On May 3, Beijing time, ESPN analyst Timothy Legler talked about how James can win the championship again on the Get Up show, saying that if James wants to win the championship again, he must leave the West and return to the East.
"I don't know how the Lakers are going to strengthen their roster to compete with the best teams in the West, and that's a big problem for James. His best chance to win the championship is to join a strong team in the East, and the 76ers and Knicks are the first choice, which will be his best chance and the path with the least resistance to winning the championship in the East. Legler said. In a survey on the matter in the comments section, 67.6% of fans supported Legler's opinion.
Previously, CBS Sports reporter Sam Quinn also said that if James's priority is to win a fifth championship, he should leave the Lakers and sign with the 76ers. Quinn said James may not want to spend five years in a new city, but it might make more sense if it's just a year or two. There are reports that James plans to play for another two years and retire.
The reason why Quinn suggested going to the 76ers, rather than other teams, is that the 76ers can free up enough salary space in the offseason, about $65 million, that they can directly sign James and let him partner Embiid and Maxey. The 76ers also have enough first-round picks to build a team around the new Big Three. They can also pick Bronny and have father and son on the same stage in Philadelphia.
Quinn also mentioned the issue of the intensity of competition in the West, after all, the Grizzlies and Rockets are likely to be stronger next season than this season, and with the already championship-winning teams, it will be too difficult to break through from the West. As for the East, there is only one superteam in the East, the Celtics, and James has a history of beating the Green Army, and his life will be a little easier.
There have been some recent reports of a potential team-up between James and Curry, but Weinhorst said it would be extremely difficult to pull Jan-Ku together given the Warriors' salary issues. If James is aiming for another championship, which team should he go to?