Perhaps, LeBron James spoke glowingly of Gregg Popovich because he knows a collaboration is impossible.
Or is it? Regardless, it's enough to make Cleveland Cavaliers fans slightly terrified.
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James' praise for the San Antonio Spurs coach, who will guide the West All-Stars against James' East squad in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, came in front of a media gathering Friday at the team's first media availability.
"I believe he is one of the great basketball minds that we've ever had in this game," James said of Popovich as Cleveland.com reported. "I wish I could be around him every day so I could just pick his brain, what he does, what he thinks.
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"I can't be there on a day-to-day basis. I wish I could."
Both USA Today Sports and CBS Sports declared King James' wishes an impossibility.
But Cleveland.com won't go that far, saying only that a James-to-Spurs scenario is a "long shot."
So you're saying there's a chance. ...
"The Spurs, with salary commitments of $84.5 million as of now for next season, could not at present sign James this summer," Cleveland.com added. "If Tim Duncan ($5.5 million) or Manu Ginobili ($3 million, roughly) retired, and if the club declined its $6.5 million option on Boris Diaw, there'd be more room under the projected $89 million cap, but fitting James in there would still be a long shot.
"Also, let's not get ahead of ourselves. James is on a two-year, $47 million deal with the Cavs that includes a player option this summer. The Cavs' superstar is not expected to leave Cleveland again via free agency."
James has previously hinted that he has a high basketball IQ. Therefore, he sees the landscape of the NBA, and it does not indicate that the Cavaliers are the league's dominant team. That moniker currently goes to the defending champion Golden State Warriors with the Spurs looking to prove otherwise.
The Warriors beat the Cavs in the NBA Finals in six games last season, and NBA analysts generally agree that the distance between the teams in 2015-16 is far greater than it was last season. James to the Spurs could tip the scales in San Antonio's favor against the Warriors.
The New York Daily News reported that Cleveland has had preliminary discussions with the Celtics and Knicks about sending Kevin Love to Boston and Timofey Mozgov to the Knicks with Carmelo Anthony potentially joining the Cavs.
Those discussions have gone nowhere, but it is an indication that Cleveland knows it needs to do something to compete with the Spurs or Warriors.
James knows he already is viewed as the NBA villain, having jilted both the Cavs and Miami Heat. It may be unlikely that he opts out of his contract this summer, but if he believes that his best chance of getting more rings is in San Antonio, who's to say he won't give the Cavs one more year and reopen his free agency in 2017?
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