The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[Mos_Heat]

The most surprising thing about the Lakers is how mediocre AD looks. Bubble AD might be one of the all time outliers

[trickshot]

AD wasn't too bad, that extra muscle might have thrown him off but he was also never a workhorse, not even in that season he was 2nd to Giannis in DPOY. Also have to admit Reaves got brutally exploited towards the end. Actually also getting obvious how big a loss caruso might have been. No good team defenders on that bench.

Biggest issue still is they needs to fix their 2nd units. They are always 2 subs from getting blown out. I'd keep an eye on net rating of the 2-3 man units of any 2-3 of Rondo-westbrook-carmelo. They actually look decent to really really good on offense only to give up blown rotations and cuts on every possession. When the larger sample sizes impact metrics come in I have a feeling it will be solid fool's gold. It only passes the eye test on offense anyway. I'm guessing the original plan was to have Ariza out there to balance it.

AD was atrocious in terms of conditioning. His interior defense was less then mediocre.

That was too bad to me.

That is not what one should expect from an MVP level player in his physical prime.

AD should be carrying that team in terms of scoring and controlling the paint defensively. Unfortunately, he has not done anything resembling that since the bubble.

He wasn't great but then again I've always found his defensive effort overrated, not his ability , that's great, his effort, especially with the staggering amount of people who think he carries their defense or he carried Lebron on that end or is the catalyst for their top ranked defense. His actual ability is amazing but I've come to accept him as a guy who lacks drive. If LA fans calling him out for 12 months couldn't light a fire under him then he is who he'll always be.

[MartinToVaught]

Anthony Davis has not contested a single shot at the basket in this game. I am absolutely disgusted with this guy.

He just stands there while guards are attacking the basket. His signature move of (early) last season has apparently carried over.

AD might be the softest guy LeBron's ever played with. Even back in the New Orleans days, he was notorious for going to the locker room damn near every game for minor bumps and bruises.

[trickshot]

The most surprising thing about the Lakers is how mediocre AD looks. Bubble AD might be one of the all time outliers

He's on the longest championship hangover I've seen from a player of his caliber. Dirk in the 11/12 season spoke about this, admitted how finally winning took away some hunger and it affected his play. Last season AD didn't register his first block of the season till game 5 then went another 2 games without registering another. Compared to his form last season he looks like Mutombo out there.

It's also clear he doesn't like defending the rim as the only big on the floor. He'd rather share that responsibility with someone else. He isn't the only one as some of these bench units are absolutely exposing their D. AD's defensive workload in some of them looks exhausting. The amount of backdoor cuts and breakdowns they're giving up is going to be league worst without major tweaks.

[The High Cyde]

A thing to consider is that teams and players are barely trying in the preseason, they’re just getting their bodies warmed up to the rigors of the season, no one wants to get injured in a meaningless game. Speaking about AD here, but I think everyone should wait until at least 15-20 games into the season to see his attitude towards winning.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but if he doesn’t avg 30 for the season trade him to Portland for Dame. You have Rondo, Westbrook, and LeBron that can get him the ball in all the places he wants and if he can’t deliver then tough luck. You won’t have to question Dames fire to win, he’s a little older and wants it, and I bet he wins one ring he’ll want to keep stacking em. Much more durable too. LeBron would easily give up ball handling duties to Dame, and he’s as clutch as they come in this sport.

[MisterHibachi]

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[falcolombardi]

A thing to consider is that teams and players are barely trying in the preseason, they’re just getting their bodies warmed up to the rigors of the season, no one wants to get injured in a meaningless game. Speaking about AD here, but I think everyone should wait until at least 15-20 games into the season to see his attitude towards winning.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but if he doesn’t avg 30 for the season trade him to Portland for Dame. You have Rondo, Westbrook, and LeBron that can get him the ball in all the places he wants and if he can’t deliver then tough luck. You won’t have to question Dames fire to win, he’s a little older and wants it, and I bet he wins one ring he’ll want to keep stacking em. Much more durable too. LeBron would easily give up ball handling duties to Dame, and he’s as clutch as they come in this sport.

lillard is fairly loyal to blazers so it would take a total collapse for him to ask a trade

blazers would never trade lillard for injury prone davis otherwise

[Run DLC]

The team will gel. It will take them some time to do it, but they will figure it out. Westbrook is the biggest question mark on how they go about using him. LeBron and AD already have that chemistry and know how to play well with each other, but Westbrook is going to have to figure it out. I think he would do great as a cutter/slasher without the ball. LeBron can draw in multiple defenders while Westbrook cuts in, but it’s a matter of spacing with lineup. I don’t see the Lakers being a great team with Westbrook as the main quarterback, he’s just not that efficient. His assist number may look good on paper, but it doesn’t translate to effective winning basketball.

[Run DLC]

A thing to consider is that teams and players are barely trying in the preseason, they’re just getting their bodies warmed up to the rigors of the season, no one wants to get injured in a meaningless game. Speaking about AD here, but I think everyone should wait until at least 15-20 games into the season to see his attitude towards winning.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but if he doesn’t avg 30 for the season trade him to Portland for Dame. You have Rondo, Westbrook, and LeBron that can get him the ball in all the places he wants and if he can’t deliver then tough luck. You won’t have to question Dames fire to win, he’s a little older and wants it, and I bet he wins one ring he’ll want to keep stacking em. Much more durable too. LeBron would easily give up ball handling duties to Dame, and he’s as clutch as they come in this sport.

AD is much more valuable than Dame. If it comes down to it, they should definitely explore trading Westbrook and picks for Dame straight up.

[Run DLC]

Here’s my individual stats for the big 3.

LeBron James
25 PPG, 7 assists, 7 rebounds

AD
27 PPG, 9 rebounds

Westbrook
21 PPG, 8 assist, 6 rebounds

[falcolombardi]

A thing to consider is that teams and players are barely trying in the preseason, they’re just getting their bodies warmed up to the rigors of the season, no one wants to get injured in a meaningless game. Speaking about AD here, but I think everyone should wait until at least 15-20 games into the season to see his attitude towards winning.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but if he doesn’t avg 30 for the season trade him to Portland for Dame. You have Rondo, Westbrook, and LeBron that can get him the ball in all the places he wants and if he can’t deliver then tough luck. You won’t have to question Dames fire to win, he’s a little older and wants it, and I bet he wins one ring he’ll want to keep stacking em. Much more durable too. LeBron would easily give up ball handling duties to Dame, and he’s as clutch as they come in this sport.

AD is much more valuable than Dame. If it comes down to it, they should definitely explore trading Westbrook and picks for Dame straight up.

that trade would never get done

westbrook has zero value to a rebuilding team so he would only be salary to trade lakers dont have enough picks or young players to beat other teams offers if millar demanded a trade

only unlikely way is if lillard really wanted to go to lakers and portland took a bullet to get him where he wants to be at the expense of much, much better offers

[Kingdibs19]

Trade AD for Dame
Trade Westbrook + picks for Porzingis

Dame
Bazemore
Lebron
Ariza
Porzingis

Enough spacing and defence

[Baski]

I know it's still very early in the season but what's the group's thoughts on AD's rank now?

I've personally been super low on him since 2018, and I've gotten tired of reading "If Davis is healthy/engaged they will be unbeatable" for the past 3 years now, but I don't want to be overly harsh in giving my own opinion, so what do you guys think?
Still top 5? Down to top 10? Top 15? Would y'all consider a Dame trade now? Etc etc.

[MisterHibachi]

Read on Twitter

[PistolPeteJR]

A thing to consider is that teams and players are barely trying in the preseason, they’re just getting their bodies warmed up to the rigors of the season, no one wants to get injured in a meaningless game. Speaking about AD here, but I think everyone should wait until at least 15-20 games into the season to see his attitude towards winning.

I’ve been saying it for a while, but if he doesn’t avg 30 for the season trade him to Portland for Dame. You have Rondo, Westbrook, and LeBron that can get him the ball in all the places he wants and if he can’t deliver then tough luck. You won’t have to question Dames fire to win, he’s a little older and wants it, and I bet he wins one ring he’ll want to keep stacking em. Much more durable too. LeBron would easily give up ball handling duties to Dame, and he’s as clutch as they come in this sport.

Like you, I was someone who was more for moving AD for a Lillard-type deal than most on here. Let’s proceed with the hypothetical:

If the Lakers do something like that, they absolutely need to move Westbrook as well. The Blazers can then recreate Washington 2.0 (20-21) by playing Westbrook alongside McCollum but would have a ginormous upgrade in the frontcourt in AD there too. Maybe something like this?

Lakers send:

Anthony Davis
Russell Westbrook
DeAndre Jordan
2022 1st Round Pick
2023 1st Round Pick (whichever they keep, whether theirs or NO’s)

Blazers send:

Damian Lillard
Jusuf Nurkic
Robert Covington
Larry Nance Jr

I know recency bias (the preseason) will have people going, “Ew AD is a shell of himself and Westbrook sucks”, but context is key in that AD is playing himself back into shape right now and is finally healthy after not having been healthy in over a season now, and Westbrook is at the beginning of trying to figure how to play on this Lakers team where he is obviously not handling the ball nearly as he has for most of his career. With the Blazers, he’d have the ball a lot more than with the Lakers, which will allow him to play like himself more.

Thoughts?

[Texas Chuck]

yeah those deals are terrible for the Blazers. For some reason they give up the most valuable player in Dame, then give up 3 more very good role players all of whom would be walk in starters for the Lakers and their reward is a bad contract, a bad player, and 2 crappy picks.

That is miles and miles and miles away from being something Portland would consider.

[homecourtloss]

Read on Twitter

Watching them, I see what they’re trying to do, i.e., create a low variance offense that can be executed nightly without relying on threes as much. I see the potential of this mixed with a good shooting night creating a potent offense, but it seems like a high energy expenditure on offense while the players will also be taxed defensively to make up for at least 2-3 defensive liabilities at a time.

I’m not sure if all this will even produce the offense a high 3pt attempt rate team does. In that last game, Kings doubled them up on three point attempts AND shot more FTs, a sure recipe for losses. On the other hand, when James was in the game, Lakers did look very good.

[Outside]

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Some observations.

It's the Kings, last in the league in DRtg last season.

This is all predicated on the threat of the three-point shot, both on the PnR and the corner action, but a smart defense is going to go under that screen (Russ shooting threes is a win for the defense), and help defenders are going to defend any of the big three rolling down the lane over anyone on the Laker roster shooting a three in the corner. The Lakers need Monk and Nunn to be reliable three-point threats or else defenses are just going to clog the lane.

Having said that, this kind of stuff involving any two of the big three should be a staple for the Lakers this season. Once they figure it out, it should be effective even if defenses load up on it. LeBron and Westbrook are both devastating barreling downhill toward the rim, and Davis should be able to get lots of uncontested lobs when his man leaves to help or otherwise doesn't put a body on him. They really need Nunn and Monk though to open it up.

[trickshot]

Read on Twitter

There's some comedy in there. How typical was it that the play broke down before it even started because Westbrook couldn't wait one extra second for the screen to arrive. The 2nd attempt was better but needs to be better at read/react there. Committing to a roll pass super early doesn't benefit AD but also sometimes the defense is anticipating them (like in the warriors game). He should be able to occupy AD's man long enough for AD to get deeper. They'll get better but I'm super curious to see how Westbrook adjusts. Right now they're having to have Rondo out there with him and WB's execution hasn't done enough to have him (rondo) benched for a shooter.

[PistolPeteJR]

yeah those deals are terrible for the Blazers. For some reason they give up the most valuable player in Dame, then give up 3 more very good role players all of whom would be walk in starters for the Lakers and their reward is a bad contract, a bad player, and 2 crappy picks.

That is miles and miles and miles away from being something Portland would consider.

I’d love to hear more here.

When healthy, AD is definitely the best piece here. Absolutely, “when healthy” carries value as well, no doubt about it. He’s also younger, which is something to consider.
I argued why I think Russ would be valuable to them in this deal too. Adding two 1sts carries some sort of value as well.
I agree that the Lakers would need to add something, though it’s hard to make salaries work. I wanted to add THT into this mix but the salaries are very tough to make work from what I could see.

I just meant to try and spark up some discussion to try and see what would work while making sense.

If both the Lakers and Blazers end up midway through the season and things aren’t in good shape for both teams, one can imagine that there would be some interest on both sides, perhaps, and that’s without taking into consideration LeBron and Lillard’s blessings to their respective FOs, of course.