If LeBron Joins the Warriors there Will Be No Reason to Watch the NBA
Yesterday a report, coming from Stephen A Smith so take it with the biggest grain of salt you can find, came out that LeBron James will meet with the Warriors this offseason. If this happens, and I'm speaking of the meeting, I will be very, very pissed off. If it goes any further than a meeting, there will be absolutely no point to even watch the NBA next season, a sport I adore.
It is not new news that LeBron is a free agent when this season ends, probably tonight, and he is free to go anywhere. The speculation has been all over the map. At first, it was only the Lakers. He was seen spotted in LA looking at private schools, and he owns a very nice home there. But, doesn't every NBA player, or major NBA players, live in LA in the offseason? All the big time guys have outside interests, mostly in the entertainment industry, and LA is the best place to be to develop connections and make the most money you can. I take zero stock in the fact that he was looking at schools, and he has a home there. Since the middle of the season, the Lakers have kind of fallen off. There is a bit of a resurgence recently, but the Lakers seem unlikely.
After them, it was the Rockets. He was going to go play with his best friend in the league, Chris Paul, and they would finally be able to challenge the mighty Warriors. The three headed monster of LeBron, CP3 and Harden would be more than enough. But, they realized that they would have to get rid of some important people, mainly Clint Capela, and those talks have died down. I know that Vegas still thinks the Rockets have a good shot at getting him, but recent reports have said they will need a max deal to keep Paul, that shouldn't happen, and Capela is going to get paid by someone, and the Rockets better hope it is them because he is about to become a multiple All Star.
Recently it has been the Cavs and 76ers at the front of all the talks. In Cleveland he can do whatever he wants. He is Thanos, he is all powerful. He can snap his fingers and anyone he wants gone, they are gone. He can also bring in whoever he wants. He has carte blanche. He was instrumental in bringing in Kevin Love, Kyle Korver, JR Smith, and countless other veterans that he wants to have on his team. He is also the guy that runs everything on the floor. He controls the offense and he makes the decisions. He calls the timeouts and he picks when and where he wants to come out ad rest, or if he wants to play all 48 minutes. He controls the Cavs. As far as the 76ers goes, he could go to a young, but hyper talented team, and easily lead them to the finals every year. Me personally, I am not a fan of this, but if he wants that easy path to a shot at a title every year, the 76ers are in the East, they have the best young players in the league, and he could come in and be the super duper star that they need to push them over the top. Philadelphia, in theory, makes the most sense outside of him staying in Cleveland.
If all LeBron wants is an easy path, and to spend the rest of his career playing 28 minutes a game, and not having to worry about competition, then by all means, join the Warriors. This would be a brutal blow to the NBA. But, as I said, if LeBron doesn't want a challenge, and just wants to be one of the guys, not "the guy", then join the Warriors. If he were to do this, that Warriors team, even if they only had their 5 starters and 2 bench guys, could easily win 80 games, and sweep their way to a title. The starting five would be Steph, Klay. KD, LeBron and Draymond Green. All five All Star starters. They could throw RD and I on their bench and we would win the title. It would make for must see TV for about a week, but after that, watching games would be pointless. Would anyone really want to go see a midseason game between Golden State and say, I'll even pick a decent team, the Rockets? Not anyone outside those 2 cities. And I think even the Rockets fans might pass on that game. The great thing about sports is how dramatic it can be, but if LeBron were to join the Warriors, all that dram would be gone. The Warriors would easily win every game, even if they only gave 50 percent.
I also think it is terrible because LeBron is used to being the alpha. He is used to being the guy with the ball in his hands. He is used to getting every big shot. He is used to being catered by his teammates. That would destroy everything that Golden State has built these past three seasons. While I don't like the Warriors, I love their style of play. They are a newer, better and younger version of vintage Spurs. They play pure basketball, getting the ball to open shooters for the best possible shot. LeBron would halt all of that. He needs the ball in his hands to be as effective as he can be. Also, this is Steph's team. Sure, some may say that KD has taken over, but he hasn't. Steph is who the fans come to see. Steph is the one with the ball in his hands at the end of the game. More kids have Steph's jersey than any other player in the NBA. Then, second is KD. Then third is Klay. If LeBron signs there, he would be fighting with Draymond as the fourth most important player. Can he handle that? No freaking way.
This is a horrible idea on so many levels, and I really, truly hope it doesn't happen. I don't think it will, but I also didn't think that KD would join the Warriors 2 years ago. If the NBA gods have any sense, they won't let this happen.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet.
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