Another Summer of LeBron is upon us, and while King James may enjoy the continued focus into the offseason as the basketball world awaits his next decree, there is a large measure of wish-it-was-over-tomorrow around league offices.

One team will have LeBron James next season. The other 29 will have to figure out how that affects them and prepare accordingly. Some of those 29 who are able to engage in a meaningful pursuit of James will have put their 2018-19 planning on hold and therefore will be reaching quickly for Plan B – assuming Plan B is still available to them.

At present, the Celtics’ connection to all this is tangential. LeBron wants to win more championships, and the Celtics offer an immediate opportunity to compete for them. But there would be a number of needles to thread to get him to Boston – perhaps too many.

Let’s begin with the fact that the Celtics likely are concerned with the effect if they were to even ask Kyrie Irving how he’d feel about a reunion. Then, if that bridge were crossed, there is the issue of how to fit James onto the roster financially. Word is he isn’t interested in taking shorter money, so there goes the mid-level exception fantasy. The Celtics would have to make a deal with the Cavaliers, and logic says the only big contract they’d be willing to give up is Al Horford’s. (And we don’t think there’s any way Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown would be involved.)

So let’s just say that, because nothing is ever too crazy in the NBA, it’s probably best to keep this in the far back of the mind until further evidence presents itself – if it ever does.

Of the other potential landing sites, outside of perhaps Houston, there appears to be nowhere James can get all he wants right away. The Rockets dealt with a Chris Paul injury and went seven games with Golden State. If they could add James to Paul, James Harden and Clint Capela, that could be enough to create a champion.

The Lakers have the cap space, but they would need to acquire another major star to get competitive with the Warriors. The 76ers would love to have LeBron, but he might not fit with Ben Simmons who, like James, needs the ball, but unlike James can’t shoot nearly well enough to play off the ball.

Meanwhile, as all this plays out, look for the Celtics to be focused more right now on re-signing Marcus Smart.

Small screen love

Paul Pierce is making a nice career for himself on television. His work for ESPN has gotten strong reviews – good enough that he’s not thinking about getting involved with a team just now.

Pierce said as he neared retirement from his playing days that he would maybe like to work in an NBA front office – maybe Boston’s. But with his ESPN teammate Chauncey Billups having pulled out of the running for the general manager’s job in Cleveland last summer, Pierce knows he wouldn’t be walking into a top position with the Celtics.

And he’s more than good with that.

“I’m enjoying this right now,” he said of the TV work. “And Danny (Ainge)’s done an excellent job. I mean, he’s the best GM in the game.

“Danny’s going to be there for another 20 years, like Red Auerbach. He’s a lifer. He’s a genius.”

Wise man Walter

Rick Pitino acknowledged years ago that his own impatience doomed his Celtics tenure. He had a 102-146 record over 31/2 seasons in Boston before abruptly resigning.

But Walter McCarty, who played for Pitino both for the Celtics and at Kentucky and then coached under him at Louisville, believed there was another culprit in the ill-fated cruise leading into the turn of the millennium.

“When Rick was here, people don’t understand how hard it is to win when your whole team is young, your whole team is under 24 or 25 years old,” said McCarty, who’s now running his own team at the University of Evansville. “You look at Phoenix, what they did this year, or Sacramento, or all of these young teams. They’re going to struggle, because all of these young guys are trying to find themselves.”

Recognizing that error of haste by Pitino, McCarty said, “That was the thing. You’ve got to have patience.”

So how did the more recent Celtics – particularly this year’s edition – manage to succeed? Having been an assistant coach with that group until taking the Evansville job in late March, McCarty has a pretty good idea.

“They’re young guys, but they played with a lot of belief,” McCarty said. “They played within the system, and Brad (Stevens) put a lot of trust in them. But you forget that every day they’ve got Al Horford, whose presence is huge in that locker room and on that court. Kyrie Irving is incredible. Aron Baynes. And, you know, even though Daniel Theis was a rookie, he played professional ball for six or seven years. Shane Larkin’s been in the league.

“They have veteran players helping these young guys out. They’ve got Kyrie who’s won a championship and Aron Baynes who’s won a championship. Then going out and getting Greg Monroe, they have guys who have done it and know how to keep guys fresh and ready to play and grounded. We didn’t have that.”

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