On the latest episode of The Ticket & The Truth, Boston Celtics legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce discussed the league’s current state going into the playoffs. One of the most exciting sections in this episode was the Certified Wish List part, where KG and Pierce talked about hypothetical scenarios of NBA players ending up in different teams and playing situations in the future.
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While on this topic, the 2008 NBA Champions stumbled upon the Lakers’ chances of playing deep into the playoffs, being in the play-in stage at this point in time. Given the Lakers’ experience playing in the postseason, Pierce believed that the younger teams, like the OKC Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, couldn’t defeat the Lakers in a seven-game series. Kevin Garnett, however, refused to believe that the Lakers are a Championship-contending team at this current juncture.
The Ticket understands that most of the pressure for performing in the postseason comes down to LeBron James, a 21-year veteran in the league. Despite his age, James carried the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last year, only to be swept by the Denver Nuggets. At this point, KG feels that the pressure needs to be alleviated from James by a younger star such as Anthony Davis. On the other hand, he wishes to see James playing for a championship-contending team that could relieve him from the heavy responsibility of carrying the Lakers every season.
Garnett seemed to believe that the best destination for James now can be his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Referring to Pierce’s earlier suggestion, KG added, “You shot some slick sh*t. You said back to Cleveland, and then Cleveland takes Bronny.” One of LeBron James’ lifelong goals has been to play with his son Bronny on the same team in the NBA.
There are possibilities of Bronny ending up in Cleveland, as many experts had already suggested earlier. Visualizing this hypothetical scenario, KG explained how such a move would impact Cleveland and the league. He said,
“If LeBron James ends up back in Cleveland, let me tell you what’s going to happen in Cleveland….When LeBron James hit Cleveland, we all know the blocks is hot again…the economy goes up by a whole 3% points when bro goes back to the Midwest. If he goes back to Cleveland, it will be monumental. And it’s the farewell tour with him going right into Vegas after that.”
Despite KG’s detailed explanation of this hypothetical scenario, Pierce didn’t seem to buy any of that. He stuck to seeing the Lakers as a playoff threat who could quickly eliminate less-experienced teams such as OKC and the Timberwolves in the First Round.
LeBron James has mentioned how the ‘door’s not closed’ for a return to the Cavs
In 2022, LeBron James mentioned that he was open to potentially returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, that could only happen if the Cavs drafted his son Bronny in the upcoming NBA draft this year. Time and again, James has mentioned that his last season in the league would be alongside his son in whichever NBA team would draft him into the league. Perhaps drafting Bronny could present the Cavs with an opportunity to welcome LeBron for his farewell season with Cleveland.
LeBron James is currently signed to a 2-year deal worth $99,023,288 with the Lakers that ends this season. This deal also includes a player option for the 2024-25 season, which means LBJ can ignore his player option to join whichever team that drafts Bronny.
