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Report: Suns hoping to pursue LeBron James this offseason

© Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns could have a huge plan up their sleeves this offseason, as there is a report they are hoping to pursue LeBron James.

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Forbes and Sporting News NBA reporter Evan Sidery posted the following on X today:

“The Suns are hoping to pursue LeBron James this offseason, which is why Bronny James is a very serious draft option at No. 22 overall to potentially lure him in.

Phoenix appears to believe they can convince LeBron to join forces with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal to create a historic superteam.

LeBron would be sacrificing almost $50 million next season, if he were to legitimately consider joining the Suns on a veteran’s minimum contract.

Could the Suns really be plotting LeBron and Bronny as their big plan? It certainly seems that’s on the table.”

It was assumed that this was the case when it was reported a few days ago that the Suns would be bringing in Bronny James for a pre-draft workout.

There have been arguments for years about any team drafting Bronny when he became eligible, as LeBron has said multiple times that he wants to play with his son. The 39-year-old LeBron has a June 29 deadline for his $51.4 million player option to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2024-25 season. With that being said, James’ agent, Rich Paul, had an interesting comment the other day about James.

Because the Suns are operating over the second-tax apron, Phoenix would only be able to sign LeBron to a veteran minimum deal when free agency rolls around on June 30. This deal would be worth just over $3 million, meaning LeBron, who is already a billionaire, would be taking nearly a $50 million paycut for the Suns.

 

It never hurts to pursue a star in any way, and if Phoenix was to draft Bronny and get LeBron, it would offer them a chance to play alongside Booker, Durant and Beal, while living an hour plane ride away from their home in Los Angeles. The latter was a big reason why Chris Paul was a huge fan of playing for the Suns.

Most specifically of the players that LeBron would want to play next to is Durant. The two have been rivals and among the top-10 players in the league for over a decade now and will be teaming up along with Booker on Team USA in the Paris Olympics this summer.

James leads the head-to-head regular season series 18-8 over Durant, while Durant leads the postseason head-to-head series 9-5. All of these postseason matchups came across three NBA Finals, in which Durant won two (2017, 2018 with Warriors vs. Cavaliers) and James won one (2012 with Heat vs. Thunder).

LeBron, a four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP, averaged 25.7 points on 54/41/75 shooting splits, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 71 games this past season for the Lakers. He shot a career-high in 3-point percentage and was named to the All-NBA Third Team alongside Booker.

James will be entering his 22nd season in the NBA next year.

“When you’re 39 in your 20th year, and then half your life is in the (NBA), and you’ve played against 40% of the players who have ever played in the league, that longevity has to mean something,” Durant said about James in February in the Boardroom Cover Story. “That has to be the standard.”

If James was to join the Suns, this would automatically create one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

Do you think the Suns have a real shot in landing James?

Report: Suns to work out Bronny James

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

 

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