Fansided

NBA teams with the most to gain and lose in the 2018 Draft

By Jeremy Morris

SECAUCUS, NJ - MAY 20: A general view of the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery at the NBATV Studios on May 20, 2008 in Secaucus, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images)
SECAUCUS, NJ - MAY 20: A general view of the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery at the NBATV Studios on May 20, 2008 in Secaucus, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 11
Next
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Honorable Mentions: Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers

Cleveland 2018 Pick

  • First Round (from Brooklyn via Boston) — projected No. 3 – No. 8 overall

Lakers 2018 Picks

  • First Round (from Cleveland) — projected 25th-30th overall
  • Second Round (from Denver) — projected 40th-45th overall

Remember this?

LeBron treated his 2014 free agency like it was a season of the Bachelorette. As one of the teams vying for his affection, the Heat traded up to draft Shabazz Napier and after LeBron chose Cleveland, Napier lasted only one season in Miami.

Pat Riley downplayed the notion that LeBron’s tweet had any influence on the decision but come on, Pat. Mark Cuban would have admitted it…

James is an unrestricted free agent again this season. He has a rich history of being absolutely terrible at break-ups. It’s tough to leave a team on good terms as one of the best players of all time in the prime of your career but LeBron has taken it several steps further with the two moves in his career. I, for one, am pumped not only to see what he does this offseason, but also how many bridges he burns.

Imagine it’s May/June and Lebron grams a picture of a bridge with the caption “I love Bridges”. Bloggers immediately run with it, Windhorst’s bat phone starts ringing off the hook, it’s on ESPN.com within the hour. No one even knows whether he meant Miles Bridges from Michigan State or Mikal Bridges from Villanova. Or maybe he just appreciates not being forced to rely on ferries to cross bodies of water?

Soon the Lakers are calling everyone in the league trying to package their next five first rounders to trade up. Cleveland is trying to act like a mature organization that makes its own decisions meanwhile Dan Gilbert is punching a wall and being held back from his keyboard. Philly has been walking around with its chest puffed out since the team proved they were decent this year after the worst five-year run in NBA history. They’re putting up more billboards and have a fleet of planes skywriting love letters to James, hoping to stand out above other suitors.

We haven’t had a summer of vitriol for LeBron in too long and I miss it. I want to see him recreate Da Vinci Code with sub-tweets and ambiguous Instagram posts and enter the 2018 with at least five teams and fan-bases fully embracing their hatred LeBron and the runaround he just put them through.

The scenario I’m hoping for MIGHT be a little far-fetched but Lebron has been the Cavs GM since 2014 and right before he took over that role, he got one of the best organizations in basketball to make a really bad draft decision.

The Lakers essentially traded in four seasons and paid Kobe $50 million to hold the team hostage. They followed it up by deciding to pay Timofey Mozgov $15 million per year shortly after. Things have been better since Magic Johnson took over, but would anyone be shocked if they mortgaged their future for a shot at LeBron? I wouldn’t. And if he didn’t end up in LA or Cleveland, that would mean at least two more teams despising him.

Home/NBA Draft