The LeBron James Dilemma

So who would you rather have - LeBron James for one year or Kyrie Irving for three years? That's basically the situation facing the Cavaliers right now since it seems clear the two players can no longer coexist on the same time.

The best answer for Cleveland to this dilemma, in my opinion, is probably to trade James to the Lakers for a package of Brook Lopez, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle plus a future first round pick. The salaries match up so no problem there. The Cavaliers could then flip one or a couple of their assets (Ingram, Randle or Kevin Love) to better craft a competitive roster. It should also be noted that Lopez's $22.6 million contract expires at the end of the year which gives them some flexibility going forward.

This trade would be good for the Lakers because they get LeBron freaking James without having to wait a year. Besides with James in the fold either Ingram or Randle would have had to have been moved anyway. If Paul George chooses LA after next season then both Randle and Ingram would probably have to me moved anyway.

Everyone "knows" LeBron James wants to go to the Lakers - it's the worst kept secret in the NBA. Cleveland should trade him now to get something for him instead of waiting and getting nothing (once again). Dan Gilbert could very publicly offer LeBron a super-max extension and if LeBron does not sign - boom do the trade.

This trade would be good for the Celtics since their path to the NBA Finals would be much easier with LeBron out of the Eastern Conference. Yes it would hurt Boston in the sense that they own the Lakers first round pick next year if it's the 2nd though 5th pick in the draft and no team with LeBron is going to be that bad. Big deal - that just means Boston gets Sacramento's unprotected 2019 first round pick instead.

Do the trade Cleveland. Do the trade!

NBA Thoughts

Things are getting crazy in the NBA "Hot Stove". Here's some of my thoughts/predictions.

New York Knicks - my guess is Kristaps Porzingis is not traded by the Knicks. Phil Jackson will realize how angry he's made Knick fans even suggesting Porzingis may be available and nothing will happen. Could that change if Jackson drafts 7'0" Lauri Markkanen Thursday night? Yes. If Jackson gets his ego all a twitter and trades Porzingis to show the world who is boss then Boston can offer the best package. Next year's Nets number one and the Lakers first if 2-5 (or Kings 2019 unprotected) plus Jae Crowder is a pretty fair exchange. If Jackson also trades Carmelo Anthony to the Cavaliers straight-up for Kevin Love then the frontcourt of Crowder, Love and Markkanen is pretty decent and with two top picks in 2018 the Knicks are actually in better shape than they are right now. Better chance is that Porzingis stays put and Jackson screws things up.

Cavaliers - Jimmy Butler supposedly says he wants to be traded to Cleveland. Problem is the Cavs don't have the assets. The only real asset the Cavs have is Kevin Love and the only destination I can picture for Love is the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony. As a Boston fan I'd love to see Carmelo in Cleveland. The confusion, discord and eventual falling apart would be delicious.

Bulls - whither Jimmy Butler? As I said - I don't think the Cavs have the assets and the Celtics I don't think really want to spend their assets on Butler. So where does he land? My guess is in Minnesota with old coach Tom Thibodeau.

Celtics - I think the draft rumors of Danny Ainge picking Jason Tatum are correct but after that? Who knows? It will be fun to watch and the 2017-18 Celtics will be better than this year's team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Flotsam and Jetsam NBA Championship Edition

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Congratulations to LeBron James and the Cavaliers for bringing a chmpionship to the long-suffering City of Cleveland... Chad Finn has a nice appreciation of what this win means for LeBron James... LeBron James in now 4-2 in playoff game 7's. I need to remind people the Bill Russell was 10-0 in game 7's. It bugs me that Russell always seems to be left out of these conversations... Good question...  It can be argued that Kevin Love had a much better game last night than Steph Curry. I wonder how the Cavs winning the championship effects all the "trade Kevin Love" talk... Fence Jumping Alligators would be a good name for a band... Now that the Finals are over the NBA world turns to the upcoming Draft. I'm really curious what Danny Ainge ends up doing with all the assets he's stock-piled. My guess is that he keeps the 3rd pick and takes Buddy Hield from Oklahoma. It is also worthy to note that their's not a single player on the Nets that would be worthy trading the 3rd pick for straight-up. Think of that...

Distractions

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers had the best record in the league this year but lost to the Celtics in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Not to take anything away from the Celtics but I think the distraction of LeBron James' impending free agency cost the Cavaliers dearly. All the players were constantly asked about it and the Boston fans even mocked the team with chants of "New York Knicks" and "Lebron is leaving".

When the Cavaliers lost I couldn't help but think of the 1978 New England Patriots. They had one of the best teams in the history of the Patriots with 5 All-Pro's including running back Sam Cunningham, tight end Russ Francis, linemen John Hannah and Leon Gray plus cornerback Mike Haynes. A young Steve Grogan led the team on offense and a young Steve Nelson led the team on defense. This was a Super Bowl caliber team but a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs mainly because the team was distracted by the contract status of head coach Chuck Fairbanks who had agreed to become the head coach of the University of Colorado after the season. I clearly remember the first round game against Houston and how distracted the whole team seemed and played. If Chuck Fairbanks waited till after the season to sign a contract then I really believe that 1978 team easily could have won the Super Bowl.

I mention this now because I see the same distractor-factor building in Los Angeles with Phil Jackson and the Lakers. Suddenly the Lakers are in a tough fight against the Suns and it can be argued that Jackson has been out-coached. If the Lakers lose to the Suns look for the distraction angle to be played up in both the local and national media. If the Lakers make it past the Suns then look for the distraction of Phil Jackson's contract status to become an even bigger story.

Linky Links

Here's some stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Joe Posnanski nails exactly how I felt about Cleveland watching those last couple of minutes.

- Bruce, Lady Gaga, Sting, Elton, Blondie, Shirely Bassey sing Journey. Yeah you read that correctly. Like a train wreck on stage.

- This thread had some laugh out loud pictures.

- Rangers plan to place Garko on waivers. Makes me wonder if the Mike owell for Max Ramirez deal could be back on sometime soon.

- Here's your roller derby primer (including the reason nobody wears #1)

- Heh heh

- Iowa Kinsella Baseball Diamond For $5.4 Million (it should sell for a discount since Kinsella built it exactly opposite the way the vision showed him)

- Incredible! Bobby Bonilla Still Owed $30 Million in Salary

Top 5 - Best NBA Players Not to Win a Championship

LeBron James is still very young but if he can't get it done this year with Cleveland then there's no guarantee he'll get a better chance in seasons to come (whether he stays in Cleveland or not). Keep in mind that Dan Marino went to the Super Bowl early in his career but as good as he was - Miami never had a team good enough to get him back. Here's my list of the top 5 NBA players never to win an NBA Championship.

1. LeBron James
2. Charles Barkley
3. Karl Malone
4. Dominique Wilkins
5. Dan Issel

Just missing the list - Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing and John Stockton.