I know he has a house in LA and this is taken out of context, but still fun to let the media run with it.
I guess I'd rather be 4th in the West with George and Westbrook than 2nd in the West with LeBron. Either way you're saying we aren't winning the title, so I'd rather root for the guys I like than the one I don't if the end result is a "failed" season. Also, OKC losing in the Finals was on Harden. Durant and Westbrook both played great, if they had a 3rd option that didn't disappear it would have been a better series. Oh and you once again pointed out a reason I'd take Westbrook/George. GS will dominate for a few more years, then hopefully they split up and those guys are still in their primes, while LeBron is on his way to the nursing home. Again, we'd be good now AND in 4/5 years. I'm thinking long term here if the next 3 years are already determined. I'd rather have guys that can be here a while as opposed to a guy who will want out or want the entire roster changed to his liking if we aren't winning in a year or 2, then leave us decimated when he walks or retires.
If I were in charge I would go all in on the Westbrook / George combo. I would even be willing to risk George / Boogie. Either one is preferable to LLLLLeBron. But this is the King's world and we all just live in it/ Witness.
I'd rather be 2nd. All it would take then is an injury to Durant and we're in like Flynn. I'm saying I want the best odds to win a title and LeBron has those odds whether we like him or not. A "failed" season to me now is what we've had and I'm sick of that. I'd gladly take Westbrook/George, but I'd even be gladder to have Westbrook or George with LeBron. LeBron is the better factor to make us a better team. Again, I'm not betting on Westbrook being better or healthier than LeBron in 3-4 years. This is the point we'll agree to disagree on. And as for the roster change: the Lakers have made it clear we're not getting rid of Lonzo/Ingram. Those are our future and there's nothing LeBron can say or do to change that. In fact, this entire plan hinges on them anyway. If they're not future or current All-Stars, what incentive does anybody have to come here? And if they are future All-Stars, why would we trade them? LeBron may have gotten his buddies paid in Cleveland, but Miami did what they had to so they could be competitive. I would expect the same from our FO.
I have to contest that they weren't good enough. They made the finals at 23, and although they lost in 5, if you break down games 2, 3 and 4 - they were within 1 possession with 1-2 mins to go in each game. If Harden doesn't disappear, good chance they win. Then they had 3 years of injuries, met the Spurs super offense one year that would of taken out anyone in history. Their last season together, they had a 73-9 team down 3-1 and were up in the 4th quarter in each of the close out games. Absolutely, they were good enough - two top 5 players in the league. It takes a bit of luck in everyone staying healthy for one full off-season and they probably wind up with a ring or two. No doubt Durant is better than PG, however PG adds to the Thunder's defence in a way Durant didn't when he was there (he has played wonderful post defence since arriving in GSW though). I honestly see the Thunder's supporting cast as quite good for Westbrook and PG - defensively they can be a real problem for a lot of teams, Roberson, Patterson and Adams are all good to great defenders. They have a few bench pieces that we need to see how they fit in Felton, Abrines, Grant and Kanter. I can't see them taking out GSW as they have too many weapons and a nasty defence themselves, but I can see them being the best of the rest. Also, it's worth remembering it wasn't just Curry/Klay/Green when Durant and Westbrook had them down 3-1, they also had Barnes and Bogut. Comparing them from a purely Durant vs Barnes/Bogut point is silly, but a team can only get so good with one ball on the court. After a while the law of diminishing returns takes over and I think we've seen that with Golden State. Adding Durant certaintly improved them but not as much as everyone expected. Curry and Klay had to take a slight step back to allow Durant to flourish, they may be better than that 79-3 team, but they aren't twice as good - I'd say somethng like 10% better (10% better on a 73-9 team is still a lot). That's why I still believe some teams can challenge them, that's why I'd love Kyrie to go to the Spurs and Melo to go to the Thunder/Rockets. Load up and take them down! If Durant/Westbrook/Ibaka can get that 73-9 team down 3-1, maybe a PG/Westbrook/Melo, Kyrie/Kawhi or a CP3/Harden/Melo combo can. Also I forgot to mention, the thunder don't really have that many terrible contracts. Kanter at 17per isn't awful when you compare him to Moz at 16 or some of the other contracts bigs have gotten. Kanter is only 25, is guranteed this season with a PO next year and if he can be relatively passable on defence, he is still a good-great offensive player. There was rumours they also found a trade for him if they were going to sign Rudy Gay. Is Adams worth 25m? No, probably not, but depending how Adams develops his finishing in the PnR now that they have a little better spacing, I see him as a valuable big and one of the better young ones when you take his mobility and defence into view. Roberson at 10per is a good deal for both sides, if he develops a shot he is a premier 3&D guy in the league, if he doesn't he is decent at cutting and a defensive specialist who can harm your spacing. Then they have Abrines, the jury is still out on how valuable he can be, and lastly Kyle Singler, who could be used as a makeshift in a trade or get stretched to a 1.4m cap hit over 7 seasons, annoying but not the end of the world when the cap will be 110m+.
So LLLLLebron took something that was private and turned it public because it didn't suit him? Nice. Nice to see the media finally calling him out for this stuff. But leaking a story on a teammate to make them look bad because they don't want to play with you - knowing you don't plan to be there next year, and don't want to deal with your crap? b**** move.
On another note: I just reserved ihatelebron.com I don't know how that was available, but I may or may not make use of it
Baron is former UCLA, and has stayed in shape hoping to get a final shot in the League. Back when Kobe was young, UCLA had legendary summer pick up games we've heard about. Maybe some more are going on? Otherwise, I can't see BD being the guy to drop future FA type of hints.
It doesn't show, but the tweet was retweeted by none other than Paul George himself. In other words, Paul George and LeBron James were both subtweeting about "home" in LA. I think they're just having fun with the media though, which was my point.