From now until July, every single LeBron James quote and social media post is going to be analyzed, dissected, and further associated with free agency rumors and his possibility of signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The two sides have been rumored to be considering a union since the second half of last season, and the noise only intensifies each time James does something like talk up his enjoyment playing in Staples Center or praises rookie Lonzo Ball.
But while the latest ESPN report painted the Lakers’ odds of signing James as “a longshot,” at least one of their analysts thinks the team’s odds are significantly better than that, as former head coach Byron Scott said he liked the Lakers’ chances in a TMZ ambush interview:
“I think it’s probably 50-50 right now. I think there’s pretty good odds. … There’s a chance that he could be here.”
Scott added that he thinks the Lakers have a better chance to sign James than the L.A. Clippers, and that he would most like to see James paired with Paul George.
If the Lakers make that oft-rumored team-up a reality, Scott said it will make Lonzo Ball look even better:
“You bring players of that high caliber around him, he’s going to do what he does, which is facilitate the ball, and those guys love people that pass the ball. So it’ll make him much better because those two guys, especially ‘Bron, is one guy that pushes guys to become better. So I think it’s going to be interesting this summer.”
It’s fair to question what Scott would really know about the Lakers’ odds of signing James, or how much the opinion of a former team employee on the roster fit should be taken into account.
All are valid queries, but it’s also important to note that Scott still knows people within the league and surely hears things the general public doesn’t. He’s also still close friends with former teammate Magic Johnson, the man now tasked with running the Lakers’ recruitment of LeBron and everything else involving the team.
So while Scott’s thoughts should be taken with a grain of salt, he’s still at the very least a little plugged-in. His opinions aren’t necessarily true, but they could potentially be more breadcrumbs lining James’ path to Los Angeles.
Or they’re just his thoughts. We’ll probably never know which.
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