HoopsHype Daily: LeBron James at point guard actually happening?

LEBRON THE POINT GUARD: LeBron James has dabbled at the point-guard position before, at times taking the job of floor general for his teams on certain possessions. Despite that, it looks like the Lakers actually want him to be their full-time starting point guard based on their most recent practices.

The move comes with some risks, as LeBron will have to expend energy bringing the ball down on most plays against hounding full-court pressure. But if it pays off, it could trigger a new stage of the future Hall-of-Famer’s career, one where he’ll start racking up assists and not feel the need to score quite as much. At 34 years old and with a million miles on his body, the Lakers will have to get creative finding ways to extend LeBron’s prime, and moving him to point guard could be one way to do it.

NOT SO FAST: The Adams-to-Kings rumors have been shot down pretty quickly.

Adams is owed $53 million in the next couple of years. That’s a lot of money for a player who has not really distinguished himself in the last two postseasons.

POP HASN’T FORGOTTEN: Legendary head coach Gregg Popovich still remembers the manner in which current New York Knicks big man Marcus Morris – who was, at one point, committed to signing with the San Antonio Spurs this summer – handled his business this offseason. Popovich called Morris’ actions, going back on his agreement with San Antonio to sign with New York instead for more money, “unprofessional”. Morris, for his part, responded to the future Hall-of-Fame coach and executive’s comments with the utmost respect.

SEASON PREVIEWS: The Sixers might have their best shot at the NBA title since, well, their last title.

SO FAR SO GOOD: Good guy Mike Conley is unsurprisingly adjusting quite well to the Utah Jazz.

THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS: Former Orlando Magic swingman and current Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady returned to visit his former team on Thursday, giving the young group a motivational pep talk and providing third-year pro Jonathan Isaac with crucial one-on-one scoring tips.

SIAKAM TO THE MAX? NBA execs are split on whether the Raptors should give the up-and-coming Pascal Siakam a contract extension for the maximum salary.

FWIW: Siakam is the most improved player on NBA 2K this year.

WAITERS ISLAND ALIVE AND WELL: Dion Waiters’ teammates and even his head coach Erik Spoelstra rave about how the shooting guard, coming off an injury-plagued couple of seasons, looks thus far in training camp.

From the archive: A behind-the-scenes look at the Heat’s intense culture.

PAVING THE WAY: Joe Johnson wants to prove that the Big3 is a viable option for players trying to either return to the NBA or reach that plateau for the first time.

NBA’s NEXT FRONTIER: India’s population projects to be surpassing China’s soon, giving the NBA its next frontier to try and conquer.

BAR RACES: Some keyboard warriors like to debate about who’s the best European player ever. Show them this video to end such a preposterous debate.

TRADE RUMOR RANKINGS

These are the players with the most mentions in our trade rumors page the last seven days:

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