Oh, joy.
The Miami Heat are still trying to win their third consecutive title, yet the LeBron James free agency talk is already in full swing. It has been for quite some time, which was to be expected because 1) he left the Cleveland Cavaliers in extravagant fashion in 2010 and 2) he’s LeBron James. Players want to be him (sans hairline) and teams would pay anything to sign him.
What wasn’t expected is LeBron thinking he has 30 options–including Miami–this coming summer.
“This time is going to be different,” a source close to LeBron told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne about his free agency. “If LeBron decides to look at other options it won’t just be teams with cap space. He has 30 options if he wants them.”
Okay then. Thirty options, huh? I didn’t think that many teams had cap space this year.
Because they don’t.
Shelburne and Windhorst elaborated:
By this time in 2010, the Cavs were favorites to retain James and the Heat were just a contender with a plan, hoping circumstances would lead to an opportunity. Now in February 2014, the Heat are favorites. But once again there are a few teams hoping circumstances can lead to opportunity. James plays one of them tonight in Los Angeles.
Unlike the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavs — two teams that have been mentioned as suitors for James this summer — the Clippers will not have open cap space. They will not have the cap space to sign James as a maximum-level free agent. It would require a sign-and-trade if James ever got serious about the option. In short, it would take the Heat’s cooperation.
For this reason, the Clippers are not on the national radar as a potential location for James if he decides to look around. It is unconventional to consider it. But what the Heat did to land James four years ago was not conventional, either. They were able to make some remarkable last-minute trades — a detail that largely goes overlooked in history — then convinced three stars in their primes to take pay cuts so they could play together. That is also a feat that remains unmatched by any of their peers.
In other words, sign-and-trades are in play for LeBron this summer. If he wanted to, he could exert his leverage over Miami, and force a trade elsewhere. Wanting to capitalize off LeBron’s departure, the Heat would likely consider making his wish their command.
Let’s hold up for a second, though. I almost didn’t hit this when I first saw it on Wednesday. Not because of Shelburne and Windhorst; they’re two of ESPN’s best writers and most reliable reporters. But are we really talking about this right now?
Not only is it difficult to imagine LeBron walking out on Miami this summer, it’s even more difficult to envision him putting the screws to a franchise that helped him win at least two titles by that point. If he really wants out of Miami, he would be better off opting in for one more year, making one last run and then leaving in 2015 when even more teams are slated to have cap space.
Why leave under messy circumstances? Again? You don’t. And LeBron (probably) won’t. He’s too smart to do that. Way too smart.
Mostly, we’re way, way, way too early for this.
Want to talk about LeBron’s impending decision and how it could impact the NBA? Fine. But I’m not prepared to loop all 30 teams into the premature conversation, some of which are for obvious reasons (market size). Mostly, though, it’s just too early. And you know it’s too early when we’re talking about every single team in the league potentially courting a player that is still months away from making any kind of decision.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
