LeBron James Discussion: Not Returning To The Lakers

why not? no picks and capped out, we gona be signing more of these washed up old dudes or more stanley Johnson type who will no doubt revert back to a medicore player...by time we get picks again AD will probably want out with all the losing post Bron

 

Glass half empty guy is back and feelin’ invigorated.

 

called real life expectations

 

Hope you enjoy them. Not like no one else knows these same things are possible in worst case scenarios. It’s also possible things go better or much better.

 

sure it can get better but we don't have much to trade n now westbrick anchor, booting him w/o attaching a pick would be a win in offseason

 

If the return in needed position talent is average at the least and hopefully one of the principals better than or fantastic a lot better than we have physically and talent wise currently attempting to fill that need.

 

maybe i regret saying this, but i don't see how it can be worse than last year. it was a perfect storm.

i mean, i guess AD and lebron could miss the ENTIRE year?

the 47 million dollar anchor was a dark cloud hanging over everything. and he'll be gone one way or another during the next 6-10 months. that's going to be a win, imo.

 

It can always be worse lol. And quite frankly, I don't put it pass this FO to somehow screw this all up...again.

 

100% agree



Trade him and get assets for rebuild.

As is, he is not going to be a leading contributor towards a title contending team.

 

There's so many issues with this.

1) what that line of thought and Screaming A chose to ignore is money. Bron is the best financial asset to any team in the NBA. Lakers aren't going to give up that money unless they can offset it with what a NBA Finals team would net you with playoff revenue... we're not getting that in return.

2) we're not trading Bron somewhere he doesn't want to go and currently he doesn't want to go anywhere. His business endeavors and his family are keeping him happy in LA. We're in the superstar management business and that's a bad look for the next guy.

3) Who's willing to go the Raptors route with Kawhi? Who thinks they're 1 piece away from winning and willing to rent that player for 1 year? Then does that team have anything we want or are they in a position to make that trade financially? The answer to that is no.

End of hypothetical trade discussion.

 

https://hoopshype.com/lists/lakers-...anthony-davis-malik-monk-talen-horton-tucker/

 

no way I'm giving Lebron that much money

I'm completely on board with trading him. I think it would change the culture of the team for the better, and the players we have, we'd get more out of.

They will be much more valuable showcasing what they are capable of, and can still be part of future trades.

I think Westbrook and AD would play together fine if we decide not to get off of his contract. Either way, I don't see us competing for a championship if Lebron is here next year.

 

Lebron is not going to be traded, even if the trade makes sense for the team long term. The Lakers gave Kobe an extension post-achilles tear because they wanted to do right by him for his years of service and the championships he helped deliver. This was all to the detriment to our cap space flexibility for an asset that was in decline, but we still did it, because that's just the Lakers M.O.

 

While I respect and appreciate what Lebron has done, he hasn't built enough good will as Kobe to get that treatment if it was up to me. Kobe was a Laker lifer. Lebron is a mercenary so we shouldn't be that loyal to him. I agree with you that the front office will not trade him however. In either case, his trade value at this stage in his career isn't nearly as high as most people think.

 

yeah, he's not bringing back what people would think. maybe an overpaid vet plus a middling talent young player and a 1st. that's it, imo. for example, philly would probably give us tobias harris and thybulle and a protected first or something like that. trading lebron is not going to "jumpstart the rebuild". and that's assuming you want to do that, which i don't.

i agree that i think we're going to take on money in a westbrook move that preserves our picks. and the plan is to operate over the cap and use trades to improve the roster until the lebron/AD era is officially over (yes i know half the board thinks it is, but it actually isn't yet).

it's the only path, imo. with jokic and beal and folks all seemingly interested in re-upping, free agency is the wrong path in the short-term. we need to be in the trade business.

 

Sam Amick from the Athletic is reporting that we won't consider trading Lebron if he declines the extension offer.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiret...g-LeBron-James-If-He-Declines-Extension-Offer

 

Yup, in theory I could get behind the idea of cutting our losses and trading Lebron to “replenish our assets” and “jumpstart the rebuild”.

But in reality, that’s just not going to happen. Beyond the optics of trading our superstar, I simply don’t think Lebron would bring back a big enough haul to make it worth it. Who is giving up the farm for a 37 year old Lebron on essentially a 1 year/$45 million contract?

By virtue of being an expiring contract and already having signaled that he’ll want to go play with Bronny, Lebron would be able to dictate where he went. And it’s not like a “Lakers treat their superstars well so we’d accommodate him” thing, because I get the arguments about how we shouldn’t necessarily have that sense of loyalty to Lebron. It’s just a practical matter of other teams being unwilling to gamble their assets on him for a rental. So we’d have a limited list of trade partners, likely contenders who would have to tear down their core just to make salaries match.

I think abeer’s example of something like Tobias Harris, Thybulle, and a single first is a realistic type of scenario.

So the “he is not going to be a leading contributor towards a title contending team” take is wild to me. Is someone like Tobias Harris going to move the needle more than Lebron in terms of us contending this upcoming season? Is someone like Thybulle going to move the needle for us in terms of long-term rebuilding, enough to the point where it makes sense to punt away from another season of a Lebron/AD duo?

IMO, Lebron has more value to us as a player than he does as a trade asset. Instead of selling low on him, I’d rather cross my fingers that him and AD can stay healthy and give us a puncher’s chance at a championship (because when healthy, they absolutely can both still be leading contributors to a championship contending team) even at the risk of Lebron walking in free agency next year.

 

this.

and i also agree that if lebron and AD are healthy, we remain a team others want to avoid.

 

Windy basically echoing my thoughts from yesterday

 

The number of times he destroyed Westbrook and they still convinced themselves into trading for him.
Worst part about is seeing the camaraderie between AC and Kuzma on the recent tweets: Westbrook killed chemistry and the Bubble Lakers you could tell loved playing together