Buying, selling LeBron James’ top rumored free agency landing spots

Los Angeles Lakers: Buying

Since the moment the Cavaliers lost the 2018 NBA Finals, speculation has run rampant about LeBron’s next stop. At the forefront of those conversations has been the Lakers, a team that has long been considered the frontrunner if he were to ditch Cleveland.

Well, things are starting to fall into place. The Cavaliers were a one-man show throughout the playoffs, leading many to assume Cleveland didn’t stand much of chance at re-signing James. The rest of the competition has hurdles to overcome, like Philly’s Colangelo situation and Houston’s cap situation.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are about as perfect of a potential landing spot as they come, at least on paper. I obviously can’t take into consideration James’ desires because, well, I’m not James.

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Los Angeles has an exciting young core of talent that underwent exponential improvement in 2017-18. They’ve got the cap space to sign LeBron and another superstar like Paul George. They’ve got two draft picks to build with, are in one of the country’s best markets, and have an excellent mentor for James in Magic Johnson. Oh, and LeBron already owns a home in L.A.

Wade’s suggestion that “it’s a lifestyle thing” (via “Chris and Caron”) also seems to point towards Los Angeles as the answer.

It feels like a home run, right? Well, not so fast. For years, the Lakers have seemed like a home run for top free agents, and they’ve whiffed every offseason. While they’re in a different situation with exciting new leadership, we can’t assume that James will be blown away by the opportunity.

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No matter what ends up happening, there’s no way I’m not buying the Lakers right now. They’ve got quite the case to be LeBron’s eventual landing spot when free agency opens in a few weeks.