WILL LeBron James stay with Cleveland Cavaliers?
If he should leave as many are saying, where will he go?
He has said he still dreams of winning an NBA title. At 33, and with a body not showing signs of wear and tear and a brain not ready to succumb obviously to mental fatigue either, LeBron can very well achieve that in two to three years. But, of course, it depends on who his teammates are. That has always been an issue for him for the longest time.
There is no question LeBron James is still a solid championship material.
But in basketball, it is not all the time that a superhuman like LeBron James can do it all alone in the chase for NBA crowns. Definitely and absolutely, he needs teammates who can help do the job done.
Eight times LeBron James has brought his teams Cleveland and Miami to the Eastern Finals. ig deal.
Four times LeBron James has brought his teams Cleveland and Miami to the NBA Finals. Big deal.
Three times LeBron James has won three NBA rings. Big deal.
But truth to tell, he could have accomplished more. Easily. The problem was, he did not always have the right mix of teammates who could wrap it up at crunch time.
The recent 4-0 loss by Cleveland to Golden State was another screaming testament to that.
So that if LeBron James is not hot on staying put in Cleveland, who can blame him? Thus, the only way he would not look somewhere is for Cleveland management to get new men that could blend with LeBron James. Always, as in all past superstars like Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Larry Bird, a team's chemistry revolves practically around one person to achieve the potency of a mix.
However, as in all superstars again, LeBron James becoming a free agent by June 29 becomes the logical target of hunters and the reason is quite obvious. His championship DNA is beyond question.
Of the three teams closest to snare him -- Los Angeles, Houston and Philadelphia -- the one with the biggest chance is, dyarran, Los Angeles.
There are two main reasons for this: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
With Leonard, the clever guard, openly saying he wants out of San Antonio, he might yet land in LA, which is his hometown.
George has been also aching to leave Oklahoma. If the seven-footer gets to land in LA, a possible triumvirate of James, Leonard and George can easily become the National Hate of NBA's elite to include, of course, back-to-back champion Golden State.
And the key to luring LeBron James to LA with Leonard and George as chief baits to joining the Hollywood Team is none other than Magic Johnson, the NBA legend himself who is LA's chief of operations assigned to re-engineer the Lakers' structure for the coming 2019 NBA season.
LeBron James has gotta believe in Magic.
The dove's in LeBron's hat.
And, if this fact is of any help to Magic, LeBron James owns a mansion in LA So there.
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My condolences to the family of Theodore Owen Jr., an icon of Philippine journalism, who died recently at age 95. He was my first news editor during my sportswriting stint at Manila Bulletin from 1974 to 1986. Teddy was a literary man. A little breast-beating, with your kind indulgence, please?
When Teddy got wind of my having won my first Palanca Literary Award in 1975, he came to me and said, "Al, are you this Alfonso Mendoza in the press release that won a prize for fiction?" I could not deny as I was described in the story as a sportswriter.
"My sincerest congratulations to you, Al," Teddy said to me. "I love literature. The newspaper is proud of you." He gave me a warm hug.
The next morning, my feat merited a story in the Bulletin.
Thank you again, Sir Teddy. May Dear God grant eternal peace to your soul.