LeBron James' rumored next team would be fantastic news for the Jazz

It's a rather intriguing fact that the Utah Jazz are among the very few teams that LeBron James never faced in the playoffs, and there's a strong chance they never will. LeBron's rumored next team makes it likely the Jazz will never see him, but more than that, it also means the Jazz likely have one less team to fear in the West should the Los Angeles Lakers lose him.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon revealed that the Cleveland Cavaliers are the "most likely" team to be LeBron James' next (and final?) destination in the NBA.

It makes poetic sense, as the Cavaliers were James' first team, of whom LeBron later brought the franchise's first title (in spectacular fashion), so it would be a great way to end to end it where it started, regardless of whether he could get Cleveland another title before he hangs it up.

At first, James' potential departure from the Lakers would have been a problem for the Jazz because it would have gotten in the way of their Austin Reaves plans, but then the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade ended all that speculation.

James leaving makes the Lakers less of a threat

Everyone knows what's coming next season for the Jazz. With a fully healthy squad, they want to make some noise in the playoffs, and if all goes well, it might not be too outlandish to suggest that they could be closer to a title contender than most think.

They could be even closer if a competitor is out of the way, and if the Lakers lose LeBron, it's hard not to think LA fits that bill.

Even if this season hasn't exactly been kind to the Lakers, James's departure is a problem they may not be able to easily rectify. Sure, they have cap space, which they'll use to re-sign Reaves, but then how much cap room will they have to add more pieces?

Reaves will be expensive and would understandably want the Lakers to back up the brinks truck, and if the Lakers give it to him (they are better off paying him than losing him for nothing), that will limit who they can add.

Because they won't be able to adequately replace what LeBron brought, don't be surprised if their ceiling lowers once he's gone.

Lakers get worse as Jazz get better means better playoff seed

In all fairness, everything that's been said about Utah and what the team looks like is hypothetical until we see it in real time.

However, the talent is definitely there to ascend to the level everyone once saw from the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert days. If one of their competitors is down for the count, that helps the Jazz with what they want to prove next season.

Obviously, no one should say championship yet for the Jazz, but no one should disregard it completely.