DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Lebron Signs With Lakers

Just to clarify. Do I think the Lakers make the playoffs and probably advance to a deeper round? Of course.

But, it won't be easy IMO. I thought they'd be able to secure Paul George and/or Kawhi Leonard to accompany Lebron (they still might get Leonard, though that would deplete them substantially next year).

Either way, when I look closer the West is WAY tougher, especially right now.

The Lakers could miss the playoffs. Likewise.. I don't think it will happen either, but it wouldn't be a complete shock.

Last year the Spurs and Timberwolves (#7 and #8 seeds) made the playoffs with 47 wins apiece. Utah missed the playoffs at 46-36.

Let's move out East and the Cavs themselves only went 50-32, and this was with Lebron playing all 82 games. Figure in the more difficult schedule and there's a small chance the Cavs would have missed the playoffs this past season had they been in the West (though this is purely hypothetical, there probably would have been a greater sense of urgency, etc.)

Say Lebron can't quite maintain that pace, or actually gets injured and is out for a while, the Lakers don't click and/or have some bad luck in close games.. it could happen.

reports are now that Leonard wants no part of teaming up with lebron, would prefer clippers...seems to be a trend with superstars wanting to play with lebron

It would make sense. He tends to make role-players better, because he's able to get them open looks. But he wants the super-stars around him to serve as role-players up until the point where he wants to "rest" and let them take over. He wants to be the focal point of the team. That has got to rub other super-stars the wrong way.

Generic scenario from this past season:

Cavs are on defense. The other team takes a shot and they they play for transition defense-- nobody from the other team is going for an offensive rebound. The shot misses and it will be an easy rebound for the Cavs. Who is going to grab it?

I think it's a few things, but one of them is that everyone wants to beat the best.

That is an excellent point.

Man Lebron hasn't even been in LA a week and its dysfunction. So supposedly the Lakers desire to trade ball and rid themselves of a below average Pg and an above average douchebag in his dad is very real. So Looks like team ball leaked the knee thing..so theres that. And it looks like Lakers were given a chance to sign boogie for the same deal he took with GSW and passed.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-did-lakers-pass-cousins-190004382.html

They just had Jeff Van Gundy on Mike and Mike this morning and he said essentially the same thing. The Lakers making the playoffs as they are currently constructed is no shoe-in. The West is too deep. He was also mentioning that Lebron generally like to surround himself with shooters, yet on the Lakers, none of them really shoot better than 35% from three.

It's going to be an interesting year for him, for sure.

So did MJ, I think that's all what the greats want....

Ask Stephen Curry if he is happy being a role-player now?

Wow.. if that is true that is crazy. You can wait on a guy to return from injury when he makes 5.3m a year, especially when that guy when fully healthy is who LeBron describes as the best big man in the game.

role player lol

He was third-team NBA despite only playing 51 games this season. Probably would have been first team had he not missed many games. 26.4 points per game on .495-.423-.921 shooting, 28.32 PER, #3 in the league in real plus minus. That is elite production no matter who is considered 'the guy' on that team.

I don't even care for the Warriors or Curry but you make it sound like he's just another guy.

Ultimately, the move that might really come back to bite Magic and the Lakers is the one from last draft: Lonzo Ball over Jayson Tatum.

Obviously their plan is to sign a bunch of 1 year vets and then make a big splash in free agency again next year. What if no stars come? Are they going to keep shuffling around casted off vets on 1 year deals around Lebron?

yeah comparing Curry to a role player is asinine.. 2 time MVP, highest paid player in MVP...come on...Draymond green=role player..Curry is a guy who can dominate when he needs to and he and klay allow KD to thrive

supposedly Klay Thompson is going to come there next year...that makes sense due to the relationship and history his family has an all, but if thats it...thats still not getting out of the west...then add another year and now you have a 36 year old lebron trying to carry a team.

Not sure what's worse, Curry being a JAG or Draymond being the jag.

I get the prestige and history of the Lakers, but man, that tax rate makes me run for the hills. 21% combined state and local tax rate .... where, by comparison, you pay about 8% combined state and local in Cleveland, or no state tax in Miami.

Also, it's not like LA can pay a max guy any more than another team can.

I get it that a guy may want to go home, but for someone looking for a new team, I don't get it.(and evidently a lot of free agents this year didn't either)

Cause it's the LA Lakes man! Everyone wants to play for them, didn't you know that?

If the Lakers had actually signed half of the free agents the media and Laker fans thought they were going to the last 5 years or so, they'd make the Warriors look like the Washington Generals. In reality, their biggest free agent hauls were Lebron James and Timofey Mozgov.

You gotta lot of hills to run to in LA. Just remember that comment in the winter. LA's the only place I've ever been to that worry about water droughts, but every nice house has a private pool. Being super rich in LA is living in an entirely new world.

Every place gets you. Texas has no income tax but the sales tax is high, and you pay a boatload in property tax as well as taxes we don't have in Ohio like mud taxes. Plus most of the homes are HOA which to me is another tax unto itself.

How are you coming up with 21%? If the highest marginal rate is 13.3%, that means that you're saying local taxes would make up for an additional 7.7% . Not outside the realm of reason but seems fairly high.

2x Finals MVP when?

Steph does not have any Finals MVP awards, none, zero, zilch, nada. Durant just made Steph a role player, its not even close.

He went from MJ comparison to now be like Pippen.

He will be known because of the ugly sneakers first. Durant will be in history for the guy who won 2 rings and Andre the other, not Steph. Steph never lived up to the hype, all GSW fans know it... role-player at its best...

I'm sure no one will think of Curry when we're watching players shoot 4 point shots.

I'll give you that, 4 points shots and ugly sneakers....

Curry got the Cavs so pressed that they drafted a PG with the 8th pick instead of the oft-injured wing player with crazy potential.

3 rings, best shooter in the NBA, ugly sneakers. Sounds a little like Ray Allen. Reggie Miller with more rings. Curry will have the best legacy out of the group.

I guess comprehension isn't your strong suit either...I never said finals MVP, i said MVP as in NBA...twice, including the first and only unanimous. But I guess nothing pippen can't do. As far as the finals MVP, sorry but Curry should have won this year..not durant..just about anyone not a casual fan knows that

Living in LA when not rich is like an entirely different world also. I have a friend who recently moved here from Ft. Wayne, Indiana and she would never move back.

someone said that the Lakers not drafting Tatum will haunt them (I agree) ... but Tatum also refused to work out for LA

I think you are a Curry fan... There are no NBA LEGEND without MVP final honors...which is the MVP ultimate award...


Legend status not good or elite player.


3 years ago and Stephen was being included with the names of MJ, LeBron, Magic, Larry Bird discussions...

Fast forward 3 years, and he's Steve Nash level, if that good

Durant is the GSW STAR and LEGEND, not Curry, He and Andre won the 3 rings, not Steph...

You should know this if you are a Cavs fan. Andre was the one that won the first one, and Durant just trumped us this last two finnals. Curry we could handle him.

Maybe all time best role-player, but GOAT.... nobody thinks that anymore, except the Curry fanatics

Do you think the Cavs win this years finals if GSW didn't have Durant? I don't think they do and I think an immense part of that is Irving's trade.

You're seeing it now in LA with Rondo and Lance Stephenson signings. Definitely no longer the Lebron Point Forward + Shooters offense the Cavs had. LeBron doesn't want to do as much work running the offense.

I was hoping he’d choose the Celtics. Guess there’s not enough... swimming pools...movie stars.

Nope. The Cavs weren't that great of a team this past season. Lebron and Love were the only legit starters for a contending team. 50-32 is not great, and they almost got bounced by both the Pacers and short-handed Celtics.

The Warriors would have beaten the Cavs without Durant although most likely it would have been the Rockets going all the way. JMHO anyway.

LOL........can't wait to see what you have to say about the Cavs' record next year if you don't think winning 50 games and going to the Finals is so great.

Like I said, there are a lot of so-called Cavs' fans who are about to get what they deserve.

I doubt the Cavs will win more than 20-25 games next year. And the next Finals trip is a long way away even in the best of worlds.

I still don't think the team was great this past season. I didn't see it as a championship caliber team even if they did make it to the Finals (almost got bounced by two weakish teams in the East despite an all-time great postseason from Lebron.)

Who were our starters at the 1, 2, and 5 again? Who were the key rotational players? Now compare that to the top 8 from Golden State or Houston.

I'm happy that I won't have to delude myself that the Cavs have a chance against GSW anymore

Yea, that was my thought.. without Durant, GSW isn't in the finals.

What do they deserve? A lottery pick PG, a couple 20 win seasons while we unload a ton of bad cap money, a couple lottery picks in the next couple years.. and hopefully come out of it with something to build on..

The downside to LeBron leaving is that the Cavs organization has officially promoted Ty Lue to head coach.

I saw that meme lol.

he'll make sure they win 10 games this year. Don't you worry. Watching Ty Lue try to create "mismatches" without LeBron will be hysterical.