LeBron James’ Landing Spots If He Opts-Out Of His Current Contract

By Jordan Long

The Cleveland Cavaliers are down in the NBA Finals 3-0 following a 110-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors last night. In NBA history, no team has come back to win a series after being down 3 games to 0. Friday night could be the last game of the Finals and might be James’ final game in a Cavaliers’ uniform. James can opt out of his current contract and become a free agent at the end of the season.

There are plenty of teams James may pick from if he decides to become a free agent. Those include the Cavaliers, L.A. Lakers, and the Philedelphia76ers.   The Cavaliers make the most sense. They have shown in the past they will build a team around James which already helped them reach the NBA Finals 4 straight years.

If James decides to stay with Cleveland, the Cavaliers must construct a more competitive team. In the Finals, James is pretty much their only threat to score. Sure they have J.R. Smith and Kevin Love but they haven’t shown up in the Finals. Cleveland needs to find away to land another All-Star to make life easier for James.

The Lakers have young pieces to build around if James decides to go to L.A. Under contract next year are Luol Deng, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. There are rumors that Paul George could be headed that way as well. With James and George, there is enough offense for them to at least contend for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The problem with the Western Conference, and one of the reasons James may not head to the Lakers, is how competitive it is. The West is more stacked than the East. In the Eastern Conference, close to a .500 record makes you a playoff team. In the Western Conference there are years where 50 wins makes a playoff team as the 7^th or 8^th seed. James will have to compete with the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.   These are teams on the rise and they will make it difficult for James to make a trip back to the NBA Finals.

The 76ers could work. It is in the East and they have a young core that is only going to improve. The core includes Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Adding James may put them at 58 wins, a difference of 6 victories from this year. James has the experience to assist this team to go all the way to the NBA finals.

These are a few of the teams James might consider. Of course nothing can happen until this summer. James has to opt out of his contract. Plenty of teams will be calling if that is the case. James will decide the best place for him and another chance to win a ring.