Lebron is going to the Lakers!

[ISIAH_THOMAS]

This deserved its own thread

The east is officially azz

[Mike1989]

So if no further moves are made they'll go with...

Ball / Caruso
KCP / Hart / Mykhailiuk
Ingram / Lance / Deng
LeBron / Kuzma / Wagner
McGee / Zubac

As good as LeBron is I'm not convinced that team can get past the Rockets or Warrors. The only reason it might rank ahead of Utah and OKC is because of LeBron, but even those would likely be a tight six or seven game series.

With LeBron's four year deal it allows them to not give up the farm for Leonard, but I think they'll need him or another all star to really make waves in the West- unless of course Ball, Ingram etc breakout to all star status.

[shakespeare]

So if no further moves are made they'll go with...

Ball / Caruso
KCP / Hart / Mykhailiuk
Ingram / Lance / Deng
LeBron / Kuzma / Wagner
McGee / Zubac

As good as LeBron is I'm not convinced that team can get past the Rockets or Warrors.

I can’t tell if you’re joking or dead serious...

But no one is beating Golden State.
If Kawhi signs in Lakerland next season and the core of this unit remains intact, then Lakers will have the capacity to go heads up with anyone in the league.

[gradyandrew]

I just hope Le Bron just takes his money and make rap albums. And movies too. He's been working hard for a long time and this should be a good chance to just enjoy life. Fuck the Lakers.

[Mike1989]

I can’t tell if you’re joking or dead serious...

But no one is beating Golden State.
If Kawhi signs in Lakerland next season and the core of this unit remains intact, then Lakers will have the capacity to go heads up with anyone in the league.

Without further additions that Lakers team won't get past the Lakers or Rockets, and I'd fancy the Jazz and Thunder to take them to six or seven games if not get past them.

Looking at their starting line up:
- Lonzo Ball is a talent up coming point guard but he's a ball dominant guy, that's LeBron's role, and Ball isn't a heavy scorer or a consistent shooter so it's going to be interesting to see how they handle things on that score.
- KCP is a good player but nothing special.
- Brandon Ingram has a ton of upside but has yet to put it together consistently, he's looking more Michael Beasley than Kevin Durant.
- Javal McGee is an average player.

Rotation wise Hart and Kuzma can shoot and score, and Lance is a tough competitor, but again it's not the greatest bench in the league by any means.

So I'm am being serious when I say they are not getting past the Rockets or the Warriors, and the only reason I might put them ahead of Utah and OKC is because of LeBron, but even then I wouldn't be surprised if OKC or Utah got past them without any further additions to that Lakers' roster.

[shakespeare]

Lakers aren’t nowhere near Golden State and that goes without saying is what I was saying, too. Lakers are a playoff team in the Western Conference, definitely, especially after Julius Randle resigns.

But again, agreed, no one is beating Golden State next season.

I don’t know if Chris Paul can stay healthy long enough for Rockets to win a ring.

I remember when the forum laughed at Lakers signing Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer a few years back. Like always, my beloved Knickerbocker franchise continues to sit around and watch other franchises suck and then win championships and then suck and then win championships again [before LeBron’s contract is up, Lakerland will win at least 1 championship. Book it.]

I just don’t understand.

[shakespeare]

Without searching the numbers, I’m really wondering if LeBron orchestrated or played a significant role in Cavs acquiring Clarkson and Nance from Lakers last season in order to make room for the massive amount of salary cap space Lakers had this offseason?

Things that make you go hmmm.

[StevoStarks]

I'm on the Cousins to LA train. Then they'll have something to sneeze at.

[big_j_NY]

Lakers aren’t nowhere near Golden State and that goes without saying is what I was saying, too. Lakers are a playoff team in the Western Conference, definitely, especially after Julius Randle resigns.

But again, agreed, no one is beating Golden State next season.

I don’t know if Chris Paul can stay healthy long enough for Rockets to win a ring.

I remember when the forum laughed at Lakers signing Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer a few years back. Like always, my beloved Knickerbocker franchise continues to sit around and watch other franchises suck and then win championships and then suck and then win championships again [before LeBron’s contract is up, Lakerland will win at least 1 championship. Book it.]

I just don’t understand.

I was just about to post that statement as well.........no way in Lebron's fully committed 4 years in LA will he win more than 1 title, especially since he is basically forcing the Lakers to rush the development of their younger core of 'Zo Ball and "maybe" Kuzma & Ingram (I personally think both of these guys are on the trade block the moment the Spurs concede and grant Kawhi his wish to be traded here with Lebron) with his arrival in the Staples Center purple & gold.

If Lebron was joining the Lakers "to STRICTLY WIN," he would've waited until this young core was an established playoff team......which would've been way past this free agent off-season.

It is quite clear why Lebron made this Lakers signing, he is "pulling a Carmelo." As in, he is doing it to exponentially grow his brand name by jumping to a big media market like Los Angeles OVER the priority of winning a NBA title.........similar to how Carmelo & Amare made their move to the Knicks 8 years ago.

And I don't blame him, Lebron has 3 rings already..........1 of those rings was for his home state of Ohio which he promised since he was drafted by his home state Cavaliers. So literally Lebron doesn't have to do much more "winning" to solidify his basketball greatness since he has 3 rings already, now Lebron is just using the remainder of his career to expand his brand name to the grandest of heights in a very large LA media market.

I mean, Lebron isn't gonna eclipse Kobe & Magic in his 4 years here in Los Angeles.........but he's gonna damn well try to make sure his name is right there alongside them at the most.

[bobhait]

the Lakers just made Randle an unrestricted free agent and signed Rondo to a one-year deal

...oh, and bon voyage to LBJ - he’s going to have to embrace the suck, but at least he’ll be in LA, not Cleveland

[Koopa Troopa]

Without searching the numbers, I’m really wondering if LeBron orchestrated or played a significant role in Cavs acquiring Clarkson and Nance from Lakers last season in order to make room for the massive amount of salary cap space Lakers had this offseason?

Things that make you go hmmm.

This has probably been in the works for a while. Bron also has some ownership in a pizza chain with its HQ in LA....and they got a location open in Staples Center.

Bron is probably trying to make the most money he possibly can and LA is the perfect place for that.

Gotta say I was shocked when I heard the news, but as you take the time to process it it makes a lot of sense for Bron.

[big_j_NY]

For more coincidence, isn't Lebron suppose to be the star of the upcoming rumored Space Jam 2?

[ISIAH_THOMAS]

If cousins gets healthy warriors just signed a better player than any of signings Lakers got lebron

[Mike1989]

If cousins gets healthy warriors just signed a better player than any of signings Lakers got lebron

It's a scary thought that they will field five all star caliber players in their their starting line up. The only other team in the league that could do that might be Boston if Brown makes an all star appearance in the weaker eastern conference with Kyrie, Hayward, Tatum and Horford but that's probably not going to happen.

[shakespeare]

It’s deeper than that, much deeper than mere All-Star appearances. Warriors starting lineup sports 3 franchise type players in their starting lineup. They sport like 5 players named to All-NBA teams. They are back-to-back league champs.

Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Gordon Hayward hadn’t gone to war in the playoffs. Kyrie did, albeit with LeBron.

Golden State’s starting lineup minus Boogie Cousins are war vets, basically.

[shakespeare]

Bron is probably trying to make the most money he possibly can and LA is the perfect place for that.

He’s always said he wanted to be a billionaire.

[bobhait]

the difference between now and 2010 is LeBron has no friends out there ready and willing to come play with him. you look at the West now, and I just can’t see these Lakers being more than a low playoff seed at best. a lot of young talented teams were battling it out in this past playoffs

[StevoStarks]

the difference between now and 2010 is LeBron has no friends out there ready and willing to come play with him. you look at the West now, and I just can’t see these Lakers being more than a low playoff seed at best. a lot of young talented teams were battling it out in this past playoffs

It's true.

[bobhait]

also, I think the Lakers will show interest in Carmelo at some point

[big_j_NY]

also, I think the Lakers will show interest in Carmelo at some point

More than likely........and it'll occur WHEN OKC makes their decision on whether to grant Melo a buyout or not (since they're thinking of cutting him for salary TAX reasons)