After securing their big-time offseason addition in Ja Morant … the Portland Trail Blazers may not be done trying to add superstars.It’s been well-documented that Portland went after both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown before each was dealt to their new respective franchises, but the Blazers aren’t trying to work a blockbuster trade for this star.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementApparently, Portland’s new owner, Tom Dundon, wants LeBron James.Now, this story hasn’t been officially reported by any of the media members we typically rely on for this sort of intel — especially when it comes to a player the caliber of James.Still, it’s quite interesting that this possibility emerged, and we have a professional pickleball player to thank for the development.For a little bit of background context, Anna Leigh Waters is the No. 1 ranked pickleball player in women’s doubles, singles and mixed doubles on the PPA Tour.Ironically, Dundon is a majority shareholder in the PPA Tour.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAt the ESPY awards, USAToday was asking professional athletes where they believed James would end up in Act III of “The Decision,” and Waters was one of the attendees the outlet spoke to.”I know the owner of the professional pickleball league just bought the Portland basketball team, the Trail Blazers, and I know he’s trying to get (James), so we’ll see if that happens,” she said.Let’s get one thing clear: Dundon can try all he wants; James is not coming to Portland.For starters, from a basketball standpoint, adding James to the Blazers’ current roster would make zero sense. How is a ball-dominant player like James supposed to coexist on the floor with the likes of Morant, Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPortland had too many ball-handlers as is. Now it wants to bring in LeBron James?But that’s not the only reason “The King” isn’t Rip City-bound.The Blazers reportedly were willing to offer more draft capital to the Boston Celtics than anyone was for Brown — but Brown himself shut down the deal because he didn’t want to be in Portland.The organization isn’t very desireable at the moment — which is fine. It has time to build a better reputation under Dundon, but a player like James won’t be “taking his talents” to the Blazers until that happens.Dundon’s ambition may be admirable, but Portland must become a destination before it can start recruiting players who already define one.
Content Source: Yahoo News
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