LeBron James Discussion: Not Returning To The Lakers

But its crazy that he's been more durable than Anthony. I don't know how much he has left in the tank, but Dennis is saying that he told him that he wants to play another 3-4 seasons. It would be a remarkable feat, he just can't get there logging these kind of minutes as the 1st or 2nd option, Or for the team’s sake, at this salary level IMO.

He might just be able to pull off a Cap redeux tho
Kareem was still at around 30 mins until his final season. Lol..we'd have to cover him up with some sort of zone though! That could work..if we had two defensive bigs.

 

I’m definitely hoping for the best. We will need him playing at a high level.

 

The franchise has doubled down on being Lebron centric and they suck. They’re not competitive and have become unwatchable. The business is running only because they are resting on their laurels. We look like Yankees and Cowboys

 

57-0 and a championship trophy is the validation. It's unfair to blame Lebron for AD's situation. The Warriors are getting tramp stomped here recently and they are the defending Champions. Injuries suck

 

He played good tonight. The team was competitive in his minutes. He was actually a +2 until those final three point daggers at the end.

 

This mess started when Lebron wanted another ball handler and 3rd star. Our formula was Lebron/AD + role players who fit perfectly like a glove next to these divas in the Bubble run

 

57-0 is a feat unmatched in NBA history Rock. Those divas make a pretty good duo.

 

https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/lebron-record-with-anthony-davis-since-2021

since that fluke Bubble ring AD and Lebron have played only 68 games together.

The duo is a pedestrian and mediocre 38-30. Having role players who fit well and bring chemistry matters a lot especially since Lebron is high maintenance and is not a championship level player off-ball

 

The regular season was a fluke too? We had the best record in the League before the shut down. Only lost 1 game a series in the Conference playoffs. We simply were the best team in the NBA that year.

You hate Lebron that much to discredit that?

 

not hating just stating the facts that Lebron has not brought as much success as he supposedly advertised he can bring.

This is 3rd straight regular season in a row where the Lakers don’t look like a title contender even when they had AD/Lebron. That 2020 fluke argument looks stronger because this is 3rd year in a row where the AD/Lebron combo is not bringing a lot of regular season success as that outlier 2020 year. (Their 38-30 record over 3 years shows their lack of success)

Before AD came Lakers didn’t make the playoffs either with talented guys like Kuzma, Ingram next to Lebron. This picture below was on the eve of the 2019 February trade deadline when Lakers were 27-27 and in 10th place. That makes 4 out of 5 seasons where Lebron led Laker teams have been mediocre and on their way to missing playoffs or getting bounced in the 1st round. That 2019/2020 season was an outlier and fluke especially the Bubble run after extended rest and no crowd in attendance.

So yes its imperative to KEEP or BRING the right pieces around Lebron to have any sort of success because he is a diva and high maintenance.

The Lakers have bent over backwards to keeping Lebron happy on and off the court and have now become a mediocre team and for the forseeable future. They are not a threat. The only way out of this if Lebron leaves this franchise, which has become unwatchable and non-competitive under him.

 

A bit of selective memory going on here. The 1st year of Lebron, Lonzo and Brandon had to be shut down for the season before the playoffs started. So how was that team expected to do anything?

We won a chip in the next season..AD and Lebron both were hurt in the following season. AD was hurt again last season, why is all this mostly on Lebron?

 

March 2, 2019 Ingram's last game with Lebron/Kuzma. Lakers were 30-33 in 10th place and 5 games out of the 8th spot. They picked up some good wins here and there all year (CHRISTMAS DAY VS GSW) but were largely not a serious playoff threat.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401071615

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2019_standings_by_date_western_conference.html


There were budding talent and he couldn't bring a lot of success.


The 2019/2020 team success had to do with having the right role players + Bubble circumstances. The Lakers got rid of those guys because they falsely believed Lebron's theory that a 3rd star is what they needed. They have been in a downward spiral since trying to appease Lebron.

 

Lonzo was already done for the season. I don't exactly remember what date but they were terrible without Lebron. The fact that Lebron " couldn't carry them" to the playoffs, might just be why we got AD right? Won a chip to validate that move.

We won because those guys were fantastic, the bulk of that team were here in the previous season. We added Green, Bradley- who folks thought was injury prone and washed. He didn't even make it to the bubble. Nobody wanted Dwight in the League, and Kief was a buyout pickup.


Give these guys their due respect , they were an outstanding duo, and we have a chip that stamps that.
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You still haven't explained why it's Lebron 's fault that AD got hurt.

 

the 2020-21 team absolutely looked like a title contender before lebron and AD got hurt. they were 27-13 at one point and could have very well knocked off the suns in the playoffs if AD hadn't gotten hurt

and you can f*** right off with your "fluke bubble ring" b*******. it's one thing for opposing fans to say it because they hate the lakers but for a lakers fan to say it is ridiculous. what was flukey about it? how every team had the same amount of time to rest? how there was no home court advantage for anyone? it was by far the most level playing field in any NBA playoffs in history

 

We were not beating the Suns or Milwaukee as AD/Lebron were not top 5 level guys. They milked the heck out of the short offseason excuse and rode that out into the 2021-2022 season as well.

The Bubble ring was 100% a fluke. This team and especially Lebron/AD have not replicated the same level of high performance going on 3 seasons now outside of the Bubble circumstances.

I care about our franchise just as much as any other Laker fan and Lebron/current FO has milked the heck out of that Bubble run and continue to be mediocre. We will continue to be a laughing stock as long as those two are around.

 

they were up 2-1 in the series against phoenix before AD got hurt. and you say there's no chance they would have beaten them?

if the bubble ring was a fluke, then why were the lakers again a top team in the west the next season before AD and lebron got hurt?

 

Wow..You really dislike the Kang it would seem. I'll keep claiming that fake bubble chip tho. If we had lost to Miami, I don't think you would have put an asterisk on the L. It would have been evidence of Lebron sucking. It's all good, you are entitled to your opinion.

 

73 game season, Lakers were tops in the west before the break and after. Bubble title is more relevant because it also exposed the mental ineptness of these entitled chumps who couldn’t focus on basketball without their skanks and clubs.

Lakers win the title in a bubble or out of the bubble in 2020. Time to accept it.

The issue with the Lakers the last 3 years is AD not playing with the front office making one blunder after another.