LeBron James Discussion: Not Returning To The Lakers

Kareem is the GOAT.. everyone else can be discussed in the places below that..

 

Awww jeez. He's already got the Big head here.

 

Many years ago I didn' want the Lakers to trade half of Laker Nation for Kareem but they did anyway....lol. turned out ok and Kareem is one of my all time favorites LeBron is no Kareem but might work out ok...

 

Just giving you a hard time brother. There is no right or wrong answer, only preferences. I just really HOPE we don't go that direction. Many fans feel the same way, but why is that really?

We can't help but compare everyone to Kobe. Nobody will ever measure up in the same way he endeared himself to fans here. LLLLL is an all time great for sure, and any team is fortunate to have him the player.

But him the person, the GM, the narcissist, and the businessman, producer, media manipulator, flopper, whiner, etc I can definitely do without. I'd just rather root for another solution, and build a team that causes him another loss on the big stage to further cement the difference between him and Kobe.

That, and as much of a freak of nature that he is, his time is running out on being an elite athlete. Our youth and depth could extend his career some if he plays 30 minutes a game, but only if we can afford to hold onto them.

but if he comes here and starts causing drama like we know he will, I'll be all



and then I'll call @therealdeal out and be like "I was right!!!!" .....

 

nobody in the east plays physical, they should still demolish bos/tor

 

clarkson doesnt look like our knucklehead ver....he looks like only the good ver so far lol

 

Just in case I end up being wrong about LLLLL, I'm preparing appropriately.

 

Playing with the King has that effect on people, see JR Smith... I would think even Marcus "not so" Smart would flourish playing with him

 

Hey you know I'm humble as ever

 

thought some of yous might like this....

 

Per Woj:

This tells me all I need to know about a LaBron-George pairing. George clearly will play with LaBron, but LaBron still didn't commit to Cleveland by opting into his player option. So he's most likely out of there this summer.

Meanwhile George was willing to take less money by opting into his 20.7M player option next year if LaBron was willing to do the same, but the Cavs didn't get that commitment from Bron, so George was sent to OKC instead.

Is it possible that Mintz/George are willing to take less than the max if that means Jules can still get paid and remain in LA, all while having enough to still bring LaBron into the fold?

The Cavs could have traded for DJ at the trade deadline as well, but Bron not committing means DJ would opt out and the Cavs would have list those assets for nothing.

#BronIsGone

Btw: Interesting article in how Bron and Gilbert have limited dialogue and how Koby put the Cavs trade deadline deals together, including a pleasant and seamless transaction with Rob, but quite the opposite with Vlade and the queens.

 

Unlike cheap a** Clay, Gilbert has doled out money to exploit and capitalize on his Lebron investment. But check the numbers this summer...lets say Lebron re-ups via a max extension or his player option, he's going to get paid around 35M next season. Add to that all the Cavs guaranteed contracts and a projected salary of RFA Hood at 12M, and the Cavs are projected to have 159M in guaranteed player salary and 150M in a punitive tax bill...that combines to about a 310M grab bag from Gilbert. Is Gilbert willing to do that to keep Lebron?

Lets pair that with OKC's books. If PG walks away from OKC and Melo ends up opting into his 28M player option (likely), OKC is on tab for a team salary of $116M (with only 9 players on the roster sans George). That is a mere 7M (less than the non-taxpayer MLE of 8.8M) from the 123M tax threshold for them to sign roughly 6 more players with. OKC can stand pat and allow George to walk, all while avoiding the luxury tax. Or they can give George the max of 30M in year 1 of his contract, bring the same squad back and pay close to 146M in guaranteed team salary for just 10 players, but most likely will be north of 150M to field a full roster. Since they are above the tax apron of 129M, they will only be armed with the tax-payer MLE of 5.4M and vet minimums to round out the roster. They won't have access to the biannual exception or sign & trade options. And if they do find a S&T, their incoming salary has to put total team salary at 129M (the tax apron), since they will be hard-capped and can't exceed that number.

In a nutshell, OKC will be extremely limited and handcuffed to add to this current roster next year if they keep it in tact. Add to that the ridiculous amount of payroll and taxes and would Clay spend that much for a 2nd tier playoff team?

#2018Plan

 

Vash we were in a heated conversation at the time but you mocked me for saying something to the effect Gilbert wisely was preparing for LeBron to be gone. For using Gilbert and wise in the same sentence. Sooo .... far be it from me to say I told you so. Rather let's just say ....

 

I think there is far too much smoke to ignore. You get the feeling Lebron is gone from Cle. If we can set the table, I think Lebron considers us strongly. I think Houston is in a similar boat too.

OKC was a major block in PG coming here, but that’s minimised with the loss of Roberson and their post season chances.

The next question becomes, if Lebron wants to come on down and he asks us to trade Ball, Ingram, Hart and Kuz to a) get rid of Deng in a trade and b) sign a 3rd Star in a seperate trade. While not resigning Randle, what’s everyone’s feelings towards that?