(Lock Thread)The LeBron James- 23-24 NBA Playoffs & Off-Season Thread -(NO PERSONAL ATTACKS & BAITING)

[IG2]

God that was intense. The gold medal game in 2008 is comparable but this is the best us Olympic game I've seen.

Comfortably. Serbia played their ass off and US was basically going full throttle on D themselves from 2nd qtr onward. Yet Serbia kept them at bay pretty much till mid 4th qtr. Did not feel like US were going to win this for most of the 2nd half. Incredible comeback.

[Mos_Heat]

This Olympics is likely LeBron's swansong in terms of how he's remembered. I think from a team perspective he knew going in this was his last chance to leave a mark. Arguably best player on a gold medal winning team at age 39.

I won't be surprised if he announces retirement tour on media day in October. Lebron at 39 can be the best player on a team full of All Stars, can defend Jokic in crucial minutes, but he can't overcome Pelinka's incompetence and the lack of investment from the Busses

[Cavsfansince84]

I won't be surprised if he announces retirement tour on media day in October. Lebron at 39 can be the best player on a team full of All Stars, can defend Jokic in crucial minutes, but he can't overcome Pelinka's incompetence and the lack of investment from the Busses

I think two more years. I'd be kind of shocked if he said this was the last one. I think he wants to completely smash the all time scoring mark.

[tsherkin]

God that was intense. The gold medal game in 2008 is comparable but this is the best us Olympic game I've seen.

Comfortably. Serbia played their ass off and US was basically going full throttle on D themselves from 2nd qtr onward. Yet Serbia kept them at bay pretty much till mid 4th qtr. Did not feel like US were going to win this for most of the 2nd half. Incredible comeback.

That was a wild one. US is lucky Jokic wasn't clicking on that long jumper, man. That might have been the difference right there.

[f4p]

people will rightly say steph was great, but the fact i would trust no one more in one of these games than lebron at age 39 is incredible. team USA can't get a rebound, lebron gets one. team USA can't switch on jokic, just let lebron guard jokic. need someone to push the pace, lebron can soar for a layup with 2 minutes left. need teammates to get shots, lebron gets a triple double. he still does everything at such a high level and is still like an order of magnitude smarter than everyone else on the team and aware of any and all situations, it's just incredible.

[Mazter]

I think two more years. I'd be kind of shocked if he said this was the last one. I think he wants to completely smash the all time scoring mark.

Didn't he like do that already, I mean, a 2087 point gap is pretty significant. And it will probably be 3000+ after the upcoming season. The gaps are massive already among the top 5 (being the crop of the cream):

LeBron > 2087 > Kareem > 1459 > Karl > 3285 > Kobe > 1351 > MJ

Another gold medal, playing with his son, I don't think there are not any more goals left after this season. Unless it is the record of playing 23 seasons.

[Ainosterhaspie]

There are a fair number of records he could still work to target or expand.

He needs two, maybe three, seasons to pass Kidd to take #3 all time in assists. Probably can't pass Paul or Stockton, but #3 is an attainable goal.

He is still expanding his lead in most all-NBA teams made. Could see him trying to grow that as long as possible.

He has the longest streak of 25+ ppg seasons by a comfortable margin, but Durant has his own and is still going strong there. Could want to stay in to make sure that record doesn't get passed.

He might be able to break into top 20 rebounds all time with three more seasons.

[Cavsfansince84]

Didn't he like do that already, I mean, a 2087 point gap is pretty significant. And it will probably be 3000+ after the upcoming season. The gaps are massive already among the top 5 (being the crop of the cream):

LeBron > 2087 > Kareem > 1459 > Karl > 3285 > Kobe > 1351 > MJ

Another gold medal, playing with his son, I don't think there are not any more goals left after this season. Unless it is the record of playing 23 seasons.

Well obviously each season puts it further away. On top of financial incentives I just think he has two years left minimum. Time will tell. A lot of it I would think has to do with how burnt out he is or isn't with the whole process of preparing for and making it through a full season. Whether it feels like a giant grind to him or if he still sort of enjoys it.

[PistolPeteJR]

Was more fun to watch than the NBA Finals tbh.

Anyway, I’m hoping the Lakers shock the world and do something to help this team actually compete, but I don’t think there’s anything they can do at all outside of a star specifically demanding a trade there lol, and even then…

[jalengreen]

Read on Twitter

[CzBoobie]

Lol, is Bron really MVP over Curry?...meltdown on GB will be something else.

[D.Brasco]

Incredible, he busted out the LeTroll face after winning gold

[homecourtloss]

Lol, is Bron really MVP over Curry?...meltdown on GB will be something else.

GB was ready from the start when LeBron was named the starter to talk about how his game won’t translate, skills, blah, blah blah, even though he’s lost most of his athleticism and is 40 years old and can score almost as well as he did in his prime. Even the most ardent haters have been deflated.

[nzahir]

What a great last couple of games by Bron and Curry

KD and Embiid also had huge moments and Booker was very consistent

But when you need someone to calm things down the most, you still take Lebron over anyone on this team

Only guys I really trust more with the ball in a big playoff moment would be Jokic or Luka at this point

Man it saddens me to see Pelinka doing nothing yet, we need to be making a push

Bron and AD can still win you a ring with a good team around them

Cmon Pelinka, cook something up

[O_6]

LeBron was so damn good in this Olympic tournament. He tried hard from the start. Making sure they didn’t lose exhibition games, keeping the perfect record going.

The skill set. The athleticism. The passing. The versatility. As the oldest player from the NBA? The US Flag Bearer who also delivered a Gold tournament MVP? That’s a crazy distinction. But he was also the youngest player from the NBA in 2004. So just another absurd age record he has earned. He only played 11 MPG in ‘04 as a 19 year old but had 5.4 PPG on .594 FG% which is crazy. He’s been a beyond human athlete.

[zimpy27]

What a great last couple of games by Bron and Curry

KD and Embiid also had huge moments and Booker was very consistent

But when you need someone to calm things down the most, you still take Lebron over anyone on this team

Only guys I really trust more with the ball in a big playoff moment would be Jokic or Luka at this point

Man it saddens me to see Pelinka doing nothing yet, we need to be making a push

Bron and AD can still win you a ring with a good team around them

Cmon Pelinka, cook something up

Got an ideal trade setup I think.

Lakers get Ingram, Reath, Banton
Pelicans get Ayton
Blazers get DLo, Vincent, Vando

LeBron, Reaves, Ingram, Rui, Davis
Banton, Christie, Knecht, Wood, Reath
JHS, Bronny, Reddish, Lewis, Hayes

Costs Lakers the 2029 FRP and an 2028 FRP swap option.

[falcolombardi]

LeBron was so damn good in this Olympic tournament. He tried hard from the start. Making sure they didn’t lose exhibition games, keeping the perfect record going.

The skill set. The athleticism. The passing. The versatility. As the oldest player from the NBA? The US Flag Bearer who also delivered a Gold tournament MVP? That’s a crazy distinction. But he was also the youngest player from the NBA in 2004. So just another absurd age record he has earned. He only played 11 MPG in ‘04 as a 19 year old but had 5.4 PPG on .594 FG% which is crazy. He’s been a beyond human athlete.

In hindsight is funny that lebron got no minutes in the elimination games but carlos boozer, who was literally his "sidekick" in the 2004 cavs did

[nzahir]

What a great last couple of games by Bron and Curry

KD and Embiid also had huge moments and Booker was very consistent

But when you need someone to calm things down the most, you still take Lebron over anyone on this team

Only guys I really trust more with the ball in a big playoff moment would be Jokic or Luka at this point

Man it saddens me to see Pelinka doing nothing yet, we need to be making a push

Bron and AD can still win you a ring with a good team around them

Cmon Pelinka, cook something up

Got an ideal trade setup I think.

Lakers get Ingram, Reath, Banton
Pelicans get Ayton
Blazers get DLo, Vincent, Vando

LeBron, Reaves, Ingram, Rui, Davis
Banton, Christie, Knecht, Wood, Reath
JHS, Bronny, Reddish, Lewis, Hayes

Costs Lakers the 2029 FRP and an 2028 FRP swap option.

Not horrible, but honestly I want the ball in Lebron's hand with space and have a great scorer with him

We have seen how great Lebron and Kyrie were and we just saw how great Bron and Curry were together

Is there a guy that can play that role?

If Lavine was able to play like he was 2-3 seasons back, he could be, but the salary and injury risk is pretty huge. We would need a 1st back (or being routed)

Is CJ good enough?

Trae works I think, but I feel like ATL rather retool with him

Reaves is nice, but he isn't those guys on offense

[zimpy27]

What a great last couple of games by Bron and Curry

KD and Embiid also had huge moments and Booker was very consistent

But when you need someone to calm things down the most, you still take Lebron over anyone on this team

Only guys I really trust more with the ball in a big playoff moment would be Jokic or Luka at this point

Man it saddens me to see Pelinka doing nothing yet, we need to be making a push

Bron and AD can still win you a ring with a good team around them

Cmon Pelinka, cook something up

Got an ideal trade setup I think.

Lakers get Ingram, Reath, Banton
Pelicans get Ayton
Blazers get DLo, Vincent, Vando

LeBron, Reaves, Ingram, Rui, Davis
Banton, Christie, Knecht, Wood, Reath
JHS, Bronny, Reddish, Lewis, Hayes

Costs Lakers the 2029 FRP and an 2028 FRP swap option.

Not horrible, but honestly I want the ball in Lebron's hand with space and have a great scorer with him

We have seen how great Lebron and Kyrie were and we just saw how great Bron and Curry were together

Is there a guy that can play that role?

If Lavine was able to play like he was 2-3 seasons back, he could be, but the salary and injury risk is pretty huge. We would need a 1st back (or being routed)

Is CJ good enough?

Trae works I think, but I feel like ATL rather retool with him

Reaves is nice, but he isn't those guys on offense

Only Steph can do what Steph did there. Team USA was stagnant like the Lakers with LeBron and Davis. I think you have to recognise that the team needs iso creators like LeBron, Ingram, Reaves to get offense going in a stagnant offense.

The more I've thught about the more I've realised Lakers need an upgrade of DLo to go further in playoffs, you need an upgrade of his role (playmaker) and Ingram is the best guy. I think Ingram is underrated defensively, he can defend 1-5 to an average degree, he's not elite but he's versatile. Both CJ and LaVIne are limited defenders and worse than Ingram. Plus Pels like CJ leadership and want to move Ingram on.

[nzahir]

Got an ideal trade setup I think.

Lakers get Ingram, Reath, Banton
Pelicans get Ayton
Blazers get DLo, Vincent, Vando

LeBron, Reaves, Ingram, Rui, Davis
Banton, Christie, Knecht, Wood, Reath
JHS, Bronny, Reddish, Lewis, Hayes

Costs Lakers the 2029 FRP and an 2028 FRP swap option.

Not horrible, but honestly I want the ball in Lebron's hand with space and have a great scorer with him

We have seen how great Lebron and Kyrie were and we just saw how great Bron and Curry were together

Is there a guy that can play that role?

If Lavine was able to play like he was 2-3 seasons back, he could be, but the salary and injury risk is pretty huge. We would need a 1st back (or being routed)

Is CJ good enough?

Trae works I think, but I feel like ATL rather retool with him

Reaves is nice, but he isn't those guys on offense

Only Steph can do what Steph did there. Team USA was stagnant like the Lakers with LeBron and Davis. I think you have to recognise that the team needs iso creators like LeBron, Ingram, Reaves to get offense going in a stagnant offense.

The more I've thught about the more I've realised Lakers need an upgrade of DLo to go further in playoffs, you need an upgrade of his role (playmaker) and Ingram is the best guy. I think Ingram is underrated defensively, he can defend 1-5 to an average degree, he's not elite but he's versatile. Both CJ and LaVIne are limited defenders and worse than Ingram. Plus Pels like CJ leadership and want to move Ingram on.

But those guys are much better 3 point shooters

We should have beat Denver last year and Denver was a legit title contender (Minny just matches them well)

If we had even a backup C and a better coach, we probably do it

So I am not fully convinced that we are a bad team. Once we started to play more Rui and got Vando back, we had a top 5 record for a while at the end

BI worries me in the sense that he changes the way we play a lot

Getting a guy like Lavine, CJ, or Cam Johnson don''t

BI probably doesn't even fit JJ's plans well