Lebron to lakers

[rjackson44]

As a laker fan I still think we’re not that good ,,your thoughts.thx octavio,,plus 4 yrs 154 million..omg I just fainted

[rjackson44]

Thx leon

[KMayUSA6060]

See ya LeBron. Good riddance, and enjoy getting knocked out in the Western Conference Playoffs every year.

[Peter_Spaeth]

LOL. Cleveland just became a .500 or worse team IMO. Enjoy your freedom.

Strange move IMO, it seems basketball was not the top consideration unless he knows something about the Lakers the rest of us don't.

[gregr2]

I agree it is very strange. Does not seem like the Lakers have the skills to win a championship even with LeBron. What other moves are they getting ready to make?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

LOL. Cleveland just became a .500 or worse team IMO. Enjoy your freedom.

Strange move IMO, it seems basketball was not the top consideration unless he knows something about the Lakers the rest of us don't.

We'll see.

[Topnotchsy]

I assume the Lakers will sign at least 1 other huge name.

I doubt Cleveland wins more than 30 games next year.

[samosa4u]

Great! Now we will finally see some competition in the East!

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

I assume the Lakers will sign at least 1 other huge name.

LaVar Ball

[AGuinness]

Originally Posted by rjackson44

As a laker fan I still think we’re not that good ,,your thoughts.thx octavio,,plus 4 yrs 154 million..omg I just fainted

OddShark (a betting site) put the Laker's odds for a 2019 championship at +350, tied with the Celtics for 2nd highest odds (after the Warriors). That's a huge shift, it seems, although I wonder if that's accounting for the strong possibility that another star player will also land in LA this off season (not to mention some ring-chasing vets)...

[barrysloate]

The Lakers still have Golden State and Houston to contend with, so don't start celebrating quite yet. But LeBron is now surrounded by a lot of young talent, so if he can will his team deep into the playoffs, who knows. However, keep in mind during his four year contract he will be 34 through 37 years old, so the gas may run out at some point. All in all, pretty darn interesting.

The Lakers had a fantastic draft in 2017, picking up both Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma. How often does a team get two bona fide stars in the same draft? Now they have Lebron. That's a lot of talent added in just a couple of years.

[KMayUSA6060]

I pray it's revealed that LeBron knew he was leaving, and pushed the Cavs to trade for Clarkson & Nance (thankful for Nance because I played on a summer camp team several years ago and have had several conversations with his dad) in order to help the Lakers clear the cap space necessary to sign LeBron. That might finally change how some Cleveland fans view LeBron, causing them to shed the rose colored glasses.

[KMayUSA6060]

If you want to know how bad LeBron is as a GM, the Cavs now have the second worst title odds with LeBron's departure. He built the second worst team in the NBA.

[Peter_Spaeth]

All is not lost, you have that 8th pick.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

If you want to know how bad LeBron is as a GM, the Cavs now have the second worst title odds with LeBron's departure. He built the second worst team in the NBA.

And with him, the Cavs made the finals. Says something about just how remarkable a player he is, no?

[Econteachert205]

Yeah, lakers aren't done. They're going to ship out Lonzo (overrated Rajon rondo type with different baggage) and some other quote young star for kawhi Leonard or some other real star. It's hard for me to believe Lebron does this willing to be part of the ball family circus. Lakers will give golden state a run for their money. Lebron is Hercules.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

And with him, the Cavs made the finals. Says something about just how remarkable a player he is, no?

I've never said he's not a great player. Top 2 talent to ever play the game.

My beef with him is with his ego and how he has completely held the Cavs hostage, screwing them hard in the process.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

I've never said he's not a great player. Top 2 talent to ever play the game.

My beef with him is with his ego and how he has completely held the Cavs hostage, screwing them hard in the process.

You're free, my friend. Now see how you enjoy your freedom.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

You're free, my friend. Now see how you enjoy your freedom.

I'm an American. I'm always free.

[JCC]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

I've never said he's not a great player. Top 2 talent to ever play the game.

My beef with him is with his ego and how he has completely held the Cavs hostage, screwing them hard in the process.

So before LeBron arrived, the Cavs had been to 2 Conference Finals in their ENTIRE history, losing both.

LeBron gets you to 5 NBA Finals, including your team's ONLY title, and he 'screwed the team?' Its ok to dislike the guy, I suppose I can even understand wanting to turn the page and move on, but man, stop hating and give the guy his due for what he did for your team.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by JCC

So before LeBron arrived, the Cavs had been to 2 Conference Finals in their ENTIRE history, losing both.

LeBron gets you to 5 NBA Finals, including your team's ONLY title, and he 'screwed the team?' Its ok to dislike the guy, I suppose I can even understand wanting to turn the page and move on, but man, stop hating and give the guy his due for what he did for your team.

He got me to one title in his first stint here, which we lost. Then he embarrassed Northeast Ohio and the Cavs fan base with The Decision, left for Miami, and gave them two title while the Cavs were the butt of NBA jokes and had a historically bad team. Not only did he dig himself a hole, but he set the bar with at least two titles in my eyes, since that's what he gave Miami. I enjoyed the first title, but he failed to deliver another. In fact, he failed to commit to Cleveland, and we regressed. The best Cleveland got was a 2 year deal with a player option for a 3rd, then signed a 1-and-1 deal this past time. It's hard enough to attract BIG time players to play in Cleveland, and it's even worse when nobody wants to play with LeBron AND he won't commit to Cleveland. He gave the Lakers 3 years with a 4th year player option.

He was in the red when he came back. Winning 1 title maybe got him to break even in my eyes, but failing to deliver another title while also dragging us through a bunch of his crap in the process and regressing overall was garbage. Not to mention the state he left this team in - again. The only positive is at least we have Love to either build around or deal, but we're still stuck with horrific salaries that he pushed for his guys to get.

Sorry I don't grovel at the "King's" feet.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

He got me to one title in his first stint here, which we lost. Then he embarrassed Northeast Ohio and the Cavs fan base with The Decision, left for Miami, and gave them two title while the Cavs were the butt of NBA jokes and had a historically bad team. Not only did he dig himself a hole, but he set the bar with at least two titles in my eyes, since that's what he gave Miami. I enjoyed the first title, but he failed to deliver another. In fact, he failed to commit to Cleveland, and we regressed. The best Cleveland got was a 2 year deal with a player option for a 3rd, then signed a 1-and-1 deal this past time. It's hard enough to attract BIG time players to play in Cleveland, and it's even worse when nobody wants to play with LeBron AND he won't commit to Cleveland. He gave the Lakers 3 years with a 4th year player option.

He was in the red when he came back. Winning 1 title maybe got him to break even in my eyes, but failing to deliver another title while also dragging us through a bunch of his crap in the process and regressing overall was garbage. Not to mention the state he left this team in - again. The only positive is at least we have Love to either build around or deal, but we're still stuck with horrific salaries that he pushed for his guys to get.

Sorry I don't grovel at the "King's" feet.

You want to build around a guy that will be 30 years old in a couple months and a vastly inferior talent to Lebron?

As far as the point about Lebron's ego, who are the players in his caliber who were ego free? You think Jordan and Chamberlain didn't have egos just as big, if not larger than Lebron's?

[Peter_Spaeth]

By all accounts Jordan was a nightmare for all involved to deal with. Kyle probably would have been glad to see him go too.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

You want to build around a guy that will be 30 years old in a couple months and a vastly inferior talent to Lebron?

As far as the point about Lebron's ego, who are the players in his caliber who were ego free? You think Jordan and Chamberlain didn't have egos just as big, if not larger than Lebron's?

I want to explore what the possibilities are as to what we can add around Love before we make the decision to trade him. Ultimately, the East is still wide open on the back end, and when you have an All Star, you don't immediately dump them if you have a shot at a playoff spot.

Heck no I don't think Jordan/Chamberlain were ego free. Last I checked, though, Jordan's ego wasn't detrimental to the development of the Bulls roster and franchise while he was there. Jordan also never lost a Finals, and was Finals MVP all 6 times. Chamberlain is too far of a stretch in eras to compare.

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

By all accounts Jordan was a nightmare for all involved to deal with. Kyle probably would have been glad to see him go too.

Jordan delivered 6 titles, not losing a single Finals he was in. A lot easier to deal with all the crap when you're winning like he did.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Jordan had an all-time great by his side, Scottie Pippen, not to mention Dennis Rodman for several of those years. Who did LeBron have? LeBron was also up against one of the very few greatest teams ever.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Jordan had an all-time great by his side, Scottie Pippen, not to mention Dennis Rodman for several of those years. Who did LeBron have? LeBron was also up against one of the very few greatest teams ever.

I love when people bring this up. LeBron's first time in Cleveland, he had nobody. He then left to join DWade and Bosh (Ray Allen, too), arguably comparable, if not better than Pippen/Rodman. Split the four finals appearances, 2-2. He then comes back to Cleveland, and has Kyrie Irving & Kevin Love, again arguably as good if not better than Pippen/Rodman. He ran Kyrie out of town, and destroyed Love's game. The rest of the supporting cast he could never stabilize, not to mention the bloated contracts he pushed for "his" guys, handicapping the GM from making any other key moves.

Please, spare me the "up against one of the very few greatest teams ever" excuse, especially if you're going to say that LeBron is one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time.

[Peter_Spaeth]

With due respect, Love/Irving are not even close to Pippen/Rodman. Pippen is a consensus top 40 all time player, I have never seen anyone accuse Love of that. And Rodman was the best rebounder in basketball.

And yes, it's a team game, and they keep score, as Russell used to say. Nobody -- not even Wilt with his 50 ppg -- is going to beat a great team without great running mates.

[Touch'EmAll]

When selecting an all-time team, Rodman should be considered. No, he is not in the top best list with the likes of Bird, Magic, Jordan, Lebron, Chamberlain, Kobe, etc. But for the overall team game, I can easily pencil in Rodman over other "better" players. Monster of a role player he was. You need guys like that on a best team.

[glchen]

And in other news, Demarcus Cousins joins the Warriors. Link. ...

[KMayUSA6060]

The NBA is broken.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

When selecting an all-time team, Rodman should be considered. No, he is not in the top best list with the likes of Bird, Magic, Jordan, Lebron, Chamberlain, Kobe, etc. But for the overall team game, I can easily pencil in Rodman over other "better" players. Monster of a role player he was. You need guys like that on a best team.

He was a huge catalyst for those teams. Even if he is insane.

[Neal]

LeBron to LAL …. yawn

Cousins to GSW …. wow

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by Neal

LeBron to LAL …. yawn

Cousins to GSW …. wow

The NoCal SoCal rivalries are about to get real again. Lakers should be playoff worthy, Warriors will be other worldly. Giants and the Dodgers are effectively tied, and the A’s and Angels are both playing above .500. And now armed with Jimmy G, the Niners immediately become contenders to the newly returned, newly good Rams. Even the coaching subplots are awesome... Kerr vs understudy assistant Luke Walton, Boch and former player Dave Roberts, and the Shanny/McVey the two youngest coaches (both offensive geniuses) in the NFL.

Not to get off topic, but what a great time to be a CA sports fan.

[D. Bergin]

Cousins is a big guy coming off a major Achilles injury. Not sure why everybody is acting like Golden State just pulled one over on the rest of the league.

Nobody else wanted him long term, without knowing how he might recover.

Injury, coupled with his ornery personality scared a lot of teams away from him.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Yeah not like they just got Kawhi or something.

[brett 75]

That's the Warriors next player:

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Cousins is a big guy coming off a major Achilles injury. Not sure why everybody is acting like Golden State just pulled one over on the rest of the league.

Nobody else wanted him long term, without knowing how he might recover.

Injury, coupled with his ornery personality scared a lot of teams away from him.

It's a great, low cost, low/no risk move. They don't necessarily need him, but a 25-13-5.5 talent at center, even if only 75% will give them more than they've had at that position during any point in this run. The first half of the season they'll get to give younger guys like Damian Jones, Kevon Looney, and Jordan Bell good quality minutes, ideally determining if any/all are part of their long term plan, and then can slowly integrate Cousins in during the 2nd half and playoffs.

The Rockets were the Dubs' biggest challenge this past year. I can not imagine that Cousins won't have at least some affect in that specific matchup.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

The NBA is broken.

Maybe it's always been the case but it seems there are an awful lot of really bad, really boring teams, most of which have been that way forever and seem to have no realistic chance of breaking into the upper echelons.