How likely is LeBron James to join the Spurs this summer?

[Leetonidas]

LeBron is bigger than the market. Cleveland is garbage too but it that didn't stop him from going back

[Thomas82]

LeBron doesn't need the market.... he is the market. He'll make his decision based on two things 1) lifestyle and 2) where he has the best chance to win.

+1

[eDizzle20]

CIA Pop...

Bromance LeBron for his entire career to have opportunity to sign him at 33. IMO Pop misses the relationship he had with TD. I think he sees that same type of relationship with LeBron. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a coach so giddy with an opposing player. If the Spurs are able to sign LeBron that’s closest thing to a championship that’s not technically a championship.

[Biggems]

I feel the Spurs are legitimately the 4th option behind Cleveland, LAL, and Philly. I put us just ahead of Houston.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Man, Lebron would make the Spurs instant contenders but he's such a narcissistic drama queen that it could be sickening. Just play and let your game do the talking. SHUT UP.

Going to have to disagree here. Lebron has shut up; he also hasn’t been a drama queen - ever. Narcissist? I can think of many more of those in the nba before Lebron. He has played and let his game speak for itself, not really sure what you’re talking about.

[cutewizard]

[cutewizard]

Pop will get a courtesy meeting out of respect, but it's not happening.

Even if Lebron warms up to the idea of joining Spurs, Maverick Carter and the important personalities around James would not be too eager; they may even openly push against it.

San Antonio is just too disadvantaged by its market for this Lebron pipe dream to come true. It simply boils down to that.

When James meet with his people they will make a compromise choice, and it will be either Houston, Boston, or Philadelphia.

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You are saying that Lebron is NOT his own man??

[Chillen]

If Spurs can't sign LeBron I would be fine with them going after DeMarcus Cousins while keeping Kawhi, LMA. Spurs at the very least need a big 3 of some kind to compete with Warriors and Rockets.

[tmtcsc]

Going to have to disagree here. Lebron has shut up; he also hasn’t been a drama queen - ever. Narcissist? I can think of many more of those in the nba before Lebron. He has played and let his game speak for itself, not really sure what you’re talking about.

Check my last post - I was referring to him making a big deal of his injured hand at the post game media session. He wore the black brace and even proceeded to tell the press that he "pretty much played with a broken hand". It was bruised, not broken. He also noticed them taking photos of his hand and he said "you like that wrap don't you ?"

C'mon, was that really necessary? He played great with the injury but yet he needed to draw attention to himself. He needed to make up a story or narrative about his greatness and toughness. That's complete, unnecessary drama.

[K...]

Check my last post - I was referring to him making a big deal of his injured hand at the post game media session. He wore the black brace and even proceeded to tell the press that he "pretty much played with a broken hand". It was bruised, not broken. He also noticed them taking photos of his hand and he said "you like that wrap don't you ?"

C'mon, was that really necessary? He played great with the injury but yet he needed to draw attention to himself. He needed to make up a story or narrative about his greatness and toughness. That's complete, unnecessary drama.

That's all well and good, but compared "the decision"'era LeBron , he's much more mature now

[tmtcsc]

That's all well and good, but compared "the decision"'era LeBron , he's much more mature now

"The Decision" was well-intentioned and an effort to raise money but ultimately an awful idea. I'm talking about the other stuff. He has a tendency to throw his teammates under the bus or blame them for things when it may be his own fault. He's very aware of the cameras around him. He also gets special treatment and privileges. How would that sort of stuff play out on the Spurs? I'm sure Pop could deal with it but what about Aldridge. Is he going to shut down and pout? I wonder if the Spurs would need to move him to another team. I'm still wondering how he is going to respond with a helathy Leonard back.

[dbestpro]

I think there is a good chance James will move to LA with his sights on business after basketball. We all assume his goals are to win more rings, but maybe his role in entertainment is where his head is at.

[LkrFan]

Very unlikely IMO. Kiwi's relationship with the Spurs FO is fractured. I'm sure him and LBJ have talked. LBJ knows fully well why Kiwi basically sat out the whole year rather than play for Pop. Something - that has not been made public - has happened that made Kiwi stay away from the Spurs this year. I'm sure he told LBJ. LBJ don't want no part of that.

[alpha_HaZE]

So I did the math (using the capulator):

If Danny & Rudy opt out and are renounced
If all free agents are renounced (Tony Parker, Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, Davis Bertans, Hilliard, Costello)
If BP3 is waived (non-guaranteed deal)
If SA defers Milutinov to the following year
If SA trades Pau + 2019 first to a team like ATL for nothing back salary wise

SA will have Kawhi, LMA, Mills, Manu, Joff, White & Murray under contract and will be at 69M in salaries including the charge for the 18th pick this year and cap holds for roster spots.

The salary cap is 101M, so 101M - 69M = 32M in cap space.

Lebron’s max is like 35.5M so SA would be about 3.5M short.

So what ESPN said was not meant to be fully accurate; it was just a high level example of the type of moves SA would have to make.

So Lebron could take less so SA doesn’t have to move other assets.
SA could trade the 2018 pick in the Pau deal vs 2019 and get another 2M in cap space and get close to max.


But if Lebron wants every penny, then SA would have to either trade the 2018 pick in the Pau deal instead of 2019 and then move either Mills, Murray, White or Joff (or if Joff unexpectedly declines his player option, just doing everything above but trading 2018 first instead of 2019 would get SA to full max).

The biggest “hinge” is Danny & Rudy. If they opt out, the path becomes far easier. If they dont then it’s much tougher.

Thanks for doing those calculations! To me, the best option would be to trade LA for Lebron, that way we can keep our draft picks and bring our core back.

[cd021]

I could see him bolting to the Lakers and either PG-13 or CP3 going with him. If that is the case then Lonzo's ass is outta there. A sign and trade with Cleveland would make sense for both teams in the scenario that Lebron does go to L.A.

Cleveland Gets

Lonzo Ball
Luol Deng
25th pick (the pick that they traded away to get Nance Jr.) or 2020 1st rounder

Lakers Get
Lebron + clearing out another $25 million in cap space to build a team around him and PG/CP3

[lefty]

Pop : we have big women
LeBron : I'm in

[DMC]

Spurs have historically been the landing spot for end of career guys, even good ones. A few of them have done well in their final seasons (Horry, Finley, Dice, etc...) so it wouldn't be out of sorts for Lebron to come here. It wouldn't make any sense from a money perspective though.

KG and Ray teamed with Paul to form a super team.
Pau Gasol was mysteriously traded to LA to form sort of a super team. This combated the above move
Lebron, Wade and Bosh joined to form a superteam (as a response to both of the above).
Lebron makes the Finals 4 consecutive years and wins two rings.
The Spurs play better basketball and make the Finals 2 times, winning a ring from Lebron and sending him back to Cleveland
Golden State through organic growth beats everyone including Lebron's team when Love and Irving go down
Lebron comes back with a healthier squad and beats the Warriors when Draymond and Bogut are both out, denying the Warriors of a 73 win season greater than the Bulls'.
Golden State recruits Kevin Durant to counter the "super team" in Cleveland and form perhaps the most prolific scoring team in the history of the game. They win 2 consecutive rings from Lebron's team.

I expect this trend to continue. I expect Lebron to join with two dominant players to counter the super team in Golden State. I don't expect him to go play in a "system" because Lebron's system has resulted in 8 consecutive Finals appearances so he won't see anyone else as being more able to get there than he is.

He would likely either be in Houston or Boston. I'd be surprised to see him in Boston since Kyrie left him once already and they have Gordon Hayward.

If he goes anywhere else, even San Antonio (if either LMA or Kawhi leaves) He's fighting another uphill battle. I don't think he wants that at this point in his career. I think he wants the next few years to be Lebron vs whomever in the Finals.

The other side of that coin is that he stays in Cleveland and recruits names to play with him, since he's established there. If he goes to the Lakers, he's sniffing Kobe's farts.

[DMC]

I could see him bolting to the Lakers and either PG-13 or CP3 going with him. If that is the case then Lonzo's ass is outta there. A sign and trade with Cleveland would make sense for both teams in the scenario that Lebron does go to L.A.

Cleveland Gets

Lonzo Ball
Luol Deng
25th pick (the pick that they traded away to get Nance Jr.) or 2020 1st rounder

Lakers Get
Lebron + clearing out another $25 million in cap space to build a team around him and PG/CP3

Why would they all need to go to the Lakers? Why not Cleveland (other than living in Cleveland)?

[DMC]

I could see him bolting to the Lakers and either PG-13 or CP3 going with him. If that is the case then Lonzo's ass is outta there. A sign and trade with Cleveland would make sense for both teams in the scenario that Lebron does go to L.A.

Cleveland Gets

Lonzo Ball
Luol Deng
25th pick (the pick that they traded away to get Nance Jr.) or 2020 1st rounder

Lakers Get
Lebron + clearing out another $25 million in cap space to build a team around him and PG/CP3

Lebron and CP3 is not as workable as it seems. Both are great players, but Lebron thrives from the point forward position and even James Harden had to move to the 2 spot to allow Chris to run the point. Lebron wants total floor control. Chris Paul wants total floor control. Chris Paul should have total floor control. I cannot see Lebron standing around watching CP3 and Paul George jack up shots and flop. He had that with Irving and IT.

[DMC]

Very unlikely IMO. Kiwi's relationship with the Spurs FO is fractured. I'm sure him and LBJ have talked. LBJ knows fully well why Kiwi basically sat out the whole year rather than play for Pop. Something - that has not been made public - has happened that made Kiwi stay away from the Spurs this year. I'm sure he told LBJ. LBJ don't want no part of that.

You really think Kawhi talked to Lebron?

[marinoman]

I doubt he goes west, but I do think we have the best shot out of any team including the lakers if he does. Im really surprised people give the Lakers such a high chance. Did people watch his game 4 presser? He made it clear building a team from scratch is a chore cause you gotta get pieces together, no chemistry etc. That indicates he wants to be the only major piece and not a bunch of changes. Probably explains the marc spears article of why lebron isn’t really interested in Houston

[DMC]

Lebron also said Klay could lead a team as the 1st option.

[LkrFan]

You really think Kawhi talked to Lebron?

Players talk. If he's really considering SA, why would he not?

[spurs10]

I'm feeling like Kawhi will be signing an extension and will be consulted about the future. Can't help but think whatever happens, as far as who comes and goes, will depend on the vision Pop have for the next few years. As usual, I think the top players will be brought into the conversation. With Kawhi it's a must.

[John B]

Basketball wise, forget small market, just pure which team will give LeBron the best chance of a ring(s) is Dubs and Spurs. Joining Dubs would be the biggest sissy move, so that’s not happening. The only thing that messes this for Spurs to land LeBron, basketball wise, is Cavs miraculously getting PG and Cousins, both unrestricted free agents, by sign and trade, however to work the cap. Cousins does not pair well with Davis so he could go to Cavs who’s already there at the Finals in a weaker conference, same as PG. LeBron successfully recruiting them means not uprooting his family which he talked about and staying with Cavs, which he might potentially own in the future. Maybe draft Trae as shooter/facilitator at 8th pick.