Lakers would benefit the most from LeBron James to the Warriors
By Keith Rivas
Let’s not pretend like he’d be coming drama-free
With the chaos going on regarding the chemistry between teammates in Cleveland right now, it’s hard to say just how much damage is really being done at the moment and what that will mean for LeBron James next season and beyond.
What can be said in confidence, though, is that it will have a dramatic impact on his mentality as well as his play on the court. Locker room drama is toxic, and even for the best player of his generation and arguably of all-time, it will take its toll on him wherever he decides to take his talents next.
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With his time in Cleveland, it’s safe to say that he’s gotten used to being the one star of the show with plenty of help in a supporting cast, or at least so it appears. In joining Golden State, James would enter a complicated crossroads as to who would really be the alpha on the team.
It was one thing to see how Kevin Durant joining would change things, but somehow, someway both he and Stephen Curry have made it work with their personas and haven’t let drama define their relationship.
Should James choose to sign with Golden State, the Warriors are asking for James to basically take over — they’d be foolish to expect anything else from him, which is even more reason to be careful when it comes to throwing an offer out there.
Curry and Durant, for obvious reasons, might not be okay giving up their alpha roles to be subsequent to LeBron James, especially given their NBA Finals history and league rivalry. While there is a small chance that it wouldn’t cause problems, the odds are much more in favor of this potential signing being more problematic there.
And if there’s drama in Cleveland with one real superstar and other players pointing figures at each other and we think that’s a mess, imagine the stress James would be willingly putting himself into by joining the Warriors.
Yikes!
Ultimately, this helps the Lakers by freeing up room atop the division if the chemistry problems present themselves in a way that takes down what could’ve been a dynasty from Golden State. The power struggle would be too real and the Warriors run the risk of not even being a threat anymore despite giving a max deal to the best individual player on the planet.
Coming down from within is the only way that we’ll see Golden State’s reign over the Western Conference, Pacific Division, and NBA come to a screeching halt. But it definitely could happen as soon as this summer.