Ainosterhaspie wrote:MisterHibachi wrote:Sublime187 wrote:I really hope the Lakers dont get Paul. Firstly, with no great role players Bron will have to do some heavy lifting again in the RS which we probably dont want at this point. I think its better to spread the money out and try to get better at each position. Furthermore, Paul gets hurt and that is that.
Strongly disagree. Stars >>>>
And CP is still a top tier star, especially in the role he would be in. Plus he's a still a monster on defense. The guy has no weaknesses except for health, and I think he would remain healthier in this role given his role would be much smaller than ever before. Plus, can you imagine CP/AD pick and rolls? Could potentially be the most devastating offensive pairing in the league, especially with LeBron cutting off ball. That trio would really be unguardable man.
But I agree that trading half the roster for him would be super risky. I don't want to get rid of KCP, Green, Kuz. They're very valuable on both ends throughout the season. It would really depend on who they're able to find for minimum contracts or whatever exceptions they'll have. Ideally, for CP to end up on the Lakers, he would have to take a buyout (or negotiate an amnesty in these on-going CBA negotiations) and take the full MLE.
One or two stars yes. By the time you get to the 3rd or 4th, not so much. Having reliable, not spectacular, simply reliable guys like Shane Battier and 2016 JR and TT at least up to the 7th or 8th spot in the rotation is more important than a 3rd or 4th star. For one it gives you better injury resilience as a team so you don't end up with a Cavs 2015 situation, but also in the playoffs, teams are really good at leveraging a single weak point on offense or defense.
And having huge amounts of cap space devoted to just three guys massively cripples your flexibility. If there is a problem with fit or fitness, you're screwed. With a two star model you retain flexibility to fill holes.
Watching James' various "super teams" struggle through the years because the stars skillsets are redundant and the supporting cast is trash, makes me real nervous about continuing the get as many stars as possible mindset, and tying up 40 million in cap space on an oft injured aging star screams bad idea to me.
That said, I've long seen Davis and CP3 as ideal fits next to James. Both create spacing. Both are excellent defenders for their position. CP3 obviously can run an offense when James is out and can create easy scoring chances for James when he's on the floor. Limitations to LeBron's off ball game are overstated, just as LeBron not being able to work with a big man was overstated. CP3 would unlock off-ball LeBron. I just think the rest of the cast isn't right and CP3 is too old, and takes too much cap space for him to be brought in at this moment.
Fair points, there's always the risk of CP getting hurt in the playoffs. But when on court, I think CP would be a massive addition, and I'm generally in support of moving chips all in when you have shots at a championship.
The Bleacher Report article had the Lakers moving Green, Kuz, and Bradley along with filler pieces for CP. But Bradley wasn't even in the bubble, Kuz and Green both were up and down. They would still have KCP, Dwight, Caruso, Morris and any other off season signings. They would still have decent depth, but now you get that 3rd piece that's going to reliably show up every playoff game.
They could have a crunch time lineup of CP/LeBron/AD with two of Caruso, Morris, Dwight, KCP, or other off season signings. Not a lot of weaknesses in those lineups, and the top level is higher than it was this past year. They would still have some exceptions to use this off season, and could convince good players to take some discounts in a cap crunched year.
We've never seen LeBron play with a point guard of CP's caliber and I just want to see the levels the team could reach with that. They're two of the three or four best offensive players of the past decade still playing at a prime level, and add in AD...