LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to stave off a sweep by the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals 2017 but the fact remains the odds are stacked against the Ohio squad, now and in the next few NBA seasons. Thus rebuilding needs to be on the agenda come offseason and one exciting name tipped to join the Cavs is Carmelo Anthony.
And why not since Anthony is best buddy to King James, who can make things happen in the Cavaliers camp, and Carmelo is a certified upgrade for the Cavs. By facilitating the jersey switch from the New York Knicks to the Cavaliers, LeBron will grant the wish of his pal to one day wear an NBA ring, the chance of which will surely be boosted wearing the Cavs colors.
But Anthony actually playing for the Cavaliers as soon as Season 2017-18 is not that simple, according to the NY Daily News. Letting go of Anthony, to be sure, is not in the mind of Knicks basketball chief Phil Jackson for obvious reason - Anthony is among the firepower that the Knicks can boast of and losing him seems a crazy thing to do.
The trade though can still happen if the Knicks will be getting Kevin Love in exchange but the Cavs have already balked at the idea. And more so as Love proved instrumental on the Game 4 win Friday night that extended the GSW-Cavs Finals series to Game 5.
So what are the odds of Carmelo Anthony jumping ship to the Cavaliers? It will happen if Anthony will sign up as a free agent and agree to a pay cut, the NY Daily News said. The latter is quite important as Cleveland is already capped out and can only offer maximum salary of $3.5 million, which seems to Anthony will be too much of a bargain.
Also, the Knicks star will need to make some role adjustments if he really wants to play alongside James and fit in to the Cavs roster. Cleveland will be unable to make Anthony a starter at least not immediately, which is a specter the player has already ruled out. He is a gem in the Knicks after all and wants to enjoy the same privileged status.
Or Anthony can for now wait out and see how things will unfold for the Cavaliers. Speculations are rife James will want another team to lead for a shot to the Larry O'Brien Trophy. He's looking west and might consider joining any of the LA teams - the Lakers or the Clippers.
But according to the LA Sports Hub, recruiting James might be a bad thing to do for the Lakers. The report said it's hard to guess King James's real intention for a transfer and most importantly LeBron could prove an awkward addition to the Lakers. It's no secret Magic Johnson is on a mission to rebuild the team that once dominated the NBA like the Warriors and Cavaliers do today. And the superstar James could end up too overwhelming for the young LA Lakers core, the report said.
