The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[falcolombardi]

i dont know if guys agree but i think lebron needs a 5-out team so he can still dominate in the playoffs as he gets older

punt on depth (even with the risk it carries if davis and lebron are injured in regular season) and make a 3 and D team around lebron and davis

keep KCP, maybe keep gasol, caruso and mattews as they are relatively cheap good defenders with some 3 point shooting but trade everyone else

dont use cap in a 15-20 millons ball handler who may lead a second unir well but whose value will drop in post season as he would take touches away from bron,

try to find ways of playing offense with lebron om the bench amd use the schroeder/reggie/other good ish guard money in good shooters with at least average defense

[thebigbird]

I’d still trade Anthony Davis for Lillard if I’m being honest. AD refuses to play center so the Lakers are stuck with no spacing in their starting lineups. Vogel can put together a great defense regardless, and Dame/Bron would kill it offensively. Also Dame is good enough to carry when LeBron is out. AD hasn’t shown an ability to do that.

[D.Brasco]

The whole AD "experiment" is so disappointing. I really saw him as being the Magic to LeBrons Kareem, as in the younger star who will slowly take over the team from the vet but keeping up the success. But AD is more injury prone than LeBron.

A healthy pair would get you more than just 1 ring together.

[colts18]

Look who came back from hiding literally the day LeBron and the Lakers lost in the playoffs

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2087561&p=91364972#p91364972

I can't imagine hating LeBron for that long and still hating him after he gave your hometown team a title.

[FC93]

The whole AD "experiment" is so disappointing. I really saw him as being the Magic to LeBrons Kareem, as in the younger star who will slowly take over the team from the vet but keeping up the success. But AD is more injury prone than LeBron.

A healthy pair would get you more than just 1 ring together.

The Lakers have had AD for two seasons. The results are one season storming to a championship and being by far the best and dominant team in the league with AD being easily the second best player in the entire postseason, and one season of injuries where they lost him in the playoffs and lost to the eventual champions (presumably).

I know his health is concerning but that’s a pretty darn good start IMO. I get that the injury risks make AD for Lillard tempting and then you could play micro ball with LeBron as a stretch 5 even but I’m not convinced it makes the team significantly better. Everyone got injured this postseason, I don’t think it’s fair to just say AD is going to get injured again.

[kayess]

Look who came back from hiding literally the day LeBron and the Lakers lost in the playoffs

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2087561&p=91364972#p91364972

I can't imagine hating LeBron for that long and still hating him after he gave your hometown team a title.

Unbiased Fan is a literal moron when it comes to LeBron so yeah.

I still remember him saying stupid **** like "well Kobe is the second best SG and LeBron isn't the 2nd best SF so LeBron can't be above Kobe" lmfaooo. He's not even clearly a parody like Shved, he literally believes a non-zero percentage of the mindless drivel he posts.

[homecourtloss]

Look who came back from hiding literally the day LeBron and the Lakers lost in the playoffs

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2087561&p=91364972#p91364972

I can't imagine hating LeBron for that long and still hating him after he gave your hometown team a title.

Unbiased Fan is a literal moron when it comes to LeBron so yeah.

I still remember him saying stupid **** like "well Kobe is the second best SG and LeBron isn't the 2nd best SF so LeBron can't be above Kobe" lmfaooo. He's not even clearly a parody like Shved, he literally believes a non-zero percentage of the mindless drivel he posts.

Sad.

[MartinToVaught]

Not Lebron related but luckily Kawhi doesn’t get another cakewalk ring

Cakewalk ring? Seriously? Nothing about the Clippers' playoff run this year was a "cakewalk."

This is the same type of nonsense that LeBron haters say to discredit his accomplishments.

[colts18]

Look who came back from hiding literally the day LeBron and the Lakers lost in the playoffs

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2087561&p=91364972#p91364972

I can't imagine hating LeBron for that long and still hating him after he gave your hometown team a title.

Unbiased Fan is a literal moron when it comes to LeBron so yeah.

I still remember him saying stupid **** like "well Kobe is the second best SG and LeBron isn't the 2nd best SF so LeBron can't be above Kobe" lmfaooo. He's not even clearly a parody like Shved, he literally believes a non-zero percentage of the mindless drivel he posts.

Saying that stuff in 2011 made sense. Sticking to your guns and continuing to bash LeBron like he is Carmelo a decade later is another level moronic. Especially after he came to your "team" and won you a championship for the first time in 10 years.

[MartinToVaught]

Lakers ran through everybody last year in dominant fashion other than in games 1 of the first two rounds, giving up leads in garbage time, when every game was played in a neutral environment with zero travel for all teams, no home court but all we heard about was asterisk this and asterisk that but nothing at all about that this year.

This year is an asterisk for sure if the Suns win (which they almost certainly will). Context matters with every championship, and the context of this one will be that the Suns never had to face the best players because of an unprecedented injury bug. It's not their fault, but it's still what happened nonetheless.

I personally never had a good feeling about the bubble from the moment it was announced, but at least the games were decided on the court, not on the injury report.

[Brofessor24]

The whole AD "experiment" is so disappointing. I really saw him as being the Magic to LeBrons Kareem, as in the younger star who will slowly take over the team from the vet but keeping up the success. But AD is more injury prone than LeBron.

A healthy pair would get you more than just 1 ring together.

They have already won a title together.

Calling the experiment "disappointing" is beyond (Please Use More Appropriate Word).

[thebigbird]

Not Lebron related but luckily Kawhi doesn’t get another cakewalk ring

Cakewalk ring? Seriously? Nothing about the Clippers' playoff run this year was a "cakewalk."

This is the same type of nonsense that LeBron haters say to discredit his accomplishments.

It would’ve been a cakewalk ring for Kawhi if the Clippers won it all with him not playing in the WCF or Finals, though. I don’t think LeBron has ever been on a team that could have won a conference finals without him.

[nzahir]

Not Lebron related but luckily Kawhi doesn’t get another cakewalk ring

Cakewalk ring? Seriously? Nothing about the Clippers' playoff run this year was a "cakewalk."

This is the same type of nonsense that LeBron haters say to discredit his accomplishments.

It would’ve been a cakewalk ring for Kawhi if the Clippers won it all with him not playing in the WCF or Finals, though. I don’t think LeBron has ever been on a team that could have won a conference finals without him.

Yes that is what I meant

A cakewalk for KAWHI, not the clips

Imagine the lakers making the finals without Lebron, never would happen

Clips were on the verge of doing it

Insane how a couple years ago people thought Kawhi was more valuable

[D.Brasco]

The whole AD "experiment" is so disappointing. I really saw him as being the Magic to LeBrons Kareem, as in the younger star who will slowly take over the team from the vet but keeping up the success. But AD is more injury prone than LeBron.

A healthy pair would get you more than just 1 ring together.

They have already won a title together.

Calling the experiment "disappointing" is beyond (Please Use More Appropriate Word).

The title was great but like I mentioned they were set-up for more or a longer contending run for sure, and that can still be the case if AD can stay healthy.

Seeing where the Lakers finished this past season and everything that happened up to it was absolutely disappointing coming from the highs of last year or even just how well the season started.

[falcolombardi]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

lmao, is skip always like this?

[thebigbird]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

lmao, is skip always like this?

Yes. When hating on LeBron is your entire livelihood there is no bottom. At least he gets paid for it unlike all the haters on realgm.

[PistolPeteJR]

Not Lebron related but luckily Kawhi doesn’t get another cakewalk ring

Cakewalk ring? Seriously? Nothing about the Clippers' playoff run this year was a "cakewalk."

This is the same type of nonsense that LeBron haters say to discredit his accomplishments.

I think he means because Kawhi’s been out, as in sneaks in like a thief in the night in the Finals to steal FMVP.

[MartinToVaught]

Not Lebron related but luckily Kawhi doesn’t get another cakewalk ring

Cakewalk ring? Seriously? Nothing about the Clippers' playoff run this year was a "cakewalk."

This is the same type of nonsense that LeBron haters say to discredit his accomplishments.

I think he means because Kawhi’s been out, as in sneaks in like a thief in the night in the Finals to steal FMVP.

Situations like that seem like more of a problem with the award than with the player. Is it really fair to punish a player for missing the conference finals with an injury even if they turn out to be the clear best player in the Finals? It seems like that would be outside the scope of the current award.

I've been saying for years now that the NBA should have a Conn Smythe type of award that encompasses the entire postseason instead of Finals MVP. Such an award would factor in Kawhi's time on the sidelines in a scenario like this. It would also avoid situations like 2015 where Andre Iguodala got rewarded over a clearly more deserving LeBron because the voters have an irrational aversion to rewarding anyone on the team that lost the series.

[falcolombardi]

forget about lebron, it made zero sense to give the fmvp to iguodala instead of curry lol

their logic basically was they couldnt give it to lebron who lost so they give it to the guy that "limited" him (limited him to huge scoring in the same efficiency from all playoffs) indirectly acknowlesging he was the most valuable player

also, while a playoffs award woukd be cool it would always be given to the winner of the ring team anyway, voters wouldnt dare not to

[trickshot]

forget about lebron, it made zero sense to give the fmvp to iguodala instead of curry lol

their logic basically was they couldnt give it to lebron who lost so they give it to the guy that "limited" him (limited him to huge scoring in the same efficiency from all playoffs) indirectly acknowlesging he was the most valuable player

also, while a playoffs award woukd be cool it would always be given to the winner of the ring team anyway, voters wouldnt dare not to

I haven't watched that series again so forgive my recollection but I remember genuinely believing at the time that Lebron would have beaten the Warriors if Iguodala wasn't on the Warriors. It really was looking that way. Also worth noting the voters actually planned on making Lebron the 2nd losing FMVP in history if the Cavs lost. Not that I agree but If Iggy hadn't won it they still weren't going to give it to Curry.