LeBron chooses to leave Cleveland for Lakers
LeBron James – in a concise, humble-brag style press release via his agency, Klutch Sports – announced he will sign a fouryear, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“LeBron James, four time NBA MVP, three time NBA finals MVP, fourteen time NBA All Star, and two time Olympic gold medalist has agreed to a four year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers,” the hyphen-missing press release read.
After much speculation, tea-leaf reading and bread-crumb following – Will it be the Lakers? Will he stay in Cleveland? Does Philadelphia have a chance? – James ended the suspense early in free agency.
Here are three reasons why LeBron joined the Lakers, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations.
1. James and his family (wife Savannah, sons LeBron Jr. and Bryce and daughter Zhuri) are excited to live in Los Angeles fulltime. He has two homes there and has spent previous offseasons there. James said earlier this season that his two biggest priorities would be winning and family when deciding his future. It’s fair to assume his wife kids played a significant role in this seismic move.
2. James believes the Lakers are in position – with some of the players they have now – to build a team that can contend for a championship soon. Also, James was not adamant that another All-Star, such as Kawhi Leonard or Paul George, had to join the Lakers for him to sign with the Lakers. He understands they can build and create a contender with him there.
Maintaining his streak of eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances gets significantly tougher after leaving the Eastern Conference for the first time in his career. It also leaves the East wide open. Not only have the Lakers not been to the playoffs since 2013, but the majority of their core is younger than 25 years old. James, as he did with the Cavs during this year’s postseason run, could have growing pains, especially considering the quality of opponent he’ll face in next year’s playoffs. As it stands, the Lakers are a team that went 35-47 last season under coach Luke Walton.
3. If James left Cleveland, it would be for an iconic franchise, and the Lakers are that with their 16 NBA championships and Hall of Famers who have played for the franchise, including some of the game’s alltime greats: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain. James’ agent, Rich Paul, met with Philadelphia, which worked hard Sunday to reach a deal with San Antonio to acquire Leonard and then convince James to join. But the Sixers never made serious traction with the Spurs.
(USA Today/TNS)