“Don’t put LeBron in the camp of James Harden who quit on 2 teams, Kevin Durant who’s asking out” - Chris Broussard says LeBron James did things the right way, says he’ll be an NBA owner in Las Vegas
When the topic of player empowerment in the NBA comes up, LeBron James is often the first name mentioned. Many feel the Lakers forward paved the way for what exists in the league today when he joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010 in Miami.
Since joining the Heat, James has played for two more teams (returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers). Few players of his greatness have ever bounced around as much, but he is far the embodiment of player empowerment.
James mentioned that he wanted to be the owner of a team in Las Vegas when his playing career is over. As one of the game's biggest faces, most expect the league to make this dream a reality at some point down the road. FS1's Chris Broussard recently detailed how the NBA will work with LeBron because he did things the right way.
"LeBron is going to be an owner in the NBA," Broussard said. "I think he's gonna get that team in Las Vegas. Whenever they put a team in Vegas, I think LeBron will be in ownership. ... He's played by the rules.
"Don't put LeBron in the camp of James Harden who quit on two teams, (or) Kevin Durant who is asking out for a trade with four years left on his deal. He is none of those guys. He has done it the right way."
LeBron James says he wants to own an NBA team in Las Vegas, and I think I know how he's going to do it.
It's a series of calculated chess moves that has seemingly been in the works for over a decade.
Here's the breakdown 👇 https://t.co/yr0hzHMxKh
Is LeBron James to blame for the current state of player empowerment?
A case can be made that LeBron James played some part in player empowerment being where it is, but Broussard brings up a key point. He does not belong in the same category as Kevin Durant and other stars.
Throughout his career, James has always done things as intended. While he's done his fair share of jumping around the league, it was always as a free agent. Even when LeBron was only signing one-year deals, he never came close to some of the stunts being seen now.
This upcoming season will be 20 years of LeBron.
Im glad I've been able to appreciate his career rather than sitting here hoping that he fails.
He is by far the most scrutinized athlete ever.
We may never see another player like him.
Appreciate him while you can. https://t.co/TFeIUwZGx0
If anything, LeBron created a blueprint for players to always be in control of their situation. He constantly signed short-term deals so that he never got caught up in a bad spot. Stars like Durant could have followed suit, but opted to sign long-term max contracts instead.
Players have every right to have control of their situation, and LeBron did it the right way. Because of his stature, the league should be more than willing to make him an owner when the time comes.