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.