DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Lebron Signs With Lakers

Thanks for the championship Bron! GL in LA.

I can't help but shake my head at everything about this. Going to the Lakers is a complete non-basketball move. That team doesn't have a second superstar, let alone a third. They'll be lucky to get out of the first round in the West. He was also nice enough to sign for 4 years with the Lakers, and everything in his "letter" about "Ohio being more than basketball" is sort of out the window. So yeah, thanks for the Championship, but you've sort of soiled your legacy ... and unless you win multiple championships with a group of youngsters, your reputation is going to take a hit, and your fans will probably turn on you too. So good luck and thanks, I guess.

LeBron is a businessman 1st and upper echlon player next.
the NBA is salivating because now their is a potential
Celtic Lakers matchup in the Finals.
all the balance of power is in the West now. all.the marque players etc etc

I am not sure why you are so stuck on this "legacy" thing? What is that you don't get about his family, inner circle, and business opportunities?

It's clear as day to me. Dude is going to go down as the second greatest player of all-time, and there wasn't a move he could have made that would change that in either direction.

He got us a Chip. He is taking care of those closest to him. He's had folks like lead blasting him for years here in Cleveland. He owes the Cavs nothing. He is taking care of those closest to him. I respect him for being one of the few individuals on the planet who can do such a thing.

Sorry, what opportunities is he getting in LA that he wasn't getting in Cleveland? He can make more movies during the year? He can schmooze with more celebrities courtside now? He doesn't have to shovel his driveway in the winter? None of those are basketball related, and most "business related" decisions don't matter. He was already the top guy in the NBA. Being in LA doesn't increase his visibility any. If anything, it makes him a bigger target. Kyrie went to Boston and he's probably more anonymous now.

I'm not really mad that he left, more just mad that he made a really bad decision going to the Lakers. If he went to San Antonio or Philly I could root for him. Going to the Lakers, he's just a mercenary playing for a fan base that hated his guts a few years ago. If anything, I feel bad for him because it a decision that could backfire on him quickly if he doesn't win multiple championships in a tougher situation than he had here in Cleveland.

I'm not trying to fight w/you, Excel. I just think his family and his inner circle had a huge influence. I also think that his entertainment venues work better in LA than Cleveland.

I will also add this.............I got sick and tired of reading all the negative crap from Cleveland fans on this forum. We're "trash." We're "garbage." We're "soft." "LeBron is hurting this team." Etc, etc.

Why the hell would anyone want to deal w/that crap in Cleveland of all places? Dude brought us to the Finals for 4 straight years and all most of y'all did was complain. You got what you deserve.

That's just it. It's going to be 10 times worse in LA. The second he gets bounced by Golden State in the 2nd round, it'll be, "Kobe would of taken them to the Finals", etc.

You are probably right about that...LOL

+1

Well, while I kind of expected this, it is stil a but painful.

However, I will always be grateful that he came back and brought a championship.

I'm sure I'll get back to that, but right now...

I'm happy the Cavs brought Cleveland their first Championship since 1964. However, I would trade that championship ANYDAY for a Browns or even an Indians championship. It's Browns Town first and then it's Tribe Town (imho).

However, I will say that I think LBJ is THE greatest player in basketball history. Perhaps not in rings, but as a player I think he has surpassed MJ.

I'm not sad, I'm not angry...it is what it is.

Good luck LeBron!

Apparently LA is "nowhere".

yeah remember when he told all the kids at the akron school he was never leaving again, that he don't have the energy for that...looks like he got a second wind " BELEAVELAND"

I'm not mad. The Lebron era was going to end eventually, time to move on and start building again. Thinking big picture, hopefully this hurts the NBA in the long run. Last 4 years have been Cavs/Warriors in the finals. Now Lebron is in the west, that matchup will playout in the western conference finals(or sooner). The finals will be the warriors stomping whatever eastern conference team makes it which will result in terrible ratings.

I understand it was his right to leave, I'm over it.

I find it fishy that the Cavs helped LA free up cap space. I wonder if the NBA pushed him over there with some promises.

let's call it like it is as well: the cavs were not going to win another title with him, and probably weren't even going to get to the finals again.

we just didn't have enough flexibility, youth, etc

I agree no ill feeling towards Bron.

Well, maybe one thing bothers me...the 4 year deal. He kind of strung us out each year, but I don't know any details about his contract.

As to where we will finish, you are probably right for at least next year. Now the question is do we trade Love to stock up on another young player and maybe get a 1st rounder as well.

We are in development mode at this point. I don't think it has to take all that long to become good....well, as long as you are picking the right players. Sexton seems like a good start. What do you think of him?

Drafting Sexton was stupid. The obvious answer was Michael Porter Jr. The Cavs have been the worst ran team in the history of the NBA and that will never change.

I don't know if it was stupid. Is he not a good player? I don't really keep up with college hoops, I know you do.

Also, I mentioned trading Love. Here is another thought. Do you think we try to build around Love? Minnesota did. Love is still a very good player.

Drafting Sexton was a smart move, only in trying to keep LeBron here. He's a good ball handler with good defense, who isn't going to wow anyone with his shot. Other than a crazy work ethic, I don't think he's different from a bevy of other small, hyperathletic guards like Elfrid Payton or Patrick Beverly.

Love is a great 3rd piece on a Championship team, but isn't good enough to build a team around in the slightest. He's too small to bully people in the paint and too slow to run with most small ball lineups.

Yeah, I wonder if they would re-do the draft pick if they could now?

AH Lebron Lets just say I am as loyal to you as you are to Cleveland, and leave it at that.

I wish. While Porter has a serious back injury, I still think he'll be a PG/KD-esque players.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/contracts/

We're still an estimated 5 million over the cap

J/c:

Lol. Lance Stephenson just signed with LA.

Really the only thing that has made me happy about this. Lance trolling KD will be perfect. don't like Lance, but I respect what he brings to a team. I wish the Cavs brought him in.

Well time to move on.

I'll be moving with Bron this time, so I'll be rooting for LA..

Don't think Cleveland deserves him, and he did good moving, go to some place where players are revered and where the fans appreciate his feats.

Cleveland isn't a basketball city, that will never change

Not sure how to take this or what to think.

On one hand, he did come back and win us a Championship.

On the other hand, this is home and it probably should remain so..

At least this time, he didn't throw us under a bus.

I didn't see this thread until now, so I'm gonna copy & paste my post from the 'Cavs News: After the Draft' thread:

I'm not surprised at all that Lebron left for the Lakers. This has been debated for months here, on the radio, everywhere.

I'm actually surprised at the people who said they thought he would stay. Really?

Remember, history repeats itself. Also in psychology they say, "Past behavior predicts current and future behavior."

Lebron was king of Cleveland and I'm guessing now he wants to be the king of L.A. I lived in Hollywood for 11 years, it's a different world out there.

After all is said in done it's his life to do what he wishes. I wish him the best, as I absolutely love(d) watching him play for us.

This. I just moved from SoCal to Cinci. Huge unexpected benefit to no longer being there.

Also, a significant portion of those bandwagon GS fans will be back in purple and gold.

I like Sexton and I disagree w/CHS that we should have taken Porter Jr instead. The guy can barely walk right now. Bad backs and hips are killers in the NBA.

I don't agree w/many of our posters about building through the draft. BB is way different than football. It will take too long to accumulate enough good players by using the draft. We'll lose guys like Sexton before we have enough pieces to support him. Free agents are not going to want to come to Cleveland.

We had our run w/LeBron. Now, we will be a perennial lottery team.

So, just to preface what I'm going to say, I'm not a huge basketball fan at all. Being from Cleveland, I felt obligated to follow the Cavs while they were relevant, and that was 100% due to my loyalty to Cleveland (and in spite of having almost 0 interest in basketball).

First, just looking his leaving all by itself...
I'm actually kind of conflicted. I'm happy he brought a championship to Cleveland. I do think he has and will always have a soft spot in his heart for The Land, but that doesn't trump business. I believe I read he wants to slowly transition to entertainment. LA is the place to do it. So if that's his plan, then fine... I can respect that. I hate that it's LA, because LA fans (largely) suck. They're diehard fans... until the team isn't doing well, and then they evaporate and swell the ranks of whoever is hot. The GS bandwagon will be significantly lighter, which is a good thing.

Stepping back a few steps, and looking at his time here...
Again, the championship was great. I can't help but be pissed about him refusing to do a multi-year deal, and then turning around and signing 4 years with LA. Kind of a slap in the face, if you ask me. A very cynical person (if that's the right word) would take that rethink Lebron's motivations all the way since The Return. I'm cynical, but I'm also busy with other things... :-p That being said, it sometimes feels like the Cavs are about the worst-run franchise in this league. Lebron handcuffed them a bit, but not as much as some would lead you to believe.

Stepping way back and philosphizing...
As Squires mentioned earlier, I hope that this ultimately hurts the NBA. I think the league is a joke with how a relatively small handful of people seem to run the league from a dark, smoky room. I don't like how players are constantly running around making these super teams. I don't like how small-market teams are essentially canon-fodder for these overloaded all-star rosters. It takes fandom (at least, how I define it), and rips it up and tosses it away.

Or a Greg Oden-esque player. Back injuries usually aren't the types of injuries people bounce back from.

I think the worst thing we can do is try to win now..We need to break it all down and trade everything older than 28 if we can. It may suck for awhile, but we have some really bad contracts on this team plus we have a couple protected picks that we need to finish in bottom 10 to keep..Right now we are deciding who to use the stretch provision on.. Hill, TT, or Clarkson. Gun to head I say TT...but add a little logic and I'd say Hill. TT just doesn't bring anything for his 17mill a year, and with lebron gone, he will be even more obscure, while Hill can help mentor Sexton. But Hill has a top 3 worst contract in NBA and is old. Clarkson has a bad contract but theres still hope he can become something. But we have to get younger and get the cap under control

I agree that we need to tear things down a bit. Losing Lebron's salary alone I believe actually puts us down below the luxury tax line. JR Smith's contract I think is non-guaranteed in his final year, so it is considered an expiring. And someone else has a partial non-guaranteed contract too, so they might be considered expiring too. If you can trade those away and get something for Love and maybe Kyle Korver, I think you can at least get some decent assets moving forward. If we finish bottom 10 the next two years, we don't lose our first rounder to Atlanta. Outside of that, we have all of our remaining first rounders.

And other than picking Mikal Bridges, I think Sexton was the right choice. He's young, he's athletic, and he's crazy competitive. That's the kind of guy that will lock himself into a gym and get better each year. Porter Jr just had too much risk attached.

lance and javale mcgee joining lebron in LA...Look out west...new powerhouse stepping up

Yep. Sometimes though, you just have to pick the best basketball player in the draft and not the healthiest. For all his injury issues, Nerlens Noel is still in the league while Anthony Bennett isn't. If our LeBron experience should've taught us anything it's that you need to draft better. The Lakers did that and look where they're at.

I know! I guess Lebron said something about wanting to get smart basketball players around him in LA. So Magic goes out and gets those two?? Maybe they should try to work a deal for Dion Waiters and bring back Swaggy P too!