LeBron faces reality.
LOS ANGELES – LeBron James’ team won the NBA All-Star Game, but that’s not the only reason he had a ton of fun over the past few days.
In keeping with his status as one of the best basketball players ever, James likes being around the best guys, the finest athletes, the coolest kids on the block.
He just spent a nice little break with a group of elite players, especially those he selected for his own team to take on Team Giannis (Antetokounmpo), that he’d love to be playing with every night. James chose so many impending free agents that his squad became known as Team Tampering. He knew what he was doing.
Here’s the rub. As he rejoins the Lakers, he will reconnect with colleagues whom he was indifferent enough about that president of basketball operations Magic Johnson offered up nearly all of them in an attempt to land Anthony Davis.
And there’s plenty to suggest the closest James will get to his preferred Dream Team just passed by over the weekend or will again come and go at next year’s All-Star break. Building a superpower in Los Angeles isn’t proving to be particularly easy.
So who else other than Davis? Take a peek down the Team LeBron roster and James would jump at the chance to suit up alongside virtually any one of them and try to build a title-worthy team. Yet almost all of them have reasons that will probably keep them away, or at least make the Lakers an unlikely destination when compared to other options.
Kyrie Irving hit the decisive shot the last time James lifted the trophy in 2016, and the point guard recently patched up the temporary friction between the pair by picking up the phone to apologize. James would love to have such a star at his disposal now, but there are too many other good options for Irving. He can either stay in Boston and continue the Celtics’ aggressive chase for prominence or go to New York, where the chance to create a legacy — perhaps alongside Kevin Durant — might prove irresistible. An LA switch is not totally out of the equation, but it is likely way down his list of priorities.
Part of the problem is that any team with James becomes Team LeBron, not just at All-Star time. Durant himself said there’s too much noise surrounding James in Los Angeles, describing it as a “toxic” scenario and effectively suggesting that any superstar who goes there is resigning themselves to playing second fiddle at best while being the scapegoat for any failure if things go wrong. Count Durant, obviously, plus Kawhi Leonard and Damian Lillard, among the players who likely have little interest in that kind of drama.
Klay Thompson would be a great fit from a playing standpoint, and his father, Mychal, is the local radio analyst for the Lakers, but the Warriors remain in the pole position to re-sign him.
Other members of James’ All-Star crew would make less sense and provide less pop. Karl-Anthony Towns could be impactful if a Davis deal flamed out in the summer, though the Timberwolves have him signed to a monstrous contract and would probably still say “no” even if a trade included the Staples Center, Santa Monica Pier and Magic’s collection of designer suits.
LaMarcus Aldridge seems content and comfortable in San Antonio. Bradley Beal could be an option as the Wizards continue to implode, but he would come at a significant cost and it’s hard to be sure that he could be effective enough as a No. 2 on a championship team.
James Harden marches to the beat of his own drum, and unless James was willing to cede control and have the ball out of his hands the whole time, that’s a partnership that’s never going to work.
Ben Simmons could well end up with the Lakers one day, given his Klutch Sports connection, plus the fact the Aussie dates California’s own Kendall Jenner. But still, he’s a core part of the 76ers’ aspirations.
Which leaves us with Dwyane Wade. The close friends have been there and done that, winning two titles together in Miami, but Wade is now taking a victory lap before heading off into well-deserved retirement and a future spot in the Hall of Fame.
And so it’s back to reality for James. The reality is that at 28-29, he’s on a team that’s struggling mightily to make the playoffs and isn’t expected to do much if it gets there. A team with some trade parts to offer but none so spectacular as to guarantee a superstar return. And a looming free agent market where the biggest players, with one exception, might be more interesting in playing elsewhere.
James’ competitive juices will ensure he makes a serious run at reaching the postseason. But whether he admits it or not, this week surely has a post-vacation, backto-work feel about it, with the knowledge the next time he sees those elite-level peers he had such fun with, it will be as opponents, not as teammates.