Former Cav has wild LeBron free agency theory
There’s a fine line between genius and insanity, and that appears to be what Earl Boykins is toeing with his theory on LeBron James’ free agency.
Appearing Wednesday on Altitude Sports’ “The Hastings & Browman Show,” the retired guard spoke on James’ potential destinations and gave a surprising contender for who he believes could be an option … the Denver Nuggets.
“He’s gonna look at Denver,” said Boykins. “He’s gonna talk to [Nuggets president of basketball operations] Tim [Connelly], and he’s gonna say ‘If I sign here, what moves are you gonna make? What’s gonna be left if I decide to sign here?’ The Nuggets have the young pieces that LeBron wants around him.
Boykins was then asked what percentage he would put Denver’s chances of landing The King at, to which he replied, “If they sign [Nikola] Jokic [to an extension], it goes up to 35, 40 percent.”
Earlier in the segment, Boykins also stated for some reason that James would “never, ever” play for the New York Knicks.
In any case, Boykins, now 42, himself played in the league from 1998 to 2012, including as a Cleveland Cavalier for two of those seasons. He is also a native of Cleveland and was one of the area’s biggest high school phenoms in the early part of the ’90s. However, Boykins may have some bias in hyping up the Nuggets here since he played for them for four seasons as well (his longest of any NBA team) and now coaches high school basketball in the Denver area.
As for the Nuggets, they have an interesting collection of under-25 players with big upside (such as Jokic, Gary Harris, and Jamal Murray) and playoff-tested veterans (like Paul Millsap, Wilson Chandler, and possibly James’ ex-Cavs teammate Richard Jefferson if he re-signs). The team came within just one game of a postseason berth this year and are reinventing themselves in more ways than one. However, as a Western Conference club that is probably another few years away (if ever) from realistically competing for a title, it’s pretty hard to see James making good on Boykins’ theory — to put it lightly.
H/T Deadspin
