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LeBron James proves he's the most powerful man in the NBA


Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday, the worst-kept secret in the NBA was revealed when sources confirmed that the Cleveland Cavaliers would be trading number-one overall picks Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves for All-Star forward Kevin Love.

The deal can't be done officially until August 23rd, per NBA rules about trading recently signed draft picks, so all the players involved have to awkwardly not comment on this for a few weeks, but it's a done deal.

The trade also shows that LeBron James is the most powerful man in the NBA.

On the "B.S. Report" podcast with Bill Simmons, ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst said earlier this week that James had known "for weeks" about the Love deal, and when Simmons tried to press and ask if James had known about the deal before signing, Windhorst wouldn't deny it. At the end of the podcast, Windhorst said that James "said it was done," referring to the deal.

James knew this was happening. By joining Cleveland, he wasn't just "coming home," great as his letter was. He was also making a shrewd decision about the players he wanted around him.

Another way of looking at it is this: James traded Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade for Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

Are Love and Irving as good as Bosh and Wade? Not yet, probably. But here's the thing: Bosh is 30 and Wade is 32. Love is 25 and Irving is 22. (Irving is 22!)

James got to return to his home city and got to surround himself with two NBA All-Stars just entering their primes.

Would it have been enticing for James to play with Wiggins and Bennett, see them develop alongside him? Of course. But James knows better than anyone how small these windows are to pursue a championship, and at 29 years old, wasn't going to wait the three years for Wiggins to learn the NBA game. He wanted players ready to win now, and he got them.

The biggest concern about this team, of course, is its defense and lack of frontcourt depth. Love isn't an elite defender, and the Cavaliers don't have a good answer for when Anderson Varejao gets in foul trouble or injured. But for James, the big concern was getting a foundation in place now. He's got it. Dion Waiters, a promising scorer, is just the cherry on top.

The scary part is, LeBron the GM isn't done just yet. Mike Miller has already agreed to come take open 3s for the Cavs next year, and Shawn Marion may be looking to join the roster as well.

James may be underpaid as a player for what he's actually worth to a franchise, but don't underestimate his power in this league. He picked the team he would play for, and now he's got a strong hand in picking the players around him. He is the King, after all.

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