Every team's odds of landing LeBron James

Let us apologize to the following teams, who, collectively, have less than a 1 percent chance of landing James: Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks. Sorry to all, but if James ends up playing for your team next year, it will be nothing less than a miracle.

Slightly better than the "no-chance" crowd, the "extremely unlikely" grouping of teams can entertain a better than 1 percent chance of having King James come to town but not much better. So, barring something incredibly unlikely, apologies are in order to fans of the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards. You will not be winning the LeBron sweepstakes.

I'll be honest, if I could pick one landing spot for LeBron, it would be Milwaukee. Not just for the incongruity of the game's biggest star playing in one of its smallest, least-glamorous markets, but also for the pure basketball bliss that King James could create with Giannis Antetokounmpo. LeBron and the Greek Freak combining forces might be too much for the hoops world to handle, but we can always dream.

Vegas doesn't have odds on Chicago being even a long-shot destination for LeBron, but there might not be a more appropriate team for him to play for. He could finally try to escape Michael Jordan's shadow and deliver titles to a franchise that hasn't seen one since Jordan's last dagger through the hearts of the Utah Jazz in 1998. Plus, you'd have to imagine that James going to the Bulls would enrage His Airness, at least to the point where we would get some wonderful passive-aggressive comments out of MJ. 

OK, so it's Salt Lake City — not exactly a place known for its Q rating. While LeBron would sacrifice big-market attention, he would gain a running buddy in Donovan Mitchell, whose ferocious, attacking style and pure scorer's mentality would play well with LeBron's playmaking instincts. The Jazz surely aren't a sexy pick on this list, and Vegas also doesn't have odds on them anymore after initially placing them on the short list of about 10 teams, but this one would be fun from an actual basketball perspective.

Seriously, just don't, OK? The only thing more frustrating than Kevin Durant joining a team that previously set the record for most regular-season wins would be having James make the leap to the Bay Area to form the first superhero team.

The Heat were a trendy sleeper pick early on in the "where will LeBron land" news cycle, which makes sense in a way. James had the most success of his career in Miami, and there are worse places to live. Reality eventually set in, though, and now it would be truly shocking if James ended up back with the Heat. There's no Chris Bosh or Ray Allen, and Dwyane Wade isn't 2010 D-Wade anymore. Miami's path in the East seems like it will be blocked for the next few years unless something major changes, and while James coming back would be that major change, it just isn't happening.

Odds of landing LeBron: 40/1 (Bovada)

The appeal of playing in Manhattan is obvious. LeBron could command the most attention, even more marketing exposure and be the king of New York if he turned the Knicks into a bona fide contender. Plus, he would get to play in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Here's the downside: James Dolan owns the Knicks. If LeBron thinks Dan Gilbert is annoying to deal with, he hasn't seen anything yet. Dolan seems like just the meddling, attention-hungry boss who would manage to make LeBron's time in the Big Apple miserable.

Odds of landing LeBron: 30/1 (Bovada)

Chris Paul isn't there anymore. Neither is Blake Griffin. LeBron could truly test his star wattage by going to the Clippers and spurning their co-tenant at the Staples Center. The Clips would immediately become the big attraction in L.A., but would James actually pick the lesser of two lights in a two-team city? It seems hard to believe that he would, and that's probably why the Clippers are a deserved long shot at this point.

Odds of landing LeBron: 25/1 (Bovada)

Pound for pound, this would be right there with Milwaukee as my favorite place for LeBron to go. It would be great to see LeBron and Kawhi Leonard team up and try to take down the Warriors together. This would, of course, require Leonard and Gregg Popovich to have a positive working relationship, but methinks that the presence of James would probably smooth things over considerably. Plus, Popovich is one of the few coaches in the league with enough of a reputation to stand on equal footing with LeBron. This one probably won't happen, but it would be great to see.

Odds of landing LeBron: 20/1 (Bovada)

Lots of NBA fans seem to hate the idea of LeBron in Boston more than any other city, with the possible exception of the Bay Area. I would laugh if this one came to pass, though. Kyrie Irving worked hard to get himself traded out of Cleveland, and the thought of LeBron coming to Boston and possibly having to play alongside Irving again, or forcing him to go somewhere else, is very amusing. That said, this one feels like it won't happen, mainly because Boston is already set up to be the beast of the East as soon as LeBron retires or starts to fall off to any significant degree. 

Odds of landing LeBron: 18/1 (Bovada)

If you're looking for the team that might become the most fearsome with LeBron in the fold, the Sixers seem like a good bet. Adding James to a mix that already has Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid would be borderline unfair to the rest of the Eastern Conference, even though there is significant overlap in James' and Simmons' skill sets. The 76ers' odds have gotten slightly worse since they were first posted a few weeks ago, but Philly is a great basketball city and a huge media market, and James could probably count on having a good chance at a handful of titles as he ages into his mid- and late 30s.

Odds of landing LeBron: 10/1 (Bovada)

So here's the intrigue with Houston: LeBron and Chris Paul are good buddies, and there have been rumors for months that their friendship is so strong that they might team up at James' next port of call. The Rockets have indicated that they think Paul is staying put, which would seem to suggest that LeBron will come to Houston, except for the speculation that LeBron isn't a fan of the city. Before you dismiss that, realize that family comfort is a legitimate factor in James' decision-making process. Even if Paul is in the fold, something about the dynamic in Houston seems off.

Odds of landing LeBron: 15/2 (Bovada)

The Cavs started out as a seeming long shot to keep their hometown hero and with good reason. Dan Gilbert doesn't seem like a very fun owner to deal with, the roster is a mess and LeBron already delivered on his promise to bring a championship to Cleveland. The fact that he got the Cavs a title — beating an all-time great Warriors team in the process — will make it much tougher for anyone to fault him if he decides to leave for a second time. LeBron could stay and probably own the Cavs if he wanted to, both literally and figuratively, and if they can entice a major star to play alongside him, he might. Still, Cleveland isn't the favorite to have LeBron on the roster next season, because that designation overwhelmingly belongs to the final team on this list.

Odds of landing LeBron: 13/4 (Bovada)

LeBron has a home in L.A., he likes the city, it would allow him to continue pursuing other ventures outside of basketball, specifically acting, and it would allow him to play for one of the league's most glamorous franchises. Attracting other stars to join him won't be a problem, and it's doubtful he'll mind playing in the rugged Western Conference. The big question would be whether LeBron can get the Lakers to make a deal (almost assuredly using Lonzo Ball as the big trade chip) to get Kawhi Leonard out to L.A. with him. If that happens, one would imagine the 2018-19 season will begin with LeBron wearing purple and gold.

Odds of landing LeBron: 4/13 (Bovada)