LeBron James is one of the most talked-about free agents in the NBA right now. It is completely understandable; even at 41 years old, he is still someone who produces at an elite level.
On Thursday’s episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, NBA insider Brian Windhorst discussed a handful of potential landing spots for James. He specifically highlighted why he believes the Denver Nuggets could be a dark horse team to acquire James in free agency.
“I have long believed that if there was an outlier team for LeBron James, if he was willing to take sort of some exception, it was Denver,” Windhorst said.
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He also explained that the biggest factors helping Denver’s case are James being “overly effusive” with Nikola Jokic during the season, along with his personal relationship with the Nuggets’ owners.
“I’ll just point out that he has a relationship with Josh Kroenke, the Kroenke family, the owners of the Nuggets. He, I believe, was a guest a couple of times on their yacht in the Mediterranean in the summer… if I were Denver, I would kick the tires.”
LeBron James would undoubtedly be a massive addition to the Nuggets’ roster if acquired. It has long been reported that Nikola Jokic is the only player on the Nuggets’ roster who is completely untouchable in trade talks.
After playing alongside Luka Doncic in Los Angeles, pairing with Jokic, whom James holds in incredibly high regard, could work perfectly as they look to contend for a championship in a stacked Western Conference.
However, from the Nuggets’ side of things, a potential fit remains a long shot, as no concrete reports other than this have surfaced. Yet, at the same time, landing a superstar of James’s caliber will always be appealing to the Denver front office.
Three more teams are leading the race to sign LeBron James
While the Nuggets continue to remain a long shot, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat are among the teams interested in LeBron James, according to multiple reports.
The Warriors remain the most interested, but they will be facing a hard-cap situation to make room for James after extending Kristaps Porzingis and De’Anthony Melton for the upcoming season. The catch is that while Golden State might be a decent playoff team, they aren’t a guarantee. They have alternated between the playoffs and the play-in tournament in recent years. They are not the safest bet if James wants to win an NBA title once more.
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The Cavaliers are intriguing, if for no other reason than James and Cleveland have history. He led them to their first championship in 2016, and the Cavaliers have the cap space and roster assets they need to make room for James.
The other team interested is the Heat, who just went out and acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo. Could they double down and find a spot for James to finish his career in South Beach? It will be intriguing to see if the Heat make a more significant push to land him from here. If James expresses interest in signing with the Heat, there could be a perfect match here.
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