Last week, New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony chose to become a free agent, and in a surprise twist, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James will opt out of his current contract with the team to join Melo in free agency this summer.
Naturally the Internet exploded. James’ decision comes off a brutal Game 5 and championship loss to the re-energized San Antonio Spurs, resulting in wide-spread buzz that the greatest basketball player on the planet may take his talents elsewhere, despite recent words of wisdom from team president Pat Riley.
Will LeBron go back to Cleveland? Is there a Melo and James tandem in New York brewing? Probably not. LeBron knows the Miami Heat as presently constructed will not win the NBA title. That said, he had until June 30th to opt out of the final two years of his contract, and likely did so to restructure his deal to allow the Heat brass to sign another high value free agent and the necessary role players to compete; on a side note, teammates Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade have yet to opt out; not necessarily odd at this somewhat early stage.
Odds of LeBron staying in South Beach are high (at least for another year), but that doesn’t mean we can’t come up with dream team scenarios, both in real life and the popular video game NBA 2K14. Here’s where you should send Bron Bron.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The only way for LeBron James to win back the support of diehard Cavs fans is to make a triumphant return to the city he spurned. Once there, he’d join talented point guard Kyrie Irving to wreck havoc on the Eastern Conference. Don’t forget that Cleveland has the number one pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Soon-to-be rookie Jabari Parker and Irving in the backcourt with James running amok? Mix in some veterans and the Cavs could win the East. Image Source
Los Angeles Clippers
Lob City all day! Imagine point guard Chris Paul throwing passes to LeBron and Blake Griffin while State Farm Agent Cliff Paul watches from the stands. What’s that? Chris and Cliff are the same person? Nonsense.
Real talk, the West is without a doubt the tougher conference, and the path to the Finals is much more difficult than the surprisingly deficient East. LeBron and the Clippers would have to go through not only the Spurs, but also the Rockets, Blazers, Mavericks, Grizzlies and of course, Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, LeBron on the Clippers makes a lot of sense in the video game. Image Source
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls seem ready to make a big splash in free agency this summer, with rumors of the organization targeting Carmelo Anthony. Pair Melo and James on the same team as unstoppable point guard Derrick Rose, then rain threes and dunks from the rafters. Here’s the good news: Rose is healthy in the video game so long as you avoid all the updates. Good luck doing that on the PS4 and Xbox One.
Houston RocketsÂ
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Although LeBron took less money to play for Miami, he enjoys no state income tax in Florida. Texas has the same deal, so he might as well hop a plane to Houston to team with James Harden and Dwight Howard. We don’t know if the Rockets can pull this off, but GM Daryl Morey rarely ceases to amaze when it comes to signing big names and moving the team’s money around. Of course, like the Clippers, this puts LeBron in the competitive West.
New York Knicks
Oh summer of 2010, what could have been! Thousands of Knicks fans (us included) held our heads in disappointment (all too common these days) when LeBron chose Miami over the Big Apple in his infamous ESPN The Decision. Perhaps James will finally don a Knicks uniform and give Carmelo the help he desperately needs, especially with Phil Jackson behind the scenes.
Yeah right. The Knicks are so cap-strapped they can’t do anything until 2015; the team doesn’t possess a high-value pick in this year’s draft. No bargaining chips means no LeBron. Of course, you can make the most ridiculous and lop-sided trade in NBA 2K14 to make this happen. Behold the power of video games!
Dominate NBA 2K14 with LeBron’s offense and defense!
Published: Jun 24, 2014 03:40 pm