With the NBA playoffs just into the 2nd round and there still about a month left of them to go I want to jump ahead to the off season and get a head start in the only story anyone who reports on the NBA will be talking about. That of course is, where will LeBron James play in the 2018-19 season.
There will be a lot of teams thrown out there and the very early front runners seemed to be the Los Angeles Lakers because of some of the connection it appeared that James had there. James owns a production company that develops movies and television shows. There have also been reports that James and his wife would like their children to attend school in California. James also owns a home in California, which would make a family move easier.
When you add that all up it looks as though James will most likely be in a Lakers uniform next season, but I’m not so sure.
The Los Angeles Clippers have also been mentioned as a possible landing spot for James, but even though they’re a California team I doubt believe they’ll be anywhere close to being able to bring James in.
There has been quite a bit of talk about James joining the Houston Rockets and getting to play with his good friend Chris Paul. James has mentioned throughout his career that at some point I time he’d like to pay on a team with all of his friends and this could be his opportunity to share the court with Paul. Adding James to a team that has Paul as well as what should be MVP winning James Harden would make then the front runners for the NBA title, but I don’t think this will happen either.
There have been the passing mentions of James signing with teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trailblazers and even the Golden State Warriors. Now even though the Trailblazers have said they are going to pursue James this off season I don’t see him ended up with any of these teams.
Now all of these teams would be good landing spots for James except maybe the Clippers, but they all have one thing in common that I think in the end will be the reason James doesn’t sign with any of them. All of these teams are in the Western Conference.
When you look at the NBA it is quite clear that the Western Conference is better than the Eastern Conference. Now there are some young up and coming teams in the Eastern Conference like the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics the Western Conference is still better overall.
Being that James has generational wealth from all of the years he’s played the one thing you have to think he might be interested in is championships. That is also the one thing that James needs to catch Michael Jordan in to be considered the greatest player of all-time. This is why I think James ends up staying in the Eastern Conference.
Maybe James does switch teams and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he ends up as the veteran leader on the 76ers next season. The road to the NBA Finals is just so much clearer in the Eastern Conference.
If James doesn’t sign with the 76ers he’ll probably stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers as I just don’t see him joining any of the other Eastern Conference teams. The New York Knicks just hired David Fizdale who was an assistant coach on the Miami Heat when James played there, but is that enough for James to sign with the Knicks? The Milwaukee Bucks would be another interesting teams for James to join, but their name has never really been mentioned and I’m not sure if Milwaukee is a landing spot for James. I’m not sure James would fit with teams like the Washington Wizards or the Toronto Raptors and I seriously doubt he’d return to Miami to try and help his friend Dwayne Wade make one more run at a title. Remember Wade started the 2017-18 season as a member of the Cavaliers and James had no issue at all when he was traded to the Heat.
So I have the top two spots for James as the 76ers or just staying with the Cavaliers. Where do you have James paying next season?
Albert Pujols added to his Hall Of Fame resume last night by joining the 3000 hit club. Pujols then added another hit to move past Roberto Clemente into 31st on the all-time hit list. Being that there are still a 131 games on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s schedule this season there’s a good chance that Pujols ends the season in the Top 20 on the all-time hit list. Pujols is also signed for three more seasons after this one; so who knows where he’ll ultimately end up on that list.
In the Top of the 5th inning with 2 outs and a runner on 1st base Pujols hit a looper into rightfield to record the 3000th hit of his career. Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Leake was on the mound when Pujols got #3000.
In the Top of the 9th inning Pujols came to bat with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and the Angels up 3-0. Pujols got the 3001st hit of his career that at bat as he drove in 2 runs and out the game away for the Angeles. The Angels beat the Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
By getting into the 3000 hit club Pujols also joins Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez as the only four players in baseball history with 3000 hits and 600 home runs. Pujols sits at 620 home runs right now. With just 63 more RBI’s Pujols will also join Aaron, Mays and Rodriguez as the only players with 3000 hits, 600 home runs and 2000 RBI’s.
While Pujols hasn’t been the same player with the Angels that he was with the St. Louis Cardinals he should still go down as one of the best players in baseball history. Pujols has been on two World Series winning teams. Pujols was named Rookie of the Year in 2001 and has won 3 MVP awards. He’s also a 2-time Gold Glove winner a 6-time Silver Slugger winner as well as being a 10-time All-Star and Pujols has even won a batting title in his career.
Pujols should easily be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, but he still has a few years to add his numbers and join an elite group of players.
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