LeBron James agrees with Tyronn Lue.
On the heels of a 112-107 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Lue joked that New York’s best basketball team wouldn’t want their pick back from the Cleveland Cavaliers, which they acquired from the Boston Celtics as part of the Kyrie Irving trade.
By Thursday, James made it clear he agrees with his head coach, telling Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:
“It might not even be that good of a pick,” James told cleveland.com.
Whether it will actually be good is almost irrelevant. James, at 32, would of course prefer to have an impact player who can help him win now rather than a faceless prospect who won’t be a star for at least a few years, if at all. But he also has a point.
Few expect the Nets to hover above .500 all year, as they are now. But the notion of them being better than expected has been kicked around for quite some time. They are well-coached, and they play hard. Barring more injuries across the board, it doesn’t feel as if they’ll contend for the league’s worst record, or even a bottom-three record, or maybe even a bottom-five record.
And when you think about the Nets in these terms, the Celtics’ willingness to attach their pick to Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a second-round selection makes sense. Giving up, say, a top-seven pick in addition to all that doesn’t seem like so much—especially with Thomas injured and gearing up for free injury.
Of course, the Nets’ fortunes could turn. They’re a mere five games into the season. Jeremy Lin is done for the season. D’Angelo Russell is dealing with a sprained knee. DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe won’t play like All-Stars forever. The Cavaliers could end up with a top-five pick.
But, given how things have gone thus far, they should also be prepared to wind up with a selection that falls further down the lottery ladder.
