Two of the most active clubs this offseason figure to be the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, who have firmly planted themselves within the LeBron James-Carmelo Anthony conversation.
Yes, conversation. This is no longer a matter of landing one. It's about targeting both. Together.
In an attempt to strengthen sales pitches made to either superstar, a select few NBA teams are positioning themselves to sign both, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst:
With LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony officially opting out of their contracts, multiple teams have begun the process of exploring roster moves that would create sufficient salary-cap space to sign 2014's marquee free agents in tandem this summer, according to sources close to the situation. ...
The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, had begun exploring such machinations even before the opt outs of James and Anthony had become known, according to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne.
Intelligent plays don't get any smarter. James and Anthony have long wanted to join forces, as USA Today's Sam Amick reminded us. Creating the ability to sign both is a great way to catch their attention. And it's possible.
Although it remains unlikely that James and Anthony are teammates next season, this isn't a scenario to be discarded with yesterday's stale Froot Loops. There are teams that can make this financially feasible. The Lakers and Heat are among them.
And one of them is better suited to successfully engineer the most ambitious free-agency revolution in recent memory.
Mighty Miami
The Heat have an inherent edge over any team wishing to land Anthony and James. It's a damn good one, too:
They already have one. Half the wo...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
