NBA Wrap: 30 June 2015
- Jun 30, 2015
- 3 min read
While it wasn't the busiest day in NBA free agency, there was news about LeBron James and the Cavs, instantly making it the most important issue for basketball coverage. Reports suggest that LeBron is looking to opt out of his current contract with the Cavs but is likely to resign with them. It has been suggested that he is after more money, but a more common interpretation is that LeBron wants to "wait and see" what the Cavs do with their current roster.
There is next to no chance that LeBron leaves the Cavs (again) this year, considering "The Decision" in 2010 and how failing to deliver a championship to Cleveland (twice) would tarnish his legacy. LeBron seems determined to bring a title to Cleveland, but knows he is going to need more help to accomplish his goal. There are contractual issues surrounding Kevin Love and J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving is set to return from an ankle injury. The Cavs are surrounded by mystery right now, and fans shouldn't blame LeBron for waiting to see how the roster is going to be built before sticking around for a little while longer.
In other news, the Knicks are reportedly interested in bringing Jeremy Lin back to New York. In an attempt to take the spotlight off Kristaps Porzingis, the return of "Linsanity" should work well for the Knicks who are in need of a point guard who can keep up with the competition. Jose Calderon can only do so much before he gets too tired of keeping up with younger guards of the league. While Lin didn't have the best season with the Lakers; 11pts, 5asts and 3reb, Lin has proven that he can be a serviceable point guard in the NBA game. While he will never recapture the form of "Linsanity", he certainly has the capacity to command an offence and run a pick and roll (just not with his left hand.) When he played 82 games for the Rockets in 2012-13, Lin averaged 13pts, 6asts and 3reb; relatively similar numbers to his Lakers statistics but in a much better squad and overall team. This means he is capable of producing for a team that isn't as abysmal a the current Lakers.
Finally, Jimmy Butler is rumoured to be entertaining a short-term offer from the Lakers as he enters restricted free agency. While the Bulls have the option to match any offer that is proposed to Butler, it makes sense for him to take the shorter deal, with the salary cap set to explode next offseason with the new television deal that is coming through. But could Butler be the man to take the Lakers forward, sans Kobe Bryant? After developing his offensive game this year, he has become a top 3 shooting guard and would have no trouble playing small forward alongside Kobe. However he is giving up quite a lot when leaving the Bulls. Outside of the money (Bulls can offer the most), Butler is leaving the Eastern conference which is substantially easier to play in compared to the Western conference. He is also entering relatively unknown NBA waters; an era without Kobe Bryant and a more than dysfunctional Lakers squad who no longer have a winning mentality. On the other side of the coin, LA is LA and there's no disputing that is an amazing city to both play and live in. The opportunity to play for a storied franchise such as the Lakers doesn't get offered to every NBA player and Butler can rest assured that he will be taken care of.
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