San Antonio Spurs: A LeBron James deal makes sense, says Reggie Miller

NBA legend Reggie Miller became the latest to provide support for LeBron James to sign with the San Antonio Spurs.

The San Antonio Spurs have a Kawhi Leonard-sized situation to solve this offseason, whether it involves a contract extension, a trade, or nothing. However, if that works out, would LeBron James be an option to join forces with Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge this summer?

If Spurs head coach and executive, Gregg Popovich, wants in on the James sweepstakes, as reported, then it could make July’s free-agent period interesting. Can he even get a meeting with the three-time NBA champion?

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but there’s at least some support on the idea that James goes to San Antonio. NBA analyst Reggie Miller became the latest to say this partnership “makes sense” on The Dan Patrick Show:

Oh, I love [the idea of LeBron James with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge]. You have Houston, San Antonio, and the Warriors? That’s great. And Popovich. I would seriously love for him to look at Gregg Popovich and the Spurs.

“You have the perfect set-up and mixture of players. You need bigs that can shoot three’s and spread the floor. You have that in LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. You have guards that are drop-dead shooters, Danny Green, Patty Mills, and an up-and-coming young stud, Dejounte Murray. So the infrastructure is there, in San Antonio, with a soon-to-be-Hall-of-Fame coach,and aa winning tradition and culture with the Spurs.

To me, it makes sense. The question is do you want to butt heads with Houston and Golden State in the West, or do you want to see one of those teams in the NBA Finals?”

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Miller seems in favor of this, but the situation might not be what he thinks, as the Spurs must clear enough cap space to potentially fit in over $35 million. That can happen, but without all seven of the team’s free agents returning and a trade to clear at least one more salary.

Of course there’s the “LeBron Effect” that sees players take substantial salary cuts for championship reasons. It happened with the Miami Heat and somewhat with the Cleveland Cavaliers (not as much in recent seasons). David West notably took less money to play for the Golden State Warriors as well and has two titles to show for it.

Will Spurs free agents do the same, pending James comes to the Alamo City? It’s a question to ask if he decides to align with Aldridge, Leonard and Popovich in “The Decision 3.0.”

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft

There’s a situation-in-waiting for James with the San Antonio Spurs. But will he make the jump to battle the Western Conference’s elite?