LeBron James Wants To Play On Team With Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul

LeBron James is apparently addicted to the idea of a super team. Buried deep in this Bleacher Report story about his friendship with Carmelo Anthony is this gem of a quote:

"I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together. At least one, maybe one or two seasons—me, Melo, D-Wade, CP—we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that."

James said he has certainly thought about it before and thinks they could all do it before their careers are over.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that would be the most hated team of all-time.

James, Dwyane Wade and Anthony were all selected in the 2003 NBA Draft and Chris Paul was the fourth pick in the 2005 draft. The four have essentially grown up together in the NBA and are all friends. That said, the idea of them playing together is pretty crazy. They would all have to sacrifice huge chunks of their respective salaries to make it happen and the 29 owners who didn’t land the foursome would almost certainly pressure the NBA to block it from happening.

To make that kind of power move, James would almost certainly have to leave Cleveland, since I don’t see guys who make their homes in New York, Miami and LA deciding to uproot to the banks of Lake Erie. That would mean James would have left Cleveland behind not once but twice. Could he really handle being that big of a villain?

It’s an insane proposition, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. The rest of the guys would also have to be fine with the idea that they needed a ton of help to win a title, and Anthony and Paul have never done it on their own. They would have to be fine with the perception that they needed other guys to make it happen.

Stranger things have happened in the sports world, but a group like that would either be really enjoyable to watch (and hate-watch) or kill the NBA. There isn’t much middle ground.