The LeBron James All-NBA (2nd) and Luka Doncic - 24-25 Thread

[thebigbird]

Well at least he got the gold medal this season. Rob Pelinka punts away yet another LeBron season. It’s the only part of his job that he’s good at. Time for LeBron to decline the option and join a real franchise for a final hurrah.

[Mos_Heat]

Yeah, he can't do anything if his shot ain't falling. He looked spent all game. 2 games in Minnesota killed him.

Luka was atrocious on defense, it's like blow by after blow by. I don't know what kind of defense you need behind him to survive 4 rounds.

Reaves played like Dlo the whole series. Mistakes on defense, can't create anything even of ball was dreadful

[nzahir]

Not having a C is the issue guys

Luka is a #1

I think Bron can still be a #2

But you need solid defenders and shooting

For sure trading Vando, Gabe, and Maxi. 34m of nothing

We have a 1st, swaps, and Knecht to move

I’d contemplate a Reaves or Rui move, but I would address C and trade others first

Doing too much, such as the Russ deal, killed us last time

Not having a C

Or a quality bench

Or any two-way players beyond post-prime DFS

And that's not getting into the questions around LeBron and Reaves

Apart from that it's all good!

You can get a C like Claxton or Ayton in a trade or sign a guy like Capela

Use mle on a bench piece/use mle on C like Capela and then trade other guys for a contributor

See what you can get from Knecht maybe in a trade?

[TroubleS0me]

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[CKRT]

https://streamable.com/rhg6ip

Maybe the funniest jab I’ve seen LeBron do

[nzahir]

So what moves are you guys making this summer?

Vando, Gabe, and Maxi all gotta go

Centers: Ayton, Claxton, Kessler, Bam

Ayton or Claxton are the most realistic. Ayton for all 3 of the guys above and a 1st? Dont think Camara is available, but would love to swap Knecht for him

Claxton for all 3 + 1st or 2 of the guys and Knecht

Kessler: Knecht+2031 1st+ unprotect 27+28 swap+30 swap lightly protected

Bam is the least realistic and only if Miami wants to retool/rebuild. Cant fully guage his value, the contract is prety bad. 50-60m a year. Would require an insane paycut by Lebron and I think AR would be in it. Likely not even worth it

Then we for sure need to add a bench scorer or send AR to the bench

Also could use more 2 way guys, but hard to do

[SlimShady83]

So what moves are you guys making this summer?

Vando, Gabe, and Maxi all gotta go

Centers: Ayton, Claxton, Kessler, Bam

Ayton or Claxton are the most realistic. Ayton for all 3 of the guys above and a 1st? Dont think Camara is available, but would love to swap Knecht for him

Claxton for all 3 + 1st or 2 of the guys and Knecht

Kessler: Knecht+2031 1st+ unprotect 27+28 swap+30 swap lightly protected

Bam is the least realistic and only if Miami wants to retool/rebuild. Cant fully guage his value, the contract is prety bad. 50-60m a year. Would require an insane paycut by Lebron and I think AR would be in it. Likely not even worth it

Then we for sure need to add a bench scorer or send AR to the bench

Also could use more 2 way guys, but hard to do

I'm working on a thread, stay tuned.

[zimpy27]

I thought Gabe was good. I think Lakers need a starting 3+D guard and a starting C.

PG: -------- | Gabe | Bronny
SG: Reaves | Goodwin
SF: Luka | DFS
PF: LeBron | Rui
C : -------- | Hayes


Trade Vando, Klebe and Knecht for starting guard and center

[Slava]

I can see us overpaying for Kessler as that’s the guy Pelinka has long been after. I don’t know who the pops defender will be. It would be nice if the guard who ends up being targeted can also get us going on the break.

[Tracymcgoaty]

I've criticized lebron a lot this season. But what we asked of Lebron post luka trade was beyond ridiculous imo.

JJ asking Lebron to anchor the paint and basically give us 25 on offense is some of the most stunted crap i've seen. We haven't had a balanced roster since 2021 maybe. How the **** do you ask a 40 year old to do something like this?

I think from february onward Lebron played great basketball. I think this post season Lebron did about as much as you could do being with us being at a severe disadvantage lacking a big or athleticism in general.

Lost in all of this is Reaves. Im on record saying Reaves had the biggest hand in us losing the series. Beyond all the talk of having no bigs or athleticism. We were still in every game to win it. If Reaves even has decent games this series looks different.

Momentum breaking threes and boneheaded turnovers.

Lebron and Luka along with Rui played some fantastic basketball. I still dont think they've had enough time to gel yet. hopefully Lebron still has 1-2 more seasons in him. hopefully reaves is traded for a legit wing player or a legit big.

And HOPEFULLY!

Pelinka doesn't screw the luka timeline up.

[DorianRo]

The only way lakers do something is if LeOverpaid takes a pay cut commiserate to his 41 year old self and kick his kid to the G league but we know that will never happen. Once again the lakers are held hostage by LeBron


But hey he got his “stats” and his crew can go “it’s amazing what he does at 40” crazy: Of course with another first round exit and disappearing in every 4th quarter

Lakers won’t do anything until they stop being held hostage by the Lebron family and lakers fans it’s time to decide WINNING is more important and the future tban LeBron empty stats and vanity project

[TroubleS0me]

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[ReggiesKnicks]

The only way lakers do something is if LeOverpaid takes a pay cut commiserate to his 41 year old self and kick his kid to the G league but we know that will never happen. Once again the lakers are held hostage by LeBron


But hey he got his “stats” and his crew can go “it’s amazing what he does at 40” crazy: Of course with another first round exit and disappearing in every 4th quarter

Lakers won’t do anything until they stop being held hostage by the Lebron family and lakers fans it’s time to decide WINNING is more important and the future tban LeBron empty stats and vanity project

Call 988

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

[DorianRo]

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LeDramaQueen. Dude aint turning out 50 million a year for first round exits and disappearing in 4th quarters

[Ian Scuffling]

Well, that was completely anti-climactic. This team had no chance to win a chip this year. None. So, why not a first round loss. Pelinka has once again destroyed another great year by Lebron. I know it has been said in jest in the past, and no I don't believe it, but damn, it sure looks like Pelinka is protecting his cash cow's legacy. And Luka. This is really the first time I've really watched him play. He may be the worst defensive, great offensive player I have ever seen. AR is a mini-me of Luka in that regard, too. The Lakers have absolutely NO defensive presence, outside of the 40 year old, in the paint. When shots aren't falling, which often happens, especially in the playoffs, this Lakers team has not a chance to win. None. The bench? 4 points. It's terrible. Yes, there were instances of JJ's inexperience coming to light, but the old saying, you can put lipstick on a pig is still very valid, here. It's a foundationally, fundamentally flawed roster. Yes, it would be nice if James, who obviously is still a very good player in the association, would take a big pay cut to help fix that issue. But, honestly, does anyone think that Pelinka will do the right moves? I don't.

Read a few people saying that Lebron isn't a number 2 on a championship contender, anymore. I don't agree. When asked to be the best defender and be the second best offensive player at age 40, no, he isn't. However, if they were to bolster and really improve the defense, hell yes, Lebron can be a number 2 on a championship level team. He had to work so hard providing defense that it abolutely destroyed his late game energy. That doesn't take a genius to understand and we just witnessed it. He had no gas left in the tank. IMO, if he doesn't have to work that hard on that end, he'd still be a great number 2. Plus, as others have said, this Minny team was just a horrible matchup for this Lakers team. Oh well. A sad and pathetic ending brought to us by a sad and pathetic front office.

[thebigbird]

Crap like this is why I’d rather LeBron just retire at this point. Knuckle dragging mouth breathers are going to use the last few years of his career to trash his entire legacy. And unlike guys like Kobe or Jordan who spent their final years chucking on terrible teams, LeBron has been a top 5-10 player And shouldered a huge load for his team.

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[Ian Scuffling]

Yes, facile thinking in everything has been the fad for some time, now. Absolutely, NO context. Didn't realize Lebron played the playoffs by himself. Interesting.

[parsnips33]

Crap like this is why I’d rather LeBron just retire at this point. Knuckle dragging mouth breathers are going to use the last few years of his career to trash his entire legacy. And unlike guys like Kobe or Jordan who spent their final years chucking on terrible teams, LeBron has been a top 5-10 player And shouldered a huge load for his team.

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Don't you want to watch your favorite player keep playing as long as he can? Just gotta ignore all the noise and garbage, it will always be there

[Djoker]

His entire Lakers career with the exception of the 2020 postseason where he got over 4 months of rest to recuperate his body before the playoffs, he's been a shell of his prime self. The decline was in full effect starting in 2018-19 but people refused to see it. The general statistical inflation helped his case. People saw similar numbers and assumed a similar level of play but his impact fell off dramatically.

The weirdest thing you see on forums like this is people calling him a top 5 player but then refusing to hold him to that standard.

[DorianRo]

At the end of the day, you either have to make him accept massively less pay or ship him off. You can't pay him 50M a year. I dont care what what he did a decade ago on superteams in the LeEastern Conference. The whole point is to WIN