LABron James Discussion: What Next?

There’s a decent chance we never find a #2 for Luka as good as 40 year old LeBron is right now. I’m in no rush to move on from LeBron. And aside from him still being a great player on the court, him and Luka being on the same team is f***ing cool as a basketball fan, let alone a Laker fan. It really is Magic and Kareem 2.0. We won’t have as much time with them together as Magic and Kareem had, so I’ll be enjoying every second of it.

 

With Tatum's injury...I see a world where June is filled with especulation on Bron joining the Cavs.
The East is wide open. Giannis is likely to move to the West, so thec2 best players of an already weaker conference won't play there next year. The East superstars are Brunson, Haliburton and Donovan Mitchell. I see older stars in the West like Bron, Durant, even Sabonis, Beal or Zion looking at that and thinking "that could be a unique opportunity to reach the Finals".

I admit it's super weird now to imagine Bron going to Cleveland again, but you never know. He may go there for the vet min and a backhand agreement with the owner for a share when Bron owns a team. Who knows...

Either way, I see East teams that are not tanking being super aggressive. Cavs and Miami in particular. But also Orlando or Detroit that are one piece away from being in the fight for the Conference Finals. And I see some teams in the West backtracking and avoid this bloodbath. NOLA or Sac come to mind. What's the point of trying to compete? I see what Rob was talking about, it should be a very entertaining offseason. I see around 20 to 25 starters being traded

 

I hope he does because we aren’t going to come close to building our next Chip roster until his big salary is off the books. He should at least do a sign and trade so we can get one useful player back. Say he would take a paycut to “go back home” on a two year $40 million deal and let us get Allen back. That’s a win-win.
Too bad His Massive Ego wouldn’t allow for it. He needs at least a $50 million per year deal- ya know, cause he’s “really worried about others having to take less as well.”

 

I know it's not black and white, but i don't think I've ever seen a top 20 player (he's much better but expanding the parameters to ring the point home) who's going into year 8 with a team who a large section of the fan base actively tries to push out the door this hard. It's... something

 

Spoiled entitled Laker fans (some) for the win …. errrr …. grass is greener. You too AR for some or one or two ….. or just one (knows who he is) here who lives to put you in a trade. Players like AR all over the league and easy to find.




Cranjis McBasketball
@Tim_NBA
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3h

Here are the bigs that generated about as many wins as Austin Reaves this regular season (+/- 0.5 WAR): Bam Gobert JJJ Sengun Wemby

Wings: Siakam Guards: Brunson Cade Dame Trae Young ........ Austin had a hell of a year

 

It’s the size of his contract, the fact that he’s no longer the focal point, the likelihood that he’ll be injured again by the time the playoffs come, and the inability to properly build around Luka until he’s gone.
Sure, he still puts up great numbers during the regular season, but hopefully thinking at 41, he won’t have injuries going into the playoffs is just ridiculous. I’m just a realist.
I have no interest in a lengthened two year farewell tour of first or second round exits.
I’m a Lakers fan, first and foremost.
People can love LeBron and that’s fine. I just want to move forward and build properly around Luka. We currently don’t have the assets to trade for enough talent and surely don’t have the draft capital to bring in a significant rookie.

 

You mean the 14th highest paid player last season? I'm not even sure if you can quantify that ROI.

Dame, Butler, 5 game a year Kawhi, Pod-G13, Book, KAT, Brown (fouled out in the 3rd tonight), Beal, Embiid.

All make more than Bron. They either aren't the focal point or are the focal point to a tragically flawed roster.

So like Steph, Embiid, PG, Kawhi, and Kawhi? All making more than him.

Who's the guy? Who have we missed out on pairing him with? He's not out there today. Playing with Bron for 1-2 more years will do more for Luka and the Lakers brand than any player in the entire NBA. Take your pick. Wemby. Ant. Joker. SGA.

Luka has a lot to learn regarding going the distance. How we dealt with Kobe is why Bron came. How we deal with Bron will be by player X comes.

The concept both on the court and off the court, behind the curtain are so simple but people refuse to see it for whatever reason.

Bron has no greater chance at injury than contemporaries 15 years his junior. Cavs are all in their primes. Decimated by injuries. Their ticket to the ECF was punched nearly a year ago. C Bags had a cake walk. Until they didn't. Bron takes better care of his body than 99.9% of the league. At 61, I'll still trust his process over 50% of the league.

I'm here for Bron staying until he's ready to ride off on his terms or worst case, a career ending injury. HE brought us back to relevancy. No more daycare and nose wiping. HE shouldered the weight of the most difficult moment the franchise will ever have to handle. HE delivered a ring. HE brought AD. HE is who everyone in the league today grew up on. f*** that up, you don't get the next in line to come be Luka's Robin.

For a world so worried about Luka's dedication, weight, longevity. Why would you not want him around the best to ever thrive at body maintenance and sustained greatness for as long as humanly possible. Trust me, it pays off in the end.

Listen, I've HATED Bron since I watched his first nationally televised high school game. #23, "Chosen 1"... f*** that! Who are you?! Super team assembler. Ruiner of leagues. Those Bulls matchups were fun before Rose's body failed him. I was at Melo guy. Held on as long as i could that he was better, more fundamentally sound, his game would age better when Bron's athleticism started to wane. He can't even shoot! He doesn't work on his game. Oops. ...All that s*** died when Kobe gave him the stamp of approval as a Laker and Bron carried us through the darkest moment in franchise (maybe league) history. How he handled that, that's something maybe 5 basketball players ever are equipped for... unified us and delivered. I'll ride or die with him as a Laker after that.

What are you getting for Bron in a trade? It's going to be much less than you want. I don't think he wants to leave LA, it's his choice. Home is here. Family is here. Son is on the team he wants to retire with. Second son is well on his way to joining them. The money and off the court stuff is heightened in LA. Lining up to own a team is much easier to do in LA than Cleveland or wherever else someone wants to evict him to.

Coach, mentor, defensive coordinator, leader LeBron is worth more to the team, to Luka and (end of the day this is a business) ultimately to Jeanie than any player you could trade him for. Period.

 

Agreed 100% .. Lebron only keeps playing for his personal goals and the Lakers won't be close to being a serious title contender with him .

Worst thing is Lakers are going to waste 2 years of Luka for this masquerade

 

Lebron will do whatever he wants to do, and the Lakers will hold up their end of the bargain, whether that's resigning, retiring or leaving.

He is the best option we have to win the title next year - I still maintain he is the best 2nd option in the league. He just came off a playoffs where he played excellent defence.

What we need to do is built the best team around Luka and Lebron for the next 2-3 years. To me that involves slotting them into their best positions on both sides of the ball.

Lebron needs to play PF and defend PFs.

Luka needs to play PG and defend the weakest one of SG/SF. We also need to hide and help him better on team defence.

So IMO, that means we need surround these guys with a good big that is a lob threat and can switch while protecting the rim, a good POA defender that can hit the 3 and a good wing defender that can hit the 3.