The center of the NBA universe today was an island in the Caribbean where they drive on the left side of the road, listen to reggae music by homegrown artist Bankie Banx, serve as a tax haven for the megarich and offer plenty of places to jump off a cliff — as LeBron James did with his son, posting the evidence to Instagram.
There are nicer places in the world than Anguilla, unless you reside in Anguilla, in which case you are on island time all the time, which does not suck unless you want your food delivered in something remotely resembling a timely fashion. Ask anyone who has ever ordered room service at The Atlantis, and they will tell you about the 3-hour wait they endured for a large order of fries.
James and his family are riding out NBA free agency the way rich people ride out NBA free agency, and the basketball journalism universe was spinning with tales — some true, some patently false — of the machinations taking place as the clock ticked toward 12:01 a.m. July 1, when the league shuts down for the annual moratorium.
This year’s runs through 12:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight time on July 6. In the meantime, the full moon came out for everyone Thursday, and things got a little crazy — which happens every time the moon is full, and every time the NBA calendar turns to late June. Let’s all consider ourselves lucky that everything coincided on a day when no trades went down, but thousands of possible deals were discussed.
For now, Kawhi Leonard remains a member of the San Antonio Spurs, and the bidding war participants are known to include Brett Brown, the interim general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, and Danny Ainge, who has a recent history of doing quite well in the trade market.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in the mix, too, but if you think Gregg Popovich is going to swallow his pride and cave in to the demands of a player who suited up for a grand total of nine games last season, we invite you to drive on the right side of the road in Anguilla and see how that works out.
A league source told GetMoreSports.com that Pat Riley and the Miami Heat should not be counted out of the equation, because the key to getting LeBron is being able to get Kawhi. And if you think Riles would not relish an opportunity to get the better of Magic Johnson, you probably did not know that Riley was drafted as a wide receiver by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the 1967 NFL Draft and owns the trademark to the term “three-peat.”
Fresh intel: Don’t count #Heat out in @kawhileonard sweepstakes. I personally believe #Sixers are the favorites, but I never underestimate Pat Riley. If he can get Kawhi, then guess who he can go after on July 6?
— Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) June 29, 2018
Elsewhere around the NBA, pretty much everyone with guaranteed money to make a decision on was deciding to go the safe route, with the exception of Paul George. Like Leonard, he yearns to live and work in his hometown of Los Angeles. Depending on who your sources were, the chances of him staying put with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony were either not looking good or were a sure thing. A guy I trust told me the latter.
Friday is the date when James will inform the Cavaliers whether or not he will opt in to the final year of his contract, and nobody except for the ostriches living along the I-77 corridor between Akron and Cleveland expect him to opt in.
Thus will begin Decision III, and the world will shout in unison: “Brace yourself.”
The Lakers (-250) remained the favorite to land LeBron, with the Sixers (+350), Cavs (+425), Knicks (+750), Spurs (+900), Wizards (+1200), Clippers (+3000), Heat (+4500), Thunder (+5000) and Bulls (+9500) listed with odds, the rest of the NBA listed at +750.
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