While the finals are still in progress, NBA rumors are continuing to suggest the Cleveland Cavs' LeBron James is leaving town this summer. The frontrunner choices for his next team have included the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers. Now there is even more speculation that the move to Los Angeles could become reality, as a recent report suggests he and another All-Star are going to talk about teaming up.

LeBron and George to Lakers?

A recent report from Slam Online includes a tweet about NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. In the tweet, they indicate Woj has said LeBron James and Paul George will discuss teaming up with the Lakers this summer.

The two players have been rumored as potential free agent candidates that Magic Johnson wants to bring to Los Angeles, and now it looks like the two stars could be closer to getting on board.

It's also been said that the Oklahoma City Thunder still have a serious shot at retaining Paul George. While OKC failed to make too much noise in the postseason, the tandem of George and Westbrook still appears intriguing. However, the tandem of Paul George and LeBron James is probably more intriguing. Combining the talents of these two players could work quite well, as George showed his ability to defer being the top star to OKC's Westbrook this past season.

There's no doubting that he would defer to the top player in the league in order to try to win his first championship.

Potential issues?

Just having LeBron James on a team instantly makes them a playoff contender, and as fans have seen with this latest Cavaliers team, it can help them make it to the NBA finals too. However, combining his talents with those of Paul George could make a team even more of a contender.

The biggest early drawbacks of the two players joining Los Angeles could be the lack of a supporting cast, with Lonzo Ball appearing to be improving, but that is not a given. There's also the issue of Lonzo's father, LaVar Ball, becoming a nuisance for the team. However, that could always result in a trade.

In addition to all of that, the Western Conference is still the tougher of the two conferences and features several teams at the top that could be hard for the Lakers to take down.

They are the Houston Rockets and the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors. LeBron has already had his issues trying to defeat them in the NBA finals the past four years. Simply joining the Lakers with Paul George would probably make them a top three team in the West, though. It's just the matter of conquering the two more established elite teams there.

NBA title odds

LeBron James is currently busy with the 2018 NBA Finals, and as most analysts have been saying, it appears this year's series won't be pretty for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Based on the meltdown near the end of Game 1, LeBron's frustration is likely to carry over with him into the summer, when he'll decide on his next destination.

Oddsmakers have already put out their NBA championship odds for the 2018-19 season, and they aren't taking too many chances. Oddsmakers have clearly priced in the potential for LeBron James to join a handful of teams and help them win the title.

As of this report, the Golden State Warriors are 5 to 4 favorites to repeat, which isn't a surprise. They're trailed by Houston and Philadelphia at 7 to 2 odds, the Boston Celtics at 8 to 1 odds and the San Antonio Spurs at 25 to 1 odds.

However, the next three teams are all considered potential teams LeBron could join, or be on next season.

The L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat (LeBron's former team) are 20 to 1 favorites, followed by his current team. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 30 to 1 favorites if LeBron decides to stay in town. At this point, unless Cavs fans see another miraculous NBA finals comeback and title win, it's probably looking like James is on the way out. If he joins the Lakers with Paul George, expect those championship odds to move up, possibly to a second-place tie, or third place behind the two other Western Conference powerhouse teams.
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