Before LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, he also considered the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
With the Rockets one half away from the 2018 NBA Finals before ultimately losing to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in Western Conference Finals, the opportunity to team up with Chris Paul and James Harden appeared to be James’ best option.
However, with no salary cap space immediately available, general manager Daryl Morey would have had to get extremely creative in order to sign the 33-year-old. Though, there was also a report that suggested James wasn’t found of Houston as a city.
As the 2018-19 NBA season approaches, Morey had extremely high praise for James when discussing the greatest player of all time on “The Dan Patrick Show,” as transcribed by ESPN:
“You look at his ability to generate wins and championship probability over time, and you basically break that down. You don’t need all the numbers. You can watch as well and see that. But if you basically isolate that and also look at the career he’s had, frankly I think at this point it’s become a bit of a big margin, actually, where he’s come out ahead. I know that’s a little controversial.”
While some will agree with Morey, most believe Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Michael Jordan remain the greatest player of all time. However, if James is able to win more championships with the Lakers, the debates will only intensify.
Heading into his first season, James is focused on ending the team’s five-year playoff drought. While the Warriors and Rockets remain the favorites, the Lakers are a mystery team no one may wan to face come the playoffs.
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