@EddieEddie Thanks for sourcing it bud and I stand corrected... Footnote from 2011 Larry Coon CBA Faq: Still, I fully understand why he would want to bend Gilbert over a table and demand the max...not sure he would be so adamant with guys like Magic/Pelinka. Either way, LaBron has always paired up with a wing (Wade, Ky) and forward (Bosh, Love) during his "decision" free agencies. If not Jules, then a S&T Jules, but I'm sure Bron is angling for a way to make sure whatever roster he joins has all the right horses in the stable to compete for a title from the jump. The "over 38 rule" in the CBA that Bron himself helped create, adds yet another wrinkle to this. This summer he'll be 33 and turns 34 at the end of the year. So if he signs a 1+1 deal, he will be 34 the following summer and would have to sign another 1 year deal for us to gain his early bird rights. The following summer he's 35 and can sign a 5 year deal where only the 5th year of the deal becomes affected by the over-38 rule. Essentially, if dude sacrifices this summer, he still has ample opportunity to make it back and then some.
^I wouldn't want to pay LeBron 40+ mio. when he is older than 36....just saying. With the mileage that he has... What mother nature giveth, father time taketh away... In the words of LaVar...undefeated.....NEVER LOST....
No problem. I'm sure we all support just having the most accurate info out there. On the bolded portion though, just to note, when Lebron signed with the Cavs, Love wasn't on the team yet. The trade with Minnesota wouldn't go down for basically 6 more weeks after Lebron signed with the team. So at that point, the power forwards that Lebron was pairing up with at the time of his signing was Tristan Thompson and Anthony Bennett - which fwiw at the time wasn't a bad tandem when you consider in 2014 the former was coming off a 11.7ppg 9.2rpg season and the latter was just one year removed from being the #1 overall pick. But a Bosh/Love type attraction, it was not. For the record, I'm all with you in that Lebron sacrificing a few million next season in order to keep Randle makes sense in terms of improving his odds at winning a title. No one should be disagreeing on that note, unless you have some irrational hate for Julius Randle. The diverging opinions is whether or not we believe Lebron will actually make that sacrifice. I hope he does. I don't believe he will. I hope I am pleasantly surprised.
KB24: I don't want to pay LaBron that much either, but the over-38 rule protects us cause it prevents teams from back ending a contract knowing that money would go to a largely injured/retired player in those latter years. So for example giving a 35 year old a 5yr 50M contract and back-ending to where it looks like this: Year 1: 8M Year 2: 8M Year 3: 9M Year 4: 10M Year 5: 15M With the over-38 rule, year 5 is considered zeroed out and the contract actually becomes a 4yr 35M contact. But if the player shows that the older he gets, the more likely he is to honor that contract (ie not incapacitated via injury and showing no to minimal signs of slowing down due to age), then that year 5 amount gets added back to the books and the player gets paid. It's actually a win for us (we gain protection plus a motivated Bron to honor his contract) and a win for Bron (gets to add to his legacy and get paid if he pushes himself into earning that final year). Eddie: I just would hate to lose another asset like Jules for nothing. We're pretty much waiting on rejoicing a PG departure cause there is no doubt his void sets OKC back. However they can recoup some of that loss if he opted in and forces a trade. As much as I dislike Dwight and want to forget that nightmare altogether, losing him in free agency for nothing set us back. Even if he wasn't part of our future plans, retaining him and trading him would have helped us immensely. There were obvious suitors for Dwight and that continues to be proven for the checks he continues to cash in and the teams that are continuously willing to trade for him. I don't want to go through that again with Jules. Do not lose him for nothing...especially to pay Bron/PG a couple million more. Even if Jules isn't part of our future core, signing and trading him still adds talent to a Bron/PG-led group. But I fully understand your pessimism on guys willing to take less money. Also in regards to Love, Bron knew Love was going to be on the way. I'm sure they were working on that scenario before he put pen to paper in joining the Cavs.
It's my turn to stand corrected. Good call. Nonetheless, I maintain my stance that Randle is not Bosh nor is he Love. Bosh was a 5X All-Star and Love was a 3X All-Star at the time Lebron joined up with them. Love himself was coming off a mind-blowingly good statistical season: 26.1ppg 12.5rpg 4.4apg 2.5 3pg 45.7fg% 37.6 3fg% 82.1ft - en route to All-NBA 2nd team honors. Look, I don't want to lose Randle for nothing either but ultimately it's contingent on two guys taking less who I don't really have any reason to believe they will in fact take less. We're giving them reasons that we believe in but who knows how strongly they believe in it. Honestly I think Lebron/PG are cocky enough where they reasonably believe they can win a title without Randle anyhow joining up with Ball, Ingram, Kuz, Hart and say Brook Lopez at C.
Seeing a clip like this below that is that kind of painful dedicated strength and explosiveness work already this summer only solidifies that this is who Randle is now and what he is going to be in the future. A monster. He wants it. This exercise right here with the weight on his waist goes a long way to explain how Julius noticeably improved his vertical this year ....even off one leg. He was rejecting some guys at the rim and exploding for dunks with good elevation all year. This is why I maintain don't picture what Julius was this past year. Picture a more beastly and explosive and finely skilled Julius this coming season already. He's unique in the league. Can't get the gif to be active though with a button push. Copied image address on it like I do any other gif and then used normal paste procedure.
I don't think I am out on a limb or doing a disservice to Randle by saying that at this moment he's not a multi-time All-Star with multiple 20/10 seasons under his belt like Bosh/Love. Let's not forget, in this very thread, I said I believe Randle will get an offer of 18M per year this summer with a chance at 20M+ per, likely from Dallas. The same reasons we think Randle is a beast. The same reasons we think/hope Lebron and PG may take less to retain Randle because they see his value. These are the same reasons why I've said another team would make a big offer. So I've certainly illustrated I am high on Randle. Certainly don't need to be convinced of that. Kid put in the work last offseason, so not surprised he is right back at it.
This is why I want Randle to stay with the Lakers, he's dedicated to the game, he could easily sacrifice his gym work for time with his wife and son, but he chooses priority one and that's his basketball career. To be the best version of himself on the court. Salute to you Randle! Life after basketball comes after retirement, just like Kobe, give it your all and the game will reward you!
Think of the motivation he has knowing in 5 years in his early prime that his boy will be old enough to root for him and understand what he does. You know he wants to make him proud.
You can say the same for Zo. Imagine how many tracks he would have laid down by the time his kid is 5yrs old.
Good to see him working on the skills part so early too. Got that right hand working in there around the basket. Working on his handles.
Please resign this guy Rob/Magic. I swear he’s just going to keep getting better and better because he has that work ethic teams dream of from their players
I'm very proud of his maturity and growth. His first couple seasons it seemed like the biggest lesson he took from Kob was stubbornness. He put a ton of work in last summer and looked great and when he could have just taken this summer easier. The skeptic can say he's in a contract year but after four years i think this is legit.
