LeBron's payback to Durant. James to the Rockets

[GreenEnvy]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

[perks-a-beast]

Paul and James should take less money to sign with the Rockets' the two have already made more than enough salary for their careers. Paul/Harden/James/Capela would be insane. Doesn't even matter who the other 8 guys are.

[droopdog7]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

Not just that, and I am not following this conversation this closely, but what are lebron's options if he Cle does not sign and trade him?  Do the rocket's have max space to sign lebron outright?  What is lebron's leverage?

[Roy H.]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

Not just that, and I am not following this conversation this closely, but what are lebron's options if he Cle does not sign and trade him?  Do the rocket's have max space to sign lebron outright?  What is lebron's leverage?

Lebron could sign somewhere else, sign in Houston for a lesser amount, or opt in and sit out.

[droopdog7]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

Not just that, and I am not following this conversation this closely, but what are lebron's options if he Cle does not sign and trade him?  Do the rocket's have max space to sign lebron outright?  What is lebron's leverage?

Lebron could sign somewhere else, sign in Houston for a lesser amount, or opt in and sit out.

Yeah, I would be shocked if he signed in Houston for less or used signing somewhere else as leverage to be traded to Houston or threatened to sit out.  So I don't see the possibility of him ending up in houston as realistic.

[jambr380]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

You mean Cleveland wouldn't be interested in acquiring ~$70M in salary owed to Anderson and Gordon over the next two years? That is shocking! 

That deal would have to be pretty creative to get Cleveland to bite. No Lebron in Cleveland means no championship aspirations. They are already pushing $140M in salary obligations next year with Lebron (and that is without Green, Hood, and Calderon!) I can't imagine they would be too keen on trading out Lebron for Anderson and Gordon.

[Ed Hollison]

Yeah, I also don't understand how this works logistically. If Lebron can force himself to any team regardless of that team's cap situation or assets, then it essentially means the cap doesn't matter.

[Fafnir]

Yeah, I also don't understand how this works logistically. If Lebron can force himself to any team regardless of that team's cap situation or assets, then it essentially means the cap doesn't matter.

This is not true. LBJ is just good enough that teams are willing to pay the price in cap/assets to acquire him.

You can make space for a max deal on pretty much any team, if you're willing to burn anything down that stands in your way.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

By the way this should be welcomed as a Celtics fan. It clears the way for us to make it to the finals every year while the Warriors and Rockets battle it out.

Yup. Some 9-12 straight finals would be in order.

and losing every one to the Rockets.  No thanks.

Maybe it's just me, but the Rockets don't strike fear into me. I realize that they should fare better this year because they now have Paul and a more developed Capela, but neither Harden nor Paul have been what I'd call clutch postseason performers. And it seems to me like Paul's next injury is always lurking just around the corner.

[footey]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

Not just that, and I am not following this conversation this closely, but what are lebron's options if he Cle does not sign and trade him?  Do the rocket's have max space to sign lebron outright?  What is lebron's leverage?

Lebron could sign somewhere else, sign in Houston for a lesser amount, or opt in and sit out.

Opt in and sit out = Default of Contract, no? Would not get paid.

[Csfan1984]

He would need to leave a lot of $ on the table to walk from Cavs to Rockets. But that team would be impressive

[Phantom255x]

How could he force CLE to do anything with Houston? Houston has absolutely nothing of value to send them in return except bad contracts. Why would CLE pick up Ryan Anderson's contract? In exchange for a 2022 protected pick or some such?  Unless they could somehow put Capela into the deal, I don't see why CLE would be inclined to do anything with Houston.

What are CLE’s options?  Lose Lebron for nothing?

Sometimes nothing is better than something when that something is crap.

Yeah future picks may be great and all but where they would be picking in the next few seasons are picks that can often be bought, for a lot less than the (bad) contracts they would have take back.

Other than Capela or Harden... there’s nothing on that roster you want.

You mean Cleveland wouldn't be interested in acquiring ~$70M in salary owed to Anderson and Gordon over the next two years? That is shocking! 

That deal would have to be pretty creative to get Cleveland to bite. No Lebron in Cleveland means no championship aspirations. They are already pushing $140M in salary obligations next year with Lebron (and that is without Green, Hood, and Calderon!) I can't imagine they would be too keen on trading out Lebron for Anderson and Gordon.

Yeah, like honestly.. if I'm CLE, the only players I'd want from the Rockets is Capela and/or Gordon. NO ONE wants Anderson's contract. Also, it's not like HOU has the picks to entice CLE unless CLE is in love with the idea of getting back #29/#30 in the 1st round (which essentially means taking back 70M in Anderson and Gordon, etc.)