NBA Rumors: Rockets Should Recruit ‘Iron Man’ LeBron James This Summer, According To ‘ESPN’ Analyst
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will be heading to his eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearances after beating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Though James remains focused on winning his fourth NBA championship title, rumors about his impending free agency continue to be one of the hottest topics in the league. In the past months, there are speculations that James narrowed down his list of potential free agency destinations, and one of his potential landing spots is Houston Rockets.
If Chris Paul didn’t suffer a hamstring injury, the Rockets, and not the Golden State Warriors, could be the Cavaliers’ opponent in the NBA Finals. However, their Western Conference Finals matchup against the reigning NBA champions proved that the Rockets need more help. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN believes Houston should consider recruiting NBA’s “Iron Man” LeBron James in the upcoming offseason.
“I’ll tell you where you go. You go out and recruit LeBron James,” Smith said. “You’re CP3. You’re James Harden. You desperately need LeBron James because the Golden State Warriors are waiting for you. If anybody can recruit him, it’s gonna be one of his best friends in the world, CP3. If you’re Houston that has to be your target unless you don’t mind being a runner-up.”
LeBron James is the greatest player I have ever seen, and dragging this Cavaliers team through these playoffs might be his greatest accomplishment yet. https://t.co/to6wGg8aFF
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 28, 2018
LeBron James is the type of player who could tremendously boost the Rockets’ chance of winning an NBA championship title. The 33-year-old small forward has single-handedly carried his team to the Eastern Conference Finals and managed to beat the Celtics in Game 6 and 7 even without the Cavaliers’ second-best player, Kevin Love. In 18 games this postseason, James is averaging 34 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks on 54.2 percent shooting from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc. However, James can’t win it all by himself, especially against a team with four NBA All-Stars as starters.
Despite his outstanding performance in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, it’s hard to see the Cavaliers beating the Warriors in a best-of-seven series. With just one team blocking their way from bringing home the Larry O’Brien Trophy, James and the Rockets may consider joining forces next season. As Smith noted, Chris Paul will play a major role in James’ recruitment this summer.
James and Paul are close pals and members of the famous Banana Boat Crew. However, bringing the best player on the planet to Houston won’t be easy as the Rockets will be needing several roster moves to create salary cap space. The Rockets may also need to convince both superstars to take a discount in order to make the dream scenario happen.
