anything that bron has ever had in terms of game scheme. Then you add insult to injury when you talk about harden and what makes him good. If he doesn't dominate the ball, he is basically just another guy. So you'd bring hardens ego into play, cut his testicle off and keep a hurt paul. I don't see any of that as being even near what boston has built up.
Philly is just funny. It's like people wanting to build their nba2k lineup. It's cool on paper, but makes so little sense in real nba. Simmons no showed the playoffs, fultz has shown absolutely zero, and embid(while super fun to watch and listen to) is brittle at 23. I don't see how bron looks at that roster and thinks, i could build that into beating GS. Two guys who can't shoot at all(simmons/fultz), and one guy who may only play 4 games out of a 7 game series. No way is he going to philly. You need a team of smart players who can also shoot. I can just imagine watching klay/kd/curry trading 3's for simmons and fultz 10ft'r's. Yup, that is going to go REALLY well.
Bron has 2-3 elite years left in him. Get him around the right team and it may be more like 3-4 if he doesn't have to play by himself. But if he goes to a place like philly he's going to be asked to carry all the load scoring, especially when embid is out. With boston he could sign for 2 years and see what happens. If they win he could stay longer, if they don't, he heads out to LA for the final few years of his career once they have a better core of players(or others hit the market). Anyone who is arguing paul george is some sort of savior to flank off bron is kidding themselves. I don't see him staying in cleveland with the way this season ended. Not the sweep so much as just the guys on the team. I think he's going to want to start over and get away from the whole mess.
I like your argument for Boston. I think you're downplaying what Philly offers - specifically Saric who's a fantastic shooter and the perfect stretch 4 for their system (and LeBron) and what having a rim protector like Embiid does for LeBron defensively. I also think Simmons/Fultz are likely to take steps forward as shooters, but if they don't they can find shooting to replace them.
But your Boston argument is strong. It's definitely the best place for him if they'll take him. I'm just not sure they'll want him. But given that if they don't, Philly's the best candidate, that certainly makes it more likely as a defensive move.
I agree saric is a good option, but there are a lot of what ifs with philly. Can simmons play off bron? Can Fultz do, well, anything? Can embid stay healthy? Those are some major "ifs". Does bron really want to go to a team that lacks much veteran leadership and be in charge of a daycare as well? That has to stick out a bit. He's very much into the I'm going to kill everyone stage of his career, not the party and it's cool to stay out stage. I don't know how that meshes with Bron's attitude.
I see all those question marks as being a real issue to philly getting him. I do wonder if Boston would want him. That's a valid question to ask as you mentioned. maybe they don't watn the headache of the hoopla of having bron. That being said, l have found it funny how against a lot of Boston media are to adding lebron. I read something yesterday about how awful lebron is. Um, the guy has been to almost a decade straight finals. No matter where he goes he's still the best individual player on the planet and will make teams better.
I definitely think Boston will kick the tires - they'd be idiots not to. It will be interesting to see how willing LeBron is to sell himself to them. That's not something he's really ever had to do before.
Philly definitely has question marks. I think you're being way too hard on Fultz though. The only question is whether he gets his shot back. That's a huge question, I understand. But he does everything else well, that second unit killed it when he was added back to it. Obviously LeBron isn't coming to Philly to play with a second string no-shot PG, but asking if he can do anything seems overly negative. Unless you're just questioning if the shoulder is going to be a chronic issue, in which case I have no idea.
Embiid's the key to Philly making sense. If LeBron believes in Embiid's health I could see him going there. If he's nervous about it, he probably won't.
I wish the best for fultz. I hope he kills it, but he was hurt in h/s, hurt in college and hurt in the nba. That is not a good recipe for long term success. Especially with the nba grind, and the bigger bodies he's facing. I will also say that I do think he'll figure it out in his career, but within the next 2-3 years window of brons career? I'm very doubtful.
I totally see embiids health being a big deal, but i just can't see lebron going all in on one guys health and two guys who have shown no ability to shoot outside 10ft. Granted, lebron went back to cleveland with basically nothing, so i odn't think he's afraid of his own ability to carry a team.
Comments
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/6/8/17440192/lebron-james-boston-celtics-offseason
"Going to Boston would kill two birds with one stone. LeBron would be in a position to break Bill Russell’s record of 10 consecutive NBA Finals appearances (he is currently at eight between Miami and Cleveland), while simultaneously removing the biggest obstacle in his path. It would be the exact opposite move that Kevin Durant made. Instead of joining a team that eliminated him and had already won a title, LeBron would be partnering with a group of young up-and-comers whom he had beaten almost single-handedly. Nike could sell it as LeBron imparting his wisdom to the next generation of players. "
Also, Simmons-healthy fultz-Lebron-Saric-Embiid > Kyrie-Brown-Tatum-LeBron-Horford next season. Playing with Simmons and Fultz means LeBron can chill off ball half the time like he says he wants to do. The rest... LeBron and Embiid is probably close to Kobe and Shaq next year, and Kobe and Shaq didn't have Simmons or Fultz.
Playing with Brown and Tatum means LeBron has to handle the rock, and Kyrie gets minimized. Brown, Tatum and Horford are better than what LeBron had in Cleveland with Kyrie. However, if LeBron doesn't go to Philly, I'd want him to go to LA because seeing how he works with Lonzo, Ingram, and PG would be so much fun.
Obviously they should try and get LeBron, but it doesn't seem like a great fit like some pundits are saying.
Boston is also a better organization and has a better coach than Philly.
Stevens makes players perform better than they probably should. Kyrie had easily his best TS% this year - which doesn't make sense since playing with LeBron would seemingly get you open MORE rather than less. Instead, he was a better shooter this year despite shooting a much higher percentage of threes.
In two years, Jaylen Brown went from raw prospect to exploding in the playoffs. Al Horford has been phenomenal (despite leaving his prime, still playing at same levels). Jayson Tatum was way better than anyone expected - 1 BPM in the regular season, and 1.3 in the playoffs, excellent for a rookie. Not close to the level Simmons played at (despite the one point game), but still really good. We don't know about Hayward yet. The point is that Brad Stevens is an excellent coach and probably makes the Celtics look better than they are.
The talent of the Sixers lineup is better. Fultz is working with Drew Hanlen and I think Simmons may as well. That's the guy who built Joel Embiid's game. Fultz' shoulder injury was obviously still not fully healed, and yet in his final 10 games he averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 17 minutes. LeBron is a great shooter now when he's off ball. Simmons was borderline top 5 PG this year, and Embiid may be the best all around C in the NBA. You can only expect those guys to improve. Think about it this way:
Top 5 PG/potential top 10 player - Top 10 SG/PG - best player in the NBA - Top 10 PF - Best center and potential top 5 player
Top 3 PG/Top 10 player - Top 10 SG - Top 10 SF - Top 5 PF - Top 5 C
I'd take lineup one over lineup two, just saying.
Bron is tired of losing with stupid people(and coaching). Yes bron is a bit of his own coach, but so has just about every major alpha of all time. But behind many of those greats was also a solid coach to guide. I think stevens can be that guy with bron. After the JR smith debacle, I truly think that Bron wants a team/organization which is ready to compete both physically and mentally.
Another reason I think boston is a real possibility is that Tatum is better than paul george. Everyone likes to say go to LA and get paul george. WTF? Tatum is that good, and only going to get better. You play him off gordon and bron and he could easily be a great third wheel similar to klay. Bron knows as he ages he'll need help and some youth. Boston has that. They also have picks in the draft and plenty of players to be able to maneuver the team mid year.
Houston is such a bad match in every facet of the game there is no way he does that. Paul is a walking injury. Deantoni is further from anything that bron has ever had in terms of game scheme. Then you add insult to injury when you talk about harden and what makes him good. If he doesn't dominate the ball, he is basically just another guy. So you'd bring hardens ego into play, cut his testicle off and keep a hurt paul. I don't see any of that as being even near what boston has built up.
Philly is just funny. It's like people wanting to build their nba2k lineup. It's cool on paper, but makes so little sense in real nba. Simmons no showed the playoffs, fultz has shown absolutely zero, and embid(while super fun to watch and listen to) is brittle at 23. I don't see how bron looks at that roster and thinks, i could build that into beating GS. Two guys who can't shoot at all(simmons/fultz), and one guy who may only play 4 games out of a 7 game series. No way is he going to philly. You need a team of smart players who can also shoot. I can just imagine watching klay/kd/curry trading 3's for simmons and fultz 10ft'r's. Yup, that is going to go REALLY well.
Bron has 2-3 elite years left in him. Get him around the right team and it may be more like 3-4 if he doesn't have to play by himself. But if he goes to a place like philly he's going to be asked to carry all the load scoring, especially when embid is out. With boston he could sign for 2 years and see what happens. If they win he could stay longer, if they don't, he heads out to LA for the final few years of his career once they have a better core of players(or others hit the market). Anyone who is arguing paul george is some sort of savior to flank off bron is kidding themselves. I don't see him staying in cleveland with the way this season ended. Not the sweep so much as just the guys on the team. I think he's going to want to start over and get away from the whole mess.
But your Boston argument is strong. It's definitely the best place for him if they'll take him. I'm just not sure they'll want him. But given that if they don't, Philly's the best candidate, that certainly makes it more likely as a defensive move.
I see all those question marks as being a real issue to philly getting him. I do wonder if Boston would want him. That's a valid question to ask as you mentioned. maybe they don't watn the headache of the hoopla of having bron. That being said, l have found it funny how against a lot of Boston media are to adding lebron. I read something yesterday about how awful lebron is. Um, the guy has been to almost a decade straight finals. No matter where he goes he's still the best individual player on the planet and will make teams better.
Philly definitely has question marks. I think you're being way too hard on Fultz though. The only question is whether he gets his shot back. That's a huge question, I understand. But he does everything else well, that second unit killed it when he was added back to it. Obviously LeBron isn't coming to Philly to play with a second string no-shot PG, but asking if he can do anything seems overly negative. Unless you're just questioning if the shoulder is going to be a chronic issue, in which case I have no idea.
Embiid's the key to Philly making sense. If LeBron believes in Embiid's health I could see him going there. If he's nervous about it, he probably won't.
The biggest obstacle I see for LBJ going to Boston is LBJ. If he’s willing to play less minutes but play hard on both ends of the court it could work out well. If LBJ wants to play his 45 minutes where he takes large stretches of the game off defensively that won’t work with Boston.
The reality to me is that Kyrie is a massive wild card to this offseason. If Boston isn’t or can’t re-sign him then he’s getting moved.
I totally see embiids health being a big deal, but i just can't see lebron going all in on one guys health and two guys who have shown no ability to shoot outside 10ft. Granted, lebron went back to cleveland with basically nothing, so i odn't think he's afraid of his own ability to carry a team.