The latest LeBron James rumor could create a headache for Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana has put itself in position to contend in the Eastern Conference next season. If all goes well, Haliburton will be healthy, Pascal Siakam will be ready to roll, and the Pacers have added Ivica Zubac. But if James ends up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, that would put him right in Haliburton’s path.
On a recent appearance on the All-NBA Podcast, Marc Stein of The Stein Line said the Cavs are being viewed as the team to beat in the James sweepstakes. If James lands in Cleveland, he would not only be in Haliburton’s conference, but also in his division.
That would mean the Pacers could see James four times every season, with a possible playoff meeting on top of that.
James is 41 now and deep into the later stages of his career, but he’s still a force. He remains an All-Star, and whichever team signs him this summer would get a major lift. If that team is Cleveland, the Cavaliers would immediately become one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland is one of six teams said to be in the mix for James this summer. The others are the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat, the Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Denver Nuggets.
A move back East would make sense for James from a championship standpoint, since the top-end talent there is not as intimidating, even with the reigning champion New York Knicks in the picture.
For the Pacers, though, that would be the worst-case scenario. James in the East already makes things tougher. James in the Central Division would make them tougher still.
A Cleveland lineup featuring James, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen would be a problem for anybody. For Indiana, the simple reality is that facing James that often would make an already difficult path to a title run even steeper.
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