The Lebron Thread - Offseason & 2019-20

[SideshowBob]

New thread. Keep the hot takes coming.

[Colbinii]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

[SideshowBob]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

[ardee]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

Is there anything he needs to work on besides stamina and free throws?

[Basileus777]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

Did he get disowned for losing with HCA?

[_Game7_]

Wonder who that third option is going to be, hopefully another off ball type player. I always liked the ball in Lebron hands having him make the decisions, and having off ball players around him. AD might go for MVP this season playing this way. I am starting to be in the camp that would prefer a third star, unless we can get 3-4 high end roll players, just get a star, fill the rest of the roster with Vet min, Mid Level, two way, rookie deals, old guys ect. Lakers will limp their way to a chip.

[Colbinii]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

Is there anything he needs to work on besides stamina and free throws?

3 pt shooting. He will need it as he ages.

[LikeABosh]

Wonder who that third option is going to be, hopefully another off ball type player. I always liked the ball in Lebron hands having him make the decisions, and having off ball players around him. AD might go for MVP this season playing this way. I am starting to be in the camp that would prefer a third star, unless we can get 3-4 high end roll players, just get a star, fill the rest of the roster with Vet min, Mid Level, two way, rookie deals, old guys ect. Lakers will limp their way to a chip.

If they don't get another max player then it's probably gonna be Kuzma. He averaged 18.7 ppg this past season on average efficiency.

I don't think they need to limp their way to a chip if they have +30 million in cap space. You can get 3 quality role players with that kind of money. They have plenty of scoring between LBJ, AD, and Kuz. Just need some shooting and defense. Beverly and Dedmon would be fantastic

But it's hard to know who will sign for cheap with vet mins though. Last year it was McGee and that was great value given his production. Does KCP come back for cheap with the exception? He's already been paid a ton and I can't imagine there's a huge market for him

Gonna be livid if they just spend all that money to re-sign Rondo and Lance

[Dr Spaceman]

I don’t know how credible this ‘Lakers insider’ dude will turn out to be but I recommend giving this a read if you get a chance:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/c2iw76/why_arent_we_talking_about_the_insider_who_posts/

This was really interesting:

"Pelinka wanted Beasley gone after the locker room incident with Walton you heard about, especially since it was his agent who most likely leaked it to make Walton look like he had lost control of the locker room. He was having a hard time moving him and wanted to attach some asset to the deal. He wasn't looking at Zubac, but McGee and his agent met with Pelinka before the deadline. He was upset that he was promised the starting job and that he was unable to get back into shape after his pneumonia because all his minutes were going to Zubac. He threatened to not come back next year, and to also spread the word about how the Lakers don't treat their players well. McGee is actually well connected to people in the Warriors and liked around the NBA by former teammates, of which he has a lot, so this isn't an empty threat. Magic was big on the Lakers keeping the impression that they do right by their players, in contrast to the C Bags. So they sent Zubac off. Magic knows West well, and just called West and said hey take these guys and give me someone who can shoot. And that was it.

Edit: this is also gold:

"-With Walton, Pelinka wanted Randle gone at the start of the season, since James was all but confirmed at that point. Of course Magic was big on maintaining the image that the Lakers are loyal to their players (in contrast to the C Bags) so he wanted someone to basically annoy Randle enough to want to leave on his own. So Pelinka had Walton mess with his minutes and starting position until Randle got pissed enough to ask the Lakers to renounce him in the offseason. Walton didn't want to do this but was coerced. Him annoying a Mintz client was icing on the cake.

[MisterHibachi]

Watch on YouTube

[MisterHibachi]

I don’t know how credible this ‘Lakers insider’ dude will turn out to be but I recommend giving this a read if you get a chance:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/c2iw76/why_arent_we_talking_about_the_insider_who_posts/

This was really interesting:

"Pelinka wanted Beasley gone after the locker room incident with Walton you heard about, especially since it was his agent who most likely leaked it to make Walton look like he had lost control of the locker room. He was having a hard time moving him and wanted to attach some asset to the deal. He wasn't looking at Zubac, but McGee and his agent met with Pelinka before the deadline. He was upset that he was promised the starting job and that he was unable to get back into shape after his pneumonia because all his minutes were going to Zubac. He threatened to not come back next year, and to also spread the word about how the Lakers don't treat their players well. McGee is actually well connected to people in the Warriors and liked around the NBA by former teammates, of which he has a lot, so this isn't an empty threat. Magic was big on the Lakers keeping the impression that they do right by their players, in contrast to the C Bags. So they sent Zubac off. Magic knows West well, and just called West and said hey take these guys and give me someone who can shoot. And that was it.

Edit: this is also gold:

"-With Walton, Pelinka wanted Randle gone at the start of the season, since James was all but confirmed at that point. Of course Magic was big on maintaining the image that the Lakers are loyal to their players (in contrast to the C Bags) so he wanted someone to basically annoy Randle enough to want to leave on his own. So Pelinka had Walton mess with his minutes and starting position until Randle got pissed enough to ask the Lakers to renounce him in the offseason. Walton didn't want to do this but was coerced. Him annoying a Mintz client was icing on the cake.

Yeah, if what that guy is saying is right then the front office really was in as bad a shape under Magic as we though, and now Kurt Rambis basically being unofficial POBO is very worrying.

On the other hand, Lakers really seem to think they have a shot at Kawhi. And Damon Jones said on a morning show after the AD trade that "sources close to the situation" seem to think the Lakers have a real shot at Kawhi, and it was very obviously implied that the source close to the situation was LeBron.

[MisterHibachi]

Wonder who that third option is going to be, hopefully another off ball type player. I always liked the ball in Lebron hands having him make the decisions, and having off ball players around him. AD might go for MVP this season playing this way. I am starting to be in the camp that would prefer a third star, unless we can get 3-4 high end roll players, just get a star, fill the rest of the roster with Vet min, Mid Level, two way, rookie deals, old guys ect. Lakers will limp their way to a chip.

I think the Lakers need another on ball player. AD is best as a finisher, and they need another guy who can run pick and rolls with him. They need a second perimeter creator and ball handler, even if that guy is not a scorer. Don't know how Rubio looked last year, but him at his best would be a great fit.

[Larry David]

Kawhi is overkill i hope they don’t get him. It’s bad for the league to have 3 of the 5 best players on one team. They can win without him and I would rather see them have to overcome some odds or it won’t even be enjoyable.

[Dupp]

Yeah also hope they don’t get kawhi. It’s lame for both guys, it’s be like the whole KD thing.

Also hope kawhi doesnt go to philly they’ll be unbeatable. I want a more balanced league.

[tone wone]

Yeah, I kinda want to see how great AD and Bron can be as a duo fully relied on without having to hold back for a 3rd guy. It could be really special.

But, realistically Lebron is heading into his age 35 season. You always get the star if you can especially when you're relying on a guy as old as Lebron

[JVL]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

He's still around? Haven't seen him much lately.

The Lakers know they need to add depth, I'm sure Lebron knows it as well. Lebron + AD is an insanely good P&R nightmare duo, they just need to fill out the roster with 2-3 or so decent players and then the usual ring chasing vets.

I've spent some time watching pre-injury Lebron this year and it still amazes me how good he still is at 34-going-35 and having logged this many minutes. It doesn't look like he's going to slow down on offense next year.

[homecourtloss]

Hot Take: SlideShowBob is JordanBulls son.

He's still around? Haven't seen him much lately.

The Lakers know they need to add depth, I'm sure Lebron knows it as well. Lebron + AD is an insanely good P&R nightmare duo, they just need to fill out the roster with 2-3 or so decent players and then the usual ring chasing vets.

I've spent some time watching pre-injury Lebron this year and it still amazes me how good he still is at 34-going-35 and having logged this many minutes. It doesn't look like he's going to slow down on offense next year.

Take a look at his defense in December:

https://stats.nba.com/player/2544/defense-dash/?Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&DateTo=12%2F31%2F2018&DateFrom=12%2F01%2F2018

Lakers did well when he didn’t share the court with a zero defense, zero shooting, ball-stopper in Rondo. A guy like Caruso played very well with James. It would be a huge mistake bringing Rondo back.

LeBron ON court, Rondo OFF

1,336 minutes, 2,835 possessions
Lakers’ ORtg: 113.2 (equivalent to 5th best offense)
Lakers’ DRtg: 107.5 (equivalent to 5th best defense)
NET: +5.8 (equivalent to 4th best rating)

Rondo ON court, LeBron OFF

766 minutes, 1,620 possessions
Lakers’ ORtg: 106.0 (equivalent to 27th best offense)
Lakers’ DRtg: 117.3 (equivalent to 29th best offense)
NET: -11.3 (equivalent to worst net rating)

[LikeABosh]

Rondo would be fine off the bench, but I would not pay him much of anything.

[Dupp]

Nah rondo is just such a negative on court. Even though he’s a smart player and good teammate his floors on court at this stage in his career can’t be hidden or made up for.

[JVL]

Rondo is done. Any team with Lebron needs scrappy 3&D guys who keep the offense flowing and who can play off the ball.

Coincidentally, that's what just about every team in the league is looking for :p