The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[trickshot]

Personally wouldn't do AD for Lillard. Yes AD has a motivation problem but he and Lebron are the best 1-2 defensive punch in the league. It's unfortunate we weren't able to see them go full force with last year's roster.

It's also a bit unfortunate this year's team will cancel out all of their two way potential. I still don't know if it was wise to build a team that has them covering shifts for so many defensive liabilities. They do know defense is more tasking than offense right? AD's motor defending the middle is already getting challenged because of just how frequent guards have been getting into their paint. The coasting was much harder to notice last season.

[MisterHibachi]

AD is a better player, particularly in the playoffs and in high leverage moments, than Lillard. Absolutely asinine to consider such a trade.

[Ballerhogger]

Lebron put up 30 looks like hes ready to go . Really need AD be good this year.

[LukaTheGOAT]

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.

Ad is shooting 73.7% from the line post-Bubble (2020 preseason, 21 reg, 21 playoffs, this preseason) on 308 overall attempts.

Ad is shooting 32.5% from mid-range post-Bubble (2020 preseason, 21 reg, 21 playoffs, this preseason) on 225 overall attempts.

He looks like he might have added unnecessary weight to his frame.

I thought Zion would be the next player to have a tragic Shawn Kemp ending in the league, but at this rate AD might beat him there.

Okay maybe I am being a little dramatic, but he's on watch...

[The High Cyde]

I don’t get why he added so much weight/ bulk, they have Dwight to be a bruiser, and with the lackluster defensive guards those two will have to cover a lot of ground and quickly or they’ll get burned.

Ben Taylor had a great pod yesterday where he touched on this. He definitely isn’t moving the same even compared to 18 months ago.

[falcolombardi]

davis losing some mobility would be a good trade off if it helped him play 5 full time but we all know that wont happen

specially if it turns out his shooting slumps are related to it

[MisterHibachi]

Read on Twitter

[Cavsfansince84]

I don’t get why he added so much weight/ bulk, they have Dwight to be a bruiser, and with the lackluster defensive guards those two will have to cover a lot of ground and quickly or they’ll get burned.

Ben Taylor had a great pod yesterday where he touched on this. He definitely isn’t moving the same even compared to 18 months ago.

While all of that is valid at the end of the day they really just need AD to be healthy and then you have LeBron's bbiq/game management in a 7 game series which no other player can really match. So its really all about health first and foremost. I have no idea if the weight makes him more or less likely to be ready for the playoffs(usually you'd say no) but maybe it does if he's doing less quick movements and can absorb contact better.

[nzahir]

Read on Twitter

Its clear Jeanie is penny pinching

This is not a guaranteed deal and he will be gone after THT and the other guards are healthy

Just an insurance play for now and a body

We need a larger wing.

Ennis must be smashing his head rn, but he probably wants a guaranteed deal

[trickshot]

I don’t get why he added so much weight/ bulk, they have Dwight to be a bruiser, and with the lackluster defensive guards those two will have to cover a lot of ground and quickly or they’ll get burned.

Ben Taylor had a great pod yesterday where he touched on this. He definitely isn’t moving the same even compared to 18 months ago.

it definitely screwed up his coordination. A number of Westbrook and Rondo's turnovers have come from fumbling the catch. I'm sure they all noticed and know what needs to be done.

[Slava]

Read on Twitter

Its clear Jeanie is penny pinching

This is not a guaranteed deal and he will be gone after THT and the other guards are healthy

Just an insurance play for now and a body

We need a larger wing.

Ennis must be smashing his head rn, but he probably wants a guaranteed deal

I don't think the non-guaranteed deals are due to penny pinching. They obviously want to keep roster flexibility for buy outs, because there could be some significant players becoming available, whether it is Love or John Wall or some other veteran who wants out.

[Greyhound]

Read on Twitter

Its clear Jeanie is penny pinching

This is not a guaranteed deal and he will be gone after THT and the other guards are healthy

Just an insurance play for now and a body

We need a larger wing.

Ennis must be smashing his head rn, but he probably wants a guaranteed deal

I don't think the non-guaranteed deals are due to penny pinching. They obviously want to keep roster flexibility for buy outs, because there could be some significant players becoming available, whether it is Love or John Wall or some other veteran who wants out.

It would be the most Lakers thing in the world to overlook specialists that know their role and can fit in seamlessly (helping the team win) in favor of some washed up name.

[Slava]

Its clear Jeanie is penny pinching

This is not a guaranteed deal and he will be gone after THT and the other guards are healthy

Just an insurance play for now and a body

We need a larger wing.

Ennis must be smashing his head rn, but he probably wants a guaranteed deal

I don't think the non-guaranteed deals are due to penny pinching. They obviously want to keep roster flexibility for buy outs, because there could be some significant players becoming available, whether it is Love or John Wall or some other veteran who wants out.

It would be the most Lakers thing in the world to overlook specialists that know their role and can fit in seamlessly (helping the team win) in favor of some washed up name.

Are we talking about Avery Bradley here? I'd be surprised if he even lasts a month.

[falcolombardi]

off topic but i went on youtube yestersay to watch a old game (1990 conference finals between bulls and pistons) and ended up looking a bit over the basketball vídeos thay came up recommended

and is kinda insane lol, one guy saying that omly durant, curry and lebron deserved to make the nba top 75 amongst Active players

other guy with a video on why "old school fans" "TOLERATE" doncic unlike lebron, because (bla bla, running to superteams, bla bla killer instinct)

seriously if that is the average basketball content you find on youtube then no wonder people are so overly nostalgic about old basketball, even people who literally didnt watch it live

[homecourtloss]

off topic but i went on youtube yestersay to watch a old game (1990 conference finals between bulls and pistons) and ended up looking a bit over the basketball vídeos thay came up recommended

and is kinda insane lol, one guy saying that omly durant, curry and lebron deserved to make the nba top 75 amongst Active players

other guy with a video on why "old school fans" "TOLERATE" doncic unlike lebron, because (bla bla, running to superteams, bla bla killer instinct)

seriously if that is the average basketball content you find on youtube then no wonder people are so overly nostalgic about old basketball, even people who literally didnt watch it live

There are two groups creating such videos.

1) People around my age (mid 40s) who will go to their graves swearing what was “real basketball” and that Jordan’s game was the apex of apexes and so on through a haze of nostalgia. They don’t have any cognitive dissonance when they watch games in which there is no 6’10 scorer like Durant or defensive wings like a young Kawhi but it’s still the apex of basketball.

They don’t have any cognitive dissonance when they see both teams taking 35 FTs a game on non physical fouls. They want their cake and eat it, too, i.e., “‘80s and ‘90s had such monster physicality that today’s soft athletes couldn’t survive, and that touch fouls weren’t called and people died going to the basket”; but when you watch the games in their entirety, the teams are taking a high amount of FTs and the physical fouls are few and far between, so where are the foul calls coming from? Why are so many touch fouls being called? There aren’t enough “hard fouls” to add up to the high Free throw rates. They must be getting called somewhere and it’s on touch fouls that supposedly “wouldn’t even be fouls in the ‘80s and ‘90s” yet they are.

2) An even wilder group of 27-30 year olds who never saw Jordan play but swear that this era is weak and soft and that the ‘80s and ‘90s was the height of basketball even though they actually saw the most physical era of basketball in the early 2000s—mid 2000s as kids.

[trickshot]

Bradley isn't that bad. His defense was already overrated before last year, it's not some recent drop off. It hasn't actually been much more than a year he was on the Lakers. Was the same with Clipper and Rondo. He's only washed if you didn't already lower the expectations. He doesn't fit on the Warriors because hs isn't a high iq guy.

Speaking about the Warriors Kerr's system may be returning to peak form execution. It won't be as good without the old guys but they will give some teams headache. I think Lakers will be one of them, their weaknesses are precisely what the Warriors are good at. Every time you lose a guy someone is getting an open 3 or setting up a cut. Their offense will be must watch for anyone interested.

[McBubbles]

off topic but i went on youtube yestersay to watch a old game (1990 conference finals between bulls and pistons) and ended up looking a bit over the basketball vídeos thay came up recommended

and is kinda insane lol, one guy saying that omly durant, curry and lebron deserved to make the nba top 75 amongst Active players

other guy with a video on why "old school fans" "TOLERATE" doncic unlike lebron, because (bla bla, running to superteams, bla bla killer instinct)

seriously if that is the average basketball content you find on youtube then no wonder people are so overly nostalgic about old basketball, even people who literally didnt watch it live

I think I said myself before that the PC Board on this website is pretty much the only reason I didn't drop basketball completely. Not having anyone I could discuss the sport with logically, EVER, or seeing ridiculous takes 24/7 on ESPN was killing me. I started wondering if I was the crazy one.

I don't follow other sports so I don't know how bad they are but 99% of NBA discourse is utter ****. Not only is there no intelligent discussion to be had but it's also incredibly negative and toxic, with most conversations revolving around why X is worse than MJ or why every single era outside of 1980-1998 is cancer aids weak soft communist trash.

[PistolPeteJR]

off topic but i went on youtube yestersay to watch a old game (1990 conference finals between bulls and pistons) and ended up looking a bit over the basketball vídeos thay came up recommended

and is kinda insane lol, one guy saying that omly durant, curry and lebron deserved to make the nba top 75 amongst Active players

other guy with a video on why "old school fans" "TOLERATE" doncic unlike lebron, because (bla bla, running to superteams, bla bla killer instinct)

seriously if that is the average basketball content you find on youtube then no wonder people are so overly nostalgic about old basketball, even people who literally didnt watch it live

I think I said myself before that the PC Board on this website is pretty much the only reason I didn't drop basketball completely. Not having anyone I could discuss the sport with logically, EVER, or seeing ridiculous takes 24/7 on ESPN was killing me. I started wondering if I was the crazy one.

I don't follow other sports so I don't know how bad they are but 99% of NBA discourse is utter ****. Not only is there no intelligent discussion to be had but it's also incredibly negative and toxic, with most conversations revolving around why X is worse than MJ or why every single era outside of 1980-1998 is cancer aids weak soft communist trash.

Completely agree. I used to like the GB some, the last two years especially though it's become intolerable. I don't mean this to be a criticism of our great mods, but there are specific posters especially that run rampant and either troll the heck out of things or are just simply irritating as can be because of the unfathomable, brutal stubbornness and closed-mindedness they bring to the table in "discussion". Every time I try and engage in actual discussion there, I increasingly feel like I'm just going to avoid that board altogether.

[nzahir]

Read on Twitter

Its clear Jeanie is penny pinching

This is not a guaranteed deal and he will be gone after THT and the other guards are healthy

Just an insurance play for now and a body

We need a larger wing.

Ennis must be smashing his head rn, but he probably wants a guaranteed deal

I don't think the non-guaranteed deals are due to penny pinching. They obviously want to keep roster flexibility for buy outs, because there could be some significant players becoming available, whether it is Love or John Wall or some other veteran who wants out.

Worst case we could always move a guy like Ellington with a 2nd and cash to a team who has the cap space/exception around the deadline

Having the flexibility is nice, but also not starting off poorly (even though the schedule is easy thankfully) is more important

Ennis may have had a fluke year, but even if he did, he is still an athletic 6'7 body. And if he has actually grown as a player, then he is at least playable on offense and a solid defender

No need for Wall on this team

Love could be useful, but still doesn't fix the wing defense need

Cheap trade targets (dec 15 or later):
Kenrich Williams (can be done now actually with our Gasol exception)
Danuel House

Any low key names that I am missing?

Edit: PJ Washington maybe? Not sure if CHA would move on from him, but I wonder if they would accept the 3 wiz 2nds and 2 of our own? Or could we get a 1st back from NOLA and send them a couple 2nds to do it and then use that?

[frica]

off topic but i went on youtube yestersay to watch a old game (1990 conference finals between bulls and pistons) and ended up looking a bit over the basketball vídeos thay came up recommended

and is kinda insane lol, one guy saying that omly durant, curry and lebron deserved to make the nba top 75 amongst Active players

other guy with a video on why "old school fans" "TOLERATE" doncic unlike lebron, because (bla bla, running to superteams, bla bla killer instinct)

seriously if that is the average basketball content you find on youtube then no wonder people are so overly nostalgic about old basketball, even people who literally didnt watch it live

There are two groups creating such videos.

1) People around my age (mid 40s) who will go to their graves swearing what was “real basketball” and that Jordan’s game was the apex of apexes and so on through a haze of nostalgia. They don’t have any cognitive dissonance when they watch games in which there is no 6’10 scorer like Durant or defensive wings like a young Kawhi but it’s still the apex of basketball.

They don’t have any cognitive dissonance when they see both teams taking 35 FTs a game on non physical fouls. They want their cake and eat it, too, i.e., “‘80s and ‘90s had such monster physicality that today’s soft athletes couldn’t survive, and that touch fouls weren’t called and people died going to the basket”; but when you watch the games in their entirety, the teams are taking a high amount of FTs and the physical fouls are few and far between, so where are the foul calls coming from? Why are so many touch fouls being called? There aren’t enough “hard fouls” to add up to the high Free throw rates. They must be getting called somewhere and it’s on touch fouls that supposedly “wouldn’t even be fouls in the ‘80s and ‘90s” yet they are.

2) An even wilder group of 27-30 year olds who never saw Jordan play but swear that this era is weak and soft and that the ‘80s and ‘90s was the height of basketball even though they actually saw the most physical era of basketball in the early 2000s—mid 2000s as kids.

In some way previous eras were tougher, in other ways this era is tougher.

With the amount of switching and lateral movement that's happening today the game must be a real killer for the knees.
People call modern stars soft for not playing 40+ minutes, but I bet if anyone tries for a whole season their knees will go *pop* *pop*