As the Cavaliers gradually let their Eastern Conference finals series with the Knicks go off the rails, I was wondering what LeBron James was thinking.
That he could do a better job coaching than Kenny Atkinson?
That his old buddies are in desperate need of veteran leadership?
That Evan Mobley needs a change of scenery?
LeBron is smart, so I’m guessing he could ponder all three things at the same time. After all, his responses were likely the same.
Definitely.
As we’ve seen time and again, NBA postseason success between relatively even teams can be dictated by matchups.
The Cavaliers fit like a glove on the Pistons. A mirror image to keep Jalen Duren from dominating. An easy defensive assignment for James Harden. And playoff-tested depth.
Alas, none of that carried over to the New York series. Jarrett Allen was dwarfed by Karl-Anthony Towns, Harden couldn’t guard even Josh Hart and that playoff-tested depth demonstrated why they’re no longer employed by the teams with which they got that experience.
Being that the Celtics and Pacers are constructed more like the Knicks than the Pistons, even a trip to the conference finals had to leave a very pessimistic view of the future in Cleveland.
Unless, of course, LeBron comes riding back into town.
I’m thinking he has to at least be giving it some serious thought.
He’d like to believe he’s not done winning, and that’s not about to happen in Los Angeles. It could in Cleveland, however, especially when it doesn’t take all that much to reach the NBA Finals along the Eastern path.
Heck, the Knicks have done it.
The Cavaliers are golden at two positions: Allen at center and Donovan Mitchell at guard.
As demonstrated in the New York series, Cleveland needs a defensive-minded guard. It’s not fair to ask Mitchell, whose offense is critical to the team, to be assigned double-duty.
And if he’s not guarding Jalen Brunson … well, Harden sure ain’t.
Then there’s Mobley. He should have dominated a team like the Knicks that doesn’t play a power forward.
But he didn’t. Teams like the Knicks, Celtics and Pacers – like most of the rest of the league – are playing smaller these days. Either your power forward overpowers those teams or you just can’t play him.
Frankly and sadly, the Cavs would have been better off without him against New York.
Enter LeBron. He’s versatile enough to guard OG Anunoby, Jayson Tatum and Pascal Siakam, yet he is a matchup nightmare for them.
He would be the perfect complement for a slender big man like Allen.
Another issue for the Cavaliers is a lack of leadership. It’s not coming from Atkinson, who was a complete flop in Brooklyn and now has Cleveland headed south. And it’s not coming from Mitchell (classic second option) or Harden (terrible teammate).
Once again, LeBron fixes that the moment he grabs a basketball off the practice rack.
The issue with LeBron, of course, is money. How much is he going to command in free agency this summer?
It almost certainly would take a sign-and-trade to satisfy both him and the Lakers, but who would give LA something useful for what likely will be a one- or two-year rental?
I’ll tell you who: The Cavaliers. They have a former Southern California prep and collegiate fan favorite, a No. 3 overall pick in the draft just five years ago, who has a $50 million contract next season.
It’s a perfect match.
So LeBron gets his money, his return to Cleveland and a chance to three-peat as a franchise savior, all while fitting neatly into the current roster.
Both teams have to consider that, don’t they?
That still leaves two holes in the Lake Erie dam, and ideally you’d fill both by trading Harden. But let’s be realistic.
A guy nobody likes (except on the stat sheet) has a $42 million player option for next season, so that’s the target for interested teams. If there are any.
Here’s a big-game hunter who should at least juggle it: Golden State.
Rumor has it the Warriors have Kristaps Porzingis, who made $30 million last season, and Brandin Podziemski, who is slated to make $5.7 million next year. Getting Porzingis to agree to a slight raise in a sign-and-trade makes it work.
Warriors fans would hate it, but they haven’t seen the worst of Porzingis yet. He did, after all, miss only 16 of the 31 games after Golden State acquired him in February.
That’s, uh, good for him.
At least Harden shows up.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers get a versatile guard who would complement Mitchell well and, if nothing else, a stick-figure defensive big man in case LeBron gets them to the finals, where Chet Holmgren or Victor Wembanyana awaits.
In the end, Cleveland gets rid of a guy who’s become a bad fit and another they really don’t want anymore, and they add LeBron, an intriguing big man and a guard with a pulse.
Picking up defensive-minded Marcus Smart or Russell Westbrook on the cheap in free agency and/or using your No. 29 pick on a ready-now point guard like Tyler Tanner or Ebuka Okorie then helps resolve your Brunson problem.
All pending LeBron’s approval, of course.
