Lebron James....Fantasyland?

[boomershadow]

So I posted this on the General Board a bit ago. It's had me thinking since then. Like it says, maybe not realistically thinking, but a part of me says "why not?". Swing for the fences, right? t's a fun mental exercise nonetheless, imagining all the different possibilities where Lebron might land in the future, and I think our team is grossly overlooked in the conversation compared to NY, PHIL, and HOU. Probably for good reason, but why not give it a shot?

COME TO INDIANA, LEBRON!! NO, WAIT....REALLY. I'M SERIOUS! HEAR ME OUT. Check out this potential lineup.

Myles Turner
Domantas Sabonis
Lebron James
Victor Oladipo
Cory Joseph

That lineup would be all about defense and dirty work. Turner is that rare shooter and rim protector combo. Oladipo could be a secondary ball handler/scorer that actually plays both sides of the floor. Add a wing and move Bron to the 4, and you get better offensively without giving up much of anything on D. The team is as young and hungry as anyone Lebron is likely to play with. The Pacers have a maximum of 57 million in cap space next year to add extra pieces. Any team could be elite offensively with Lebron. It's the other pieces that are missing from his teams lately.

Realistic? Maybe not, but it's fun to dream about. Plus Lebron and Born Ready on the same team would be comedy gold.

I thought people here might give it more thought than on the GB, where I'm expecting a lot of "lol yeah right" if it gets any response at all. What would the possibilities look like? Who could the Pacers add with cap space that might make a difference? Is this actually as terrible an idea as it sounds?

[Wizop]

Thad Young's money could be added into the cap space assuming he opts out and we don't chase his offers. There's another 6 or so available by releasing Jefferson.

[Kapnius]

It looks good on paper, but that team would have no experience nor playoff experience, small no name market, i'd say Houston is much bigger on LeBron thing, they can trade Rayan Anderson and pick and some other players, sign LeBron, Cp3 and Capela back, and you have:

Cp3
Harden
Lebron
Tucker
Capela

No sir, our lineup is nowhere close to that.

[winter_mute_13]

^ Yup. LeBron is feeling the call of Father Time. You need experienced vets to win, and that's not the Pacers.

I think we have to lower our sights to guys more like Jabari Parker and Marcus Smart. Not that I think either is a great fit here, or even that either is likely to sign.

[basketballwacko2]

If he doesn't stay in Cleveland he's gonna join up with some other big names and try to win 1 or 2 more titles.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

No.

Not that he would even come here anyway, but I don't want LeBron.

[Jstock12]

No.

Not that he would even come here anyway, but I don't want LeBron.

Cavs fans are pretty annoyed by him not playing any defense this year. He's basically a more efficient Carmelo Anthony this season, a one way player.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

No.

Not that he would even come here anyway, but I don't want LeBron.

Cavs fans are pretty annoyed by him not playing any defense this year. He's basically a more efficient Carmelo Anthony this season, a one way player.

I don't want him based on principle.

If the Pacers were to ever win a Championship, I'd want them to earn it. I'd want to watch them build it from the ground up.

I feel like it would be cheapened if we just signed a star to pop in and hand us one.

Just me though.

[Jstock12]

No.

Not that he would even come here anyway, but I don't want LeBron.

Cavs fans are pretty annoyed by him not playing any defense this year. He's basically a more efficient Carmelo Anthony this season, a one way player.

I don't want him based on principle.

If the Pacers were to ever win a Championship, I'd want them to earn it. I'd want to watch them build it from the ground up.

I feel like it would be cheapened if we just signed a star to pop in and hand us one.

Just me though.

I understand what you are saying, but most championship teams are built either through draft or big free-agency acquisitions. The current Pacers don't seem bad enough to acquire a star player through the draft, and they're not quite good enough to be able to contend for a championship without signing some big free agents. I guess a lot still depends on Myles reaching his ceiling, and Oladipo continuing to get better.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Cavs fans are pretty annoyed by him not playing any defense this year. He's basically a more efficient Carmelo Anthony this season, a one way player.

I don't want him based on principle.

If the Pacers were to ever win a Championship, I'd want them to earn it. I'd want to watch them build it from the ground up.

I feel like it would be cheapened if we just signed a star to pop in and hand us one.

Just me though.

I understand what you are saying, but most championship teams are built either through draft or big free-agency acquisitions. The current Pacers don't seem bad enough to acquire a star player through the draft, and they're not quite good enough to be able to contend for a championship without signing some big free agents. I guess a lot still depends on Myles reaching his ceiling, and Oladipo continuing to get better.

Well, we will never really be a FA destination anyway. I don't mind making a good move like the David West signing, I just don't wanna sign a guy like LeBron to come here for a year and never have a connection to the team.

[HurricaneDij25]

So I posted this on the General Board a bit ago. It's had me thinking since then. Like it says, maybe not realistically thinking, but a part of me says "why not?". Swing for the fences, right? t's a fun mental exercise nonetheless, imagining all the different possibilities where Lebron might land in the future, and I think our team is grossly overlooked in the conversation compared to NY, PHIL, and HOU. Probably for good reason, but why not give it a shot?

COME TO INDIANA, LEBRON!! NO, WAIT....REALLY. I'M SERIOUS! HEAR ME OUT. Check out this potential lineup.

Myles Turner
Domantas Sabonis
Lebron James
Victor Oladipo
Cory Joseph

That lineup would be all about defense and dirty work. Turner is that rare shooter and rim protector combo. Oladipo could be a secondary ball handler/scorer that actually plays both sides of the floor. Add a wing and move Bron to the 4, and you get better offensively without giving up much of anything on D. The team is as young and hungry as anyone Lebron is likely to play with. The Pacers have a maximum of 57 million in cap space next year to add extra pieces. Any team could be elite offensively with Lebron. It's the other pieces that are missing from his teams lately.

Realistic? Maybe not, but it's fun to dream about. Plus Lebron and Born Ready on the same team would be comedy gold.

I thought people here might give it more thought than on the GB, where I'm expecting a lot of "lol yeah right" if it gets any response at all. What would the possibilities look like? Who could the Pacers add with cap space that might make a difference? Is this actually as terrible an idea as it sounds?

It crossed my mind a little bit as well. Because if he leaves Cleveland, where is he realistically going to go? Who has the cap?

There's certainly no food for him out west with Golden State there, and his consecutive finals streak would be a thing of the past.

But, more realistic free agents I like for us in the coming two years include Trevor Booker and Terry Rozier. Rozier is still very young and I think would work well with Oladipo.

[Wizop]

I very happy with what I see in the 2018 draft. there are a lot of 4/5's that are pushing the wings and point guards down into our range.

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[boomershadow]

^ Yup. LeBron is feeling the call of Father Time. You need experienced vets to win, and that's not the Pacers.

I think we have to lower our sights to guys more like Jabari Parker and Marcus Smart. Not that I think either is a great fit here, or even that either is likely to sign.

I realize that the whole idea isn't exactly likely. I was just having some fun dreaming. I do think the mistake Lebron has made the last few years is playing with older vets and expecting them to play like they used to. Probably his most successful teammate has been Kyrie who was relatively young when Lebron went back to Cleveland. A young team with energy might be exactly what he needs at this stage in his career.

[winter_mute_13]

I realize that the whole idea isn't exactly likely. I was just having some fun dreaming. I do think the mistake Lebron has made the last few years is playing with older vets and expecting them to play like they used to. Probably his most successful teammate has been Kyrie who was relatively young when Lebron went back to Cleveland. A young team with energy might be exactly what he needs at this stage in his career.

Maybe you're right, but I really doubt LeBron thinks that!

Best chance for the Pacers IMO is to clear as much cap space as possible, so that LeBron can bring a friend with him. Maybe a certain star forward with former Pacer ties... Basically dump all the partially unguaranteed guys, hope like hell that Thad opts out, then the roster could look like (ballpark numbers only):

Oladipo ($21m)
Turner ($3m)
Sabonis ($3m)
Leaf ($2m)
LeBron ($35m)
PG ($30m)

With the rest of the roster filled with minimum salary players. That's just about doable under next year's cap, I think.

It's pretty thin, with no real point guard and no bench unless we get a lot of ringchasers to sign on. But hey, as long as we're dreaming

[Wizop]

I'd rather dream about the draft.

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[Vorda]

I'd rather dream about the draft.

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In that case we must stop winning matches like vs Detroit... if you are losing 20 points leave it...

[Wizop]

I'd rather dream about the draft.

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In that case we must stop winning matches like vs Detroit... if you are losing 20 points leave it...

I'm not interested in tanking. I'm starting to scout the players likely to be in the second 10 and I like what I see. with Turner and Sabonis in hand we don't need a 4/5 which is good because it looks like the top of the 2018 lottery will be full of them leaving the wings and point guards for us.

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[HurricaneDij25]

So I posted this on the General Board a bit ago.

Hey man, think you could copy and paste a link to this one for me? Given our recent struggles, it's good to dream, isn't it?

[Grang33r]

This is even crazier then fantasy land.... this is almost insanity. lol

[HurricaneDij25]

This is even crazier then fantasy land.... this is almost insanity. lol

Maybe it is, but if we have all this cap space and there's literally no other free agent this year that's going to make a big difference to our team (which is in fact the case), you wouldn't at least try and reach out to LeBron's camp in attempt to lure him even if it is just a shot in the dark?