Morning sports update: Stephen A. Smith says LeBron James will ‘have a conversation’ with the Celtics
Will LeBron James the free agent be a Boston Celtic next season?
Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vazquez each hit a solo homer to lead the Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Tigers on Wednesday night. Kevin Durant’s 43 points pushed the Cavaliers to the brink of elimination in the NBA Finals.
Stephen A. Smith says LeBron James will ‘have a conversation’ with the Celtics as a free agent this summer
Stephen A. Smith is giving the Celtics front office plenty to think about.
On Tuesday, the ESPN analyst told Terry Rozier that he’s “grossly underpaid” and quizzed the point guard on his appetite for a trade to a team where he could get more minutes. Rozier responded that the young Celtics ‘definitely’ wanted to stay together and take up where they left off next season.
A day later, Smith was back on “First Take” with another idea about Boston’s summer plans. He put forth a list of seven teams LeBron James will talk to this offseason after he opts out of his deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics made the list.
“LeBron James is going to have a conversation with the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Smith said. “They can offer him the most, and they are willing to do anything they can to keep him here, etc. etc., and obviously the wife is going to have a major, major say in things. So you got that going on. He’s going to have a conversation with Boston. He’s going to have a conversation with Philly. Obviously the Lakers. Houston’s in the mix as well. They are going to go after him. Make no mistake about it.”
For James to join the green-and-white, Danny Ainge would have to bring his dark magic to bear on the Celtics’ salary situation — then repair the relationship between James and Kyrie Irving. Whether or not The King ends up at The Garden, Smith believes there will at least be a conversation between the sides.
“So you got Cleveland, Philly, Boston, Houston, LA, Golden State,” he said. “…Those are all conversations he’s going to have. Those are the seven teams.”
Smith isn’t the first to name the Celtics as James’s destination. Antoine Walker said last week that if he was in the superstar’s shoes, he’d sign with Boston.
“The best team in the Eastern Conference right now would be the Boston Celtics,” Walker said. “I would figure out a way to Boston if I’m LeBron James.”
What we know about Dustin Pedroia’s injury and his future with the Red Sox: The second baseman is scheduled to return to baseball activities on Thursday after inflammation in his left knee landed him on the 10-day disabled list. Pedroia has had two operations on that knee in as many seasons, and manager Alex Cora said Pedroia will have to adjust his playing style. (Boston.com)
LeBron James gave the Patriots a shoutout after Game 3: After suffering a third straight defeat at the hands of the Warriors, the Cavaliers star compared Golden State to the perennial contenders in Foxborough.
“The margin of error is very low,” James said. “It’s almost like playing the Patriots. You can’t have mistakes, they’re not going to beat themselves.” (Boston.com)
Fans using cell phones caused a bit of a problem at Fenway Park: Red Sox security asked fans in the center-field bleachers on Wednesday night to stop shining the flash light on their phones as the Tigers were batting.
“You ever tried to hit with a light like that in your face? It’s not supposed to happen,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. (Boston.com)
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