The Decision - Second Edition

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Does a Cavs team with Wiggins/Waiters as its third best player right now beat a healthy Bulls team? Nope. What about the Pacers if Stephenson is brought back? Nope. LeBron's in a win-every-year situation, and I'm sure that's how he likes it. If the Cavs tell him that they could get Love if he wanted, you bet he'd sign off on it.

For some reason, people don't understand how powerful a team with multiple top-10 players is. It makes you championship contenders immediately. Not to mention they'd ALSO have Irving, who's probably in the top-15.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

What I find most interesting in all of this is how Dallas has used the situation to its advantage. Knowing that Houston had offered Bosh 80, they signed Parsons knowing that it would put Houston in a tough spot. Houston now has three days to sign Bosh or they basically have to choose between 1) matching Dallas' offer for Parsons and losing the cap space for Bosh, or 2) letting Parsons walk in the hope that LeBron will eventually leave the Heat this summer and they can get Bosh after all. The only way Houston could get both is if they sign Bosh first, which has to happen in the next three days, and at this point, nobody else seems to have made the move that has convinced LeBron where he wants to go. So Dallas has leveraged the situation for a good chance to either get Parsons away from a rival team, or force that team to take Parsons and give up the chance at Bosh--at which point, guess who has the cap space to go after Bosh? Dallas.

Another fascinating thing is the Love and LeBron angle. The Cavs clearly want LeBron back, and it seems like it's at least a decent possibility IF they were to make the move that would convince LeBron he'd be going to a pretty good team. What move would that be? Trading for Love, of course. If I were the Cavs, I would totally roll the dice and trade for Love now, even without the promise of an extension, because I'm pretty confident that would be enough to bring LeBron back, at which point, obviously Love will stay in Cleveland. In a stalemate like this, all it takes is momentum. Look how much the media jumped all over Cleveland as a possibility just because they traded away Jarrett Jack for some cap space. Imagine how strong the media drumbeat would be if they went out and got Love, and how much more momentum it would seem to give Cleveland in getting him back. LeBron is obviously waiting to see what would be the best scenario for him. I think the team that makes the first big move will be the team that gets him, and I can't see the Heat convincing Wade and Bosh to take such large pay cuts that they can go out and get Stephenson or some other difference-maker.

The thing that pains me is that if the Wolves had pushed this (and if the Cavs had been willing), they could have done this before the draft and we could've gotten Parker, who I think will be better, and a better fit, here. I see Wiggins as a better version of Corey Brewer, but not another Russell Westbrook. Plus now we've got LaVine too. All of a sudden we've got an athletic group of fast breakers with shaky handles. I'd much rather have had Parker, who's just so much more versatile. Oh well. No way to know if it would have even been a possibility, but I hope Flip at least checked it out and pushed for it.

[ace [enjin:6598567]]

LST, LeBron isn't exactly young. He'll be 30 before the end of the season. Yes, that's still in his prime, but he's at the point where his athleticism and strength is going to start leaving him. He's only 6 years younger than Kobe, and we've seen what happened to Kobe the past few seasons. He had to reinvent himself into a shooter and post-up scorer. He can't get to the rim at will like he used to.

LeBron is a better passer and bigger than Kobe, so he will still be able to impact the game as he ages, but you can't take over and dominate a game as a passing big man. He can't waste two years letting guys develop and building chemistry. He would be banking on Wiggins reaching his full potential and carrying LeBron in his late years. If he wants to have the resume of an all-time great, he knows he needs to win right now.

[Monster]

I voted for Cleveland but I'm still pretty close to 50-50 Cavs Miami

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Here's why I think LeBron wants to work with the young core rather than dealing for Love. Having won championships, LeBron now is all about creating the best legacy he can. Let's examine how his legacy is impacted in the two scenarios.

Trade for Love and win a championship right away: Assuming this squad is talented enough to win it all, LeBron will have replicated his Miami situation. He will have left for a team that already had one superstar, and then arranged for another superstar to join them as a Big 3. LeBron's legacy will always be "The Guy who had to go to a Team with 3 Superstars to Win".

Keep the young core, and win a championship in 3-4 years. I understand James is 30, but he is in superb condition and will still be playing at a high level for a long time. Give 4 other top picks time to grow into their potential, and when they win, his legacy grows. Now, he is a guy with multiple rings who also showed he could be part of a building process, not just the guy who had to join Bosh and Wade to win. And the guy who cared so much about his home state that he went back to help a mediocre team win a championship. I'm certain LBJ's ego is big enough that he sees a championship in Cleveland with the young guys in just a few years.

KG will be remembered as a great player that couldn't win until he joined other superstars in Boston. LBJ needs a better legacy than that.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

So wait 3-4 years and MAYBE win a championship IF Wiggins/Waiters reaches their potential... Or add Love to the mix immediately and win a championship next year and likely another in those next 3-4 years...

Legacy is about two things:
1. Rings.
2. The franchise the player brought that ring(s) to.

Bringing a title to the city of Cleveland solidifies his legacy regardless of who he does it with. The best way to get there is by adding Kevin Love.

Let's not overthink this.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Lebron is the best player in the world right now. His legacy clearly hasn't taken a hit for joining up in Miami because the only thing that matters is how many rings you win, not who you win them with. Nobody's knocking Magic and Bird for winning titles with stacked teams. If anything it has made their legacies greater because of how many rings those stacked teams helped them get. Love and Kyrie are both younger than 26. That's a young core ready to win now with tons of room and time to get even better. Wiggins is 7 years from his prime and Lebron will be 37 already at that point. He wants to win now, not sacrifice years of winning banking on unproven players. 2 top 20 players under 26 is a way better situation than banking the rest of your legacy on two sub 20 year olds becoming good to great anytime soon. It's not even close.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

So wait 3-4 years and MAYBE win a championship IF Wiggins/Waiters reaches their potential... Or add Love to the mix immediately and win a championship next year and likely another in those next 3-4 years...

Legacy is about two things:
1. Rings.
2. The franchise the player brought that ring(s) to.

Bringing a title to the city of Cleveland solidifies his legacy regardless of who he does it with. The best way to get there is by adding Kevin Love.

Let's not overthink this.

Because the one thing Kevin Love has demonstrated in his NBA career is that he knows how to win!

It's not a certainty that the Cavs win with Love. What if he develops a fondness for knuckle pushups again?

I'm just one guy, but I know the kind of legacies I respect. The Jordans, Jabbars, and Magics who didn't have to skip around from town to town to win a ring. I don't have the same respect for KG right now, or the Miami 3 for that matter. But if LBJ can win with a team that's not an automatic win, and I believe he thinks he can, he becomes a different kind of champion. I suspect there are others out there who would respect him more also if he built a champion, rather than joining one.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Kevin Love clearly has had a supporting cast as good as Lebron and Kyrie in his career. They had 7 years to build around him the first time. What in the world makes you think he is interested in the opportunity to leave a contender to try to build again? He's not going anywhere if he can't win a title next year with that team. He's not going to take 4 steps back for the potential of moving 5 steps forward in a few years. The amount of titles will decide his legacy not who he wins them with. That's the benefit of being the best player in the world. Everyone needs you to win and it is pretty obvious that is the case with Lebron. Whether he joins them or not, any team instantly becomes his team when he joins them.

[Monster]

Kevin Love turns 26 before the season starts. Sorry I couldn't help it what an old guy he is. lol

Look back at the #1 overall picks in the last 20 years chances are very good Wiggins is going to be a pretty good player. Heck chances are good Bennett will still be a useful player. If The Cavs stuck with their young guys is would fit more of a Spurs type model people were in love with a few weeks ago. I think this is interesting to talk about but just like everything else we have no idea what Lebron is thinking. Maybe he should go work for the CIA when he is done and go dark. lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_overall_NBA_draft_picks