Just hours after the news broke down that LeBron James would opt out of his final contract with the Miami Heat, rumors about a possible LeBron-Melo pairing somewhere began to spread like wildfire. ESPN revealed on Tuesday that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks are one of the several teams who are exploring trade scenarios that would allow them to clear enough salary cap space to lure in the two biggest names in this summer's 2014 NBA Free Agency.
The Los Angeles Lakers, on the other hand, had long been devising such a scheme even before LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony decided to opt out their contracts, according to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. The Lakers have been searching for a suitable buyer for point guard Steve Nash's expiring contract (who's owed $9.7 million next season) along with their No.7 overall pick in the upcoming draft to make enough salary cap space to offer the two stars $16.5 million dollars each next season and a chance to play with the Black Mamba for a possible dynasty.
So apparently, the Lakers have been eying for a LeBron-Melo pairing for a long time now, making them the biggest success of this year's free agency if they are able to pull out such a grand move. But they need to successfully ship out Steve Nash's expiring contract first which is going to be a big problem given the point guards declining game and myriad of injuries. And even if they do manage to clear out their planned $33 million cap space, its not a guarantee that LeBron and Melo will accept the $16.5 offer. If only Kobe Bryant took less money - he signed a two year $48 million contract - then they would have been able to offer the two stars at least $20 million dollars each.
But of course a Big Three of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony in L.A Lakers is never impossible. LeBron has proven that he is willing to take less money as long as it is means winning championships as what he did when he teamed up with Wade and Bosh in Miami. Carmelo Anthony has also pointed out that at this point in his career his top priority is to win NBA titles. And Kobe Bryant is all about winning so we can never really rule out a LeBron-Anthony pairing in the L.A Lakers this summer.
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