The NBA finals are playing out right now—but more lays ahead for the rest of the summer. Free agency will commence as soon as a champion is crowned, and this summer will see star players like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George hitting the market.
But who can forget the decision that LeBron James will have to make after this finals series.
This finals series and free agency are 2 different entities, or are they? LeBron, after being blown out by the Warriors in game 2, took to the podium to offer up some of his life’s mantra.
“The odds have been stacked against me since—I don’t know, since I was 5, 6 years old. So we’re talking about basketball here. It seems like I come up here and tell you guys this all the time. The odds have been stacked up against me since I was an adolescent.”
James told the media he’s playing to “get the most out it” and is going to give this series his all and with some luck and fortune on his side, maybe the outcome will tilt in his favor.
But that is highly unlikely. LeBron is up against a team with 2 former MVP’s and 4 current All-Stars that is nearly impossible to stop. They manage to exploit holes in Cleveland’s defense, creating deficits that the Cavs can’t possibly dig themselves out of. Many believe the Warriors win because of Steve Kerr’s system, but in reality, it’s because they have talented players like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
But when did this 4-Part saga between the Cavs and Warriors seem to tilt heavily in favor of GSW? Free agency of course. Kevin Durant’s signing 2 years ago was the key ingredient to send this Warriors team into super-team territory. The last time the Cavs contended with the Warriors in the finals was the 2016 NBA finals, where the Warriors, without Kevin Durant, blew a 3-1 lead, allowing the Cavs to steal the championship in game 7.
But this time, everything is different. The Warriors have been one of the most active teams in free agency, solidifying their bench and having a diverse and talented group of players equipped to defend any team. While the Cavs ended up losing Kyrie Irving to the Celtics and gained very little in return (apart from some young talent, which I believe is General Manger Koby Altman’s preparation for a future without LeBron).
This summer, regardless of the outcome of the finals, the Cavs face one of the greatest challenges in all of sports: locking up LeBron James. With teams like the Lakers and the Sixers, who can offer James money and talent, Cleveland is going to have to come up with a pitch that is irresistible to LeBron. On top of that, James’ relationship with Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert has become strained, and it is clear that he will need more help next year.
In my opinion, LeBron has 2 options this free agency: either leave and explore winning with an entirely new team and management, or stay on the Cavs and play GM himself, basically ordering the Cavs front office to go after whatever players he desires to have around him, because this past offseason scarcely improved the previous season’s roster.
But we’ll just have to wait and see how these last few games play out. The next game of the NBA finals is Wednesday at 9:00 PM EST.
Featured Image via: Flickr/Keith Allison
