CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 28: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers argues after being ejected in the second half by referee Kane Fitzgerald #5 while playing the Miami Heat at Quicken Loans Arena on November 28, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland won the game 108-97. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
LeBron James signed a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, and sports pundits couldn’t get enough of the big news.
On the day free agency started, 33-year-old James — a three-time NBA champion — announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers after four years to join the Lakers, a team that desperately needs help following a historically unsuccessful season. James had declined his final-year option on Friday, effectively announcing he would become a free agent.
James joined the Cavaliers in 2014 after four years with the Miami Heat, and before that played his first seven seasons with the Cavs. In recent days, reports had surfaced that Magic Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, was heavily targeting James, who helped lead Cleveland to a fourth straight NBA Finals this year. The Lakers did not receive as much of a boost from rookies like Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma this season as they might have hoped for. The team finished 35-47, 11th in the Western Conference, and have not reached the playoffs since 2012-13.
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Scott Van Pelt, Stephen A. Smith, Brian Windhorst and dozens of other ESPN hosts and commentators had much to say about James’ new destination. The King, a four-time NBA MVP, said last month that he was thinking about his family — which includes three children — above all else in making his next big career choice.
The Cavaliers’ NBA championship win in 2016 marked Cleveland’s first major sports title since the Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship in 1964. James completed one of the best seasons in his career last year, finishing with averages of 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game and shooting 54.2 percent from the field.
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On Sunday, Smith said of former San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, who has also been rumored to sign with the Lakers following a season marred by injuries: “[The Lakers] want to make sure they get as much as they can from Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers have not given up, but if some deal isn’t made by maybe sometime tomorrow morning at the latest, then the Lakers will simply assume that this is not going to happen and they will move on.”
Smith added that he believes Leonard wants out of San Antonio so “badly” that he would be willing to sit out all next season with the Lakers rather than rejoin the Spurs.
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