What Are The Odds LeBron James Comes To The New Orleans Pelicans
The NBA Finals have ended with the Golden State Warriors sweeping LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers...in Cleveland, on their court.
It was likely the last time LeBron was going to be playing on that floor in a Cavs jersey.
Unless there's a drastic change of heart, or salary cap, the Cavs will probably lose LeBron as he opts out to head into Free Agency this Summer. The Cavs roster is a total wasteland of guys who probably shouldn't be in the NBA (looking at you JR Smith) and horrific contracts. That combo is going to prevent Cleveland from building a super team around LeBron.
So he will have to do what he's done before...he's going to have to take his talents to a franchise that can build a team around him that will allow him to compete with the landscape of other NBA super teams.
Plenty of websites have put odds together for where LeBron will land, and there are actually spots where you can place bets on it. Most sites all have the same favorite. From writers to odds makers, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites. Other teams at the top of the odd heap include the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, and actually...the Cleveland Cavaliers.
An outside shot, is the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Pels won't have the same kind of cash other teams will, but for some of the options, LeBron will already have to take a pay cut to win. Which we really shouldn't be mad about...winning means more to this man.
But publicans like USA Today are still putting the Pelicans into the outside of the mix (granted the list includes some jokes). They rank New Orleans at 13th in the race for LeBron. While betting website BetDSI puts them with "the field" at +1000 to land King James.
The Pelicans were a surprise team in the Western Conference Playoffs this year, and have one of the top 3 players in the NBA right now with Anthony Davis. The also features solid players like Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo (if he resigns). So adding LeBron to that mix would create a super team that could keep up with Golden State, Houston, and Boston.
The odds are against New Orleans, but that doesn't mean we can't dream.