Lebron went in to hero mode tonight and it wasn't enough.

WES2006AG said:

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Lebron went in to hero mode tonight and it wasn't enough.

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Good outcome for us imo. Losing in a 50 point effort.

CFTXAG10 said:

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WES2006AG said:

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Lebron went in to hero mode tonight and it wasn't enough.

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Good outcome for us imo. Losing in a 50 point effort.

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JR Smith is such a ****ing dumbass

Yea, you can't do that in the finals

Le sigh.

If Chris Paul won't take a discount, it makes it near impossible to get Lebron. However, how would everyone feel about a deal of Harden and Anderson for Lebron and Love? I don't know how the salaries would match or even if possible (does Harden have no trade clause), but if so here is your starting lineup:

Paul-Gordon-Lebron-Love-Capela
Versus
Paul-Harden-Ariza/Luc-Tucker-Capela

That's pretty nice.

Like I said, I don't pretend to know salary cap or contract numbers, but first glance, seems it would work.

The only feasible way to get Lebron is for him to opt into the final year of his deal and we trade for him. In that case, Paul's salary doesn't matter. The bigger sticking points are getting Lebron and Cleveland to actually agree to the deal.

Ryan34 said:

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The only feasible way to get Lebron is for him to opt into the final year of his deal and we trade for him. In that case, Paul's salary doesn't matter. The bigger sticking points are getting Lebron and Cleveland to actually agree to the deal.

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Which I don't think is that far fetched.

If they know he's leaving they may inclined to do whatever they can to ship him off to the West. This goes for any team in the East that DM may need to include as a 3rd team.

Basically, teams in the East should be bending over backwards to help the Rockets get Lebron out of that conference.

Solid point. The East would be way different without LeBron.

I am sure Morey will be contacting James and his group shortly after the finals then get in touch with the Cavs to see if they will play ball. Question I have is what will the Post-LeBron Cavs try to do? Tank? That question will determine what a deal for LeBron would ultimately look like.

Does Dan Gilbert even want LeBron around?

This whole thing is a giant headache. I just poured over cap rules and figures and here's the rub as it applies to Lebron and Houston:


The basic gist is that there exists no scenario where Houston can straight up sign Lebron as a FA. Due to salary restrictions, Hou is already over the hard cap with the roster they have on the books NEXT season (so not including Ariza or Capela). This disallows them from signing any OUTSIDE player beyond the league minimum. (I'm not sure if Hou has a MLE but if so, they could theoretically sign Lebron to that....if he's cool with taking 1/4 of his potential salary). Houston would basically have to shed $35m of salary from next season's roster and thats simply not possible.

That means a sign and trade is the only avenue. And things are still dicey because of Clev's cap situation. They are currently going to pay $53m in tax this summer for being a repeat 'over cap' team. If they traded lebron, due to nba trade rules, they'd have to take on salaries of comparable value. (ie - Anderson + Gordon from Houston) This would still keep them over the cap and would basically inccrease their lux tax by 30% next season for a far worse roster. Obviously Clev won't do this. If Lebron leaves, I think they want to tank.

At this point another team will be required. Clev will have to shed Love and prolly another contract to get under the cap and commence their tanking.

All of that is assuming Clev would accept a trade for Lebron. From Hou's perspective, they would need to shed their own salaries. Anderson is a must. He has to go or Lebron isn't possible. So finding a willing home for that crap contract is the biggest hurdle. Then, with Lebron's $35m coming aboard, and assuming CP3 signs his max....that's over $100m in salary for 3 players. Idk how you construct a roster with essentially $28m left but I maybe cap experts can figure it out.

TL;DR....Lebron to Hou is really really far fetched unless he agrees to sign for the MLE.

Thanks for the write up and research. What if we stretch out Anderson's deal to $8 mil/5 years and then cut him?

There are also only a handful of teams with room to take on a $20mm/yr contact. Options are limited. Lakers, Sixers, Bulls and a couple others. You gotta attach some nice chips to get them to waste their space helping another team create a super team

Which is why I think the best chance is it's an Eastern conference team.

For example the Bulls. If they're smart they'd team up with the Rockets and work a deal to ship LeBron to Houston and out of the East. Makes their path easier once they're rebuild is complete.

Ag_07 said:

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Which is why I think the best chance is it's an Eastern conference team.

For example the Bulls. If they're smart they'd team up with the Rockets and work a deal to ship LeBron to Houston and out of the East. Makes their path easier once they're rebuild is complete.

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What are they getting right now that can be useful when there young players mature? Rockets draft pics aren't valuable for rebuilding if they have the big three.

If LBJ is leaving, they also don't want to facilitate Cleveland getting out of the tax and getting picks/prospects that still help Cleveland

Good point

I do think that Anderson's expiring contract is valuable to a team that's in tank mode. His $20MM for the next couple years will help a team in tank mode reach the min spend and it'll be off the books in two years when they're ready to add pieces via free agency.

There are a few teams that it could help but it's very few and it'll be tough to find the perfect match.

It's interesting that as tough as it's going to be the Rockets are still the odds on favorite.

Does it even take LeBron for the Rockets to get over the hump? You guys were a tweaked hamstring away from really having an opportunity to beat GS. The Rockets def need to upgrade, but adding the best player in the world isn't required IMO.

True but that's not the first time Paul has missed playoffs games and at this point it's likely it'll happen again.

You can still win with James and Harden without Paul. Not many other players where that's the case. It's an addition and an insurance plan.

I'd personally run it back. Re-sign Capela and Ariza. Try to shed Anderson's deal for someone worth a damn and go at it again. Forget this Lebron thing. It's folly. You'll just end up with a gutted roster only slightly better than what Clev has.

Not sure it's enough. We had home court advantage, Draymond had a very poor offensive series (2/17 from three), and Andre Igoudala missed four games.

That's not guaranteed to happen next year.

Throw in LeBron exerting 40-plus minutes a game through not one, but two 7-game series BEFORE reaching the Finals and it just makes me even more mad. This was Houston's best chance at a ring since Stockton hit that three.

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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Not sure it's enough. We had home court advantage, Draymond had a very poor offensive series (2/17 from three), and Andre Igoudala missed four games.

That's not guaranteed to happen next year.

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This is exactly what I am thinking. Curry and Thompson also had injury issues.

M.C. Swag said:

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I'd personally run it back. Re-sign Capela and Ariza. Try to shed Anderson's deal for someone worth a damn and go at it again. Forget this Lebron thing. It's folly. You'll just end up with a gutted roster only slightly better than what Clev has.

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What about Luc though? Surely someone pays him more than we do this offseason, and he was a key part of our success.

If you can sign Luc to a similar contract.......you do it. Key member off the bench when healthy.

lil99chris said:

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If you can sign Luc to a similar contract.......you do it if he doesn't prevent the chance of signing another true max player.

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fify