The blowhole known as Stephen A. Smith secreted this information this morning:
Smith said on his radio show Wednesday on ESPN New York 98.7 FM’s “The Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show” that Carmelo Anthonyand LeBron James would like to play together and it’s a “95 percent possibility” that James and Anthony would end up together if both opted in to their contracts for the 2014-15 season.
“LeBron wants to play with Melo,” Smith said. “Melo wants to play with LeBron.”
Both Anthony and James have opt-out clauses in their contracts that can be exercised this summer.
If both players stay with their respective teams next season, Stephen A. is 95% certain they’ll play together in New York… or Miami. Amazing how someone can be so vague and certain in the same breath.
Before you dismiss as nonsense, know that Sam Amick of USA Today is hearing the same stuff, kinda:
A Big Four with the Heat (James, Wade, Bosh and Anthony) is possible, but it would require significant pay cuts from all involved. The Heat have about $8 million in payroll for next season if James, Wade and Bosh all opt out. It comes in handy that the salary cap is expected to increase by about $5 million next season to $63.2 million, while the luxury tax threshold is expected to be $77 million.
Should some iteration of that group decide to head West to join Kobe Bryant and offer the Lakers an instant rebuild, they would be more than welcome to the team that has only three players with guaranteed contracts on their roster for next season (Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre). The Knicks, meanwhile, would love for everyone to delay their plans for one season by opting in only to head for The Big Apple in the summer of 2015 when their payroll drops all the way down to about $17 million.
LeBron, Wade and Bosh opt-out of their contracts and resign with the Heat at a discounted rate, say $12 million per, so the extra cash can be used to sign Melo. Got it.
Or…
Two of the four named above join forces with an aging, often injured Kobe Bryant and an aging, often injured Steve Nash and play for the coach-less Lakers.
Both scenarios seem ridiculous.
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