NBA: 5 teams that LeBron James could join in 2018
The summer of 2018 will remind us of 2010 and 2014; the summers when LeBron James hit free agency. Just like the previous two times, almost every team in the NBA will inquire to see if they have even a snowballs' chance of landing The King. In 2010, LeBron James left a Cavaliers team that did not have much to offer, both in terms of players and personnel.
In 2014, LeBron James left a Miami Heat team that had just made the NBA Finals but looked to be on an aging decline. This time around, James is leaving a team that could be on the decline, but will still likely represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
Here are the top five most likely destinations for James.
#5 Los Angeles Lakers
This one is going to be rumored until the very last second. James has been heavily tied to the Los Angeles Lakers, but it is mostly speculative. From a basketball point-of-view, the Lakers have a nice core of young players with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma. However, nobody on the team looks like a shoe-in to be a star, like Kyrie Irving showed in Cleveland back when James signed in 2014.
The Lakers have had the #2 pick in the last three NBA Drafts, and do not have as nearly as good of an outlook as the 76ers currently possess.
The allure of being in Los Angeles cannot be ignored, but it is unlikely to be the deciding factor for James. Many stars in the past such as Carmelo Anthony, Demar DeRozan, and Russell Westbrook were linked to the Lakers in free agency, but the franchise have not had a legitimate free agent All-Star signing since the 1990's.