The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a seemingly-constant state of turmoil and flux. They have lost every star that has been gifted into their lap, from LeBron James (before his homecoming), to Andrew Wiggins, and now, Kyrie Irving, whose trade to the Boston Celtics for a damaged Isaiah Thomas and spare parts has thrown King James' future in serious doubt. The Cavs are simply incapable of containing the dominance of the Golden State Warriors, who absolutely thrashed the Cavs in the NBA finals in spite of yet another superhuman performance from LeBron, and another such loss in 2018 could signal the end of the James era in Cleveland given his impending free agency. James has given no indication that he plans to re-sign with his hometown team, and the stars appear to be aligning for a move to the NBA's glamour franchise, the up-and-coming Los Angeles Lakers, a move that would inevitably change NBA history.
The Lakers' have an incredible cap situation, where two available max contract slots next offseason align perfectly with one of the most star-studded free agency pools in recent memory. This gives Los Angeles the opportunity to sign both James and another star such as Paul George, Russell Westbrook or Demarcus Cousins to pair with their exciting young core, creating an instant contender in Southern California. In this hypothetical, I will propose that the Lakers sign both James and George, as these are the two likeliest candidates to be targeted and make the most sense for the franchise. Instantly, given the immense popularity of James, George, and rookie Lonzo Ball, the team retakes the crown as the league's most popular franchise from the Golden State Warriors (the first step in what will become the league's best rivalry). Just like that, the NBA's best player on its historically-best team in its biggest market. The Lakers should compete for the Western Conference title year-in and year-out, growing James' star to be one of the biggest in sports history while also furthering his off-court persona in Hollywood.
A Lakers resurgence would kickstart a new era of NBA dominance and rivalry. Given the Celtics recent acquisitions of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, they are ready to ascend to the top of the Eastern Conference. LeBron in Los Angeles would reignite the classic Lakers-Celtics rivalry, pitting LeBron against his old teammate Kyrie on the league's two most iconic franchises, while also establishing a new bout with the best team in the triumvirate, the Warriors. Suddenly, Lakers-Warriors battles on California nights could take on the life present in games between the Dodgers and Giants, USC and Stanford, and the Rams and 49ers: a classic SoCal vs NorCal duel, settling on the court which side of the Golden State is superior. Moreover, this move would further diminish the Clippers' role in the market, given the fact that they were unable to make inroads into the LA fanbase while they were far superior to the Lakers and even had a superstar in Chris Paul. LeBron to LA opens up a world of infinite possibility for the NBA as both a business and television product, and could leave a ripple effect to be felt throughout the Association for years to come.
