He's Playing Basketball! (but not for the Lakers)

Lebron a Laker?
Roland Lazenby/HoopsHype.com

The greatest NBA free agent of all time, LeBron James, is quietly making overtures to the Los Angeles Lakers.

He wants to play for them. And James is not all that concerned whether Kobe Bryant is part of the equation. Bryant, of course, has yet to sign a contract extension with L.A. and could wind up a free-agent himself, albeit one with high mileage.

But the overtures have been made. LeBron wants to wear the purple and gold. Mainly, he wants to wear a championship ring, which means he wants to play for Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

“LeBron wants to win. He’s a smart guy,” explains one of my best inside sources, a close Jackson associate. “And Phil loves LeBron, absolutely LOVES him.”

There are many, many complicating factors to such a scenario, not the least of which is the fact that it’s way far from certain that Jackson will even be the coach of the Lakers next year.

“The Lakers have not made Phil an offer,” the Jackson source points out. However, rest assured of this, Jackson’s close associate maintained. “Phil will coach somewhere next year.”

Jackson wouldn’t dare take off next year if he’s not coaching the Lakers because he believes the following year will bring a lock-out, the source says. Jackson craves the chance to win another title before the NBA owners lock out the players in 2011-2012 to force a new contract.

“The whole league is under review,” the source points out. “Franchise values are falling, so the owners feel they must force a new labor agreement.”

The lock-out will bring a lost season, and the 64-year-old Jackson doesn’t want to miss two campaigns. So Jackson could wind up coaching Bron with another team next year, such as the New York Knickerbockers.

If all of this sounds fabulous, that’s because it is. These are strange days indeed for the NBA, and for the Lakers, with the planets aligning or converging or whatever with the upcoming off-season. “It feels like there’s a reckoning coming,” the Jackson source said.

Dream scenarios like this are always fun but let me say there is absolutely no chance whatsoever of this happening. I'm not sure how interested Lebron is in coming to L.A. but if there is any interest its because of the great nucleus of Laker stars. The Catch 22 is that Lebron coming to L.A. would mean that most of these guys would have to go. So the only two scenarios that work are L.A. swapping out Kobe for Lebron (not happening) or Gasol, Bynum and Odom being shipped off, thus making the Lakers a two man team. I really love the way Lebron plays but I'm not willing to break up the best ensemble cast in basketball in the last 20 years for a chance to pick him up. But in a fantasy world, he sure would look good in gold and purple.