The Lebron Thread | 2021 & Offseason

[LikeABosh]

Lakers basically added two 6MOTY's to their bench. Enjoy it!

I've seen lots of people thinking Schroder will come off the bench. I don't see it. He's their 3rd highest paid player - hard to imagine them giving him $15M to come off the bench imo. And I don't think it makes sense to have LeBron spending energy bringing the ball up the floor and initiating every possession all season long. They had Bradley to do it during most of the regular season, but you don't want KCP or Wes in that role. Nor do I think playing Schroder & Caruso together for extended minutes makes a lot of sense.

Either way, Schroder is gonna play +25 minutes. I don't think it really matters if he starts or not

[dcstanley]

I like plugging Matthews for Green in the starting lineup:

Bron
KCP
Matthews
AD
Javale (or *fingers crossed* Gasol)


Any of Schroeder, Caruso, Matthews, or Kuzma could start though. The Lakers have solid depth.

[dreamshake]

Losing Trez and now Green and giving Morris $64M? Clips fans must be in shambles. Green is a nice pickup to soften the blow of losing Grant for Denver though. Should have Barton back too.

[MyUniBroDavis]

Could have had Justin Holiday and Dwight...

Would much rather have done this and gotten a movement shooter on the wing. And part of my severe reaction to this is I just think Harrell is a straight douche. I've seen him in private runs on YouTube (JLawBBall babyyyyyy) where he's the only NBA player on the court playing with like college dudes and stuff, and this dude will just be talking down to them and mean mugging people that are way beneath him talent-wise. Like damn bro, can you act like you've been there before and not like a piece of s***?

On a sidenote, have you seen pjf (or pjp) performance? Theyre pretty sick. Or byanymeans basketball?

On harrell, something thats confusing, on defense is he switchable? Like on to 2s and 3s. Cranjis was worried he would get hunted in the perimeter but looking at what people were saying about him people say hes good on switches it looks like, and i remember cranjis did most of his scouting from bubble play

If hes good on switches that changes things alot.

[LikeABosh]

Clips got weaker, Nuggets got weaker, Rockets are dead, Klay is out.

Jazz, Suns, and Blazers improved a bit.

Feels like Lakers are massive favorites in the West even if you don't like their moves

[dreamshake]

On the off chance he develops into a good perimeter defender, or if it was a buble thing since his rs perimeter D isnt as bad by synergy, that changes things, but the offensive fit is just really weird.

I think there's at least reason to be optimistic about his defense improving on a team with Vogel coaching and Bron/AD in his ear.

[MyUniBroDavis]

On the off chance he develops into a good perimeter defender, or if it was a buble thing since his rs perimeter D isnt as bad by synergy, that changes things, but the offensive fit is just really weird.

I think there's at least reason to be optimistic about his defense improving on a team with Vogel coaching and Bron/AD in his ear.

I think thats more of an effort thing, if he doesnt have the ability he just wont

But looking at it it seems alot of people thought of him as a switchable type defender till the bubble happened, and his defensive tracking stats dont look bad in isolation either, its more so hes overmatched in certain center matchups i feel and his defensive rebounding is booty

[dreamshake]

Clips got weaker, Nuggets got weaker, Rockets are dead, Klay is out.

Jazz, Suns, and Blazers improved a bit.

Feels like Lakers are massive favorites in the West even if you don't like their moves

I don't think I agree that Nuggets got weaker. Losing Grant (and possibly Millsap) hurts, but I think it's offset by Barton coming back, adding Green, Garry Harris fully healthy, and maybe the Argentinian guy (who knows how his game will translate).

[Greyhound]

I like the moves.

I am assuming that Bradley is gone, but I hope the Lakers can bring back KCP, Markieff, and mascot Dudley.

KCP/ Schroder
Mathews/ Caruso/ THT
James/ Kuzma
Davis/ Morris
McGee/ Harrell

I like it. I think they need one more big. Either one that can start (pushing McGee to third string), or a quality vet minimum banger for the third string center.

[dreamshake]

I think thats more of an effort thing, if he doesnt have the ability he just wont

But looking at it it seems alot of people thought of him as a switchable type defender till the bubble happened, and his defensive tracking stats dont look bad in isolation either, its more so hes overmatched in certain center matchups i feel and his defensive rebounding is booty

Yeah rebounding is a bit concerning. AD isn't always super reliable on the boards. I worry Bron's gonna have to take on more of those duties. Maybe that's ok if Schroder is taking over some of the ballhandling/playmaking. Still, Gasol or TT on a minimum would make me feel better.

[nzahir]

Who else we looking at now for the min?

Korver?

[nzahir]

Seems like we are allergic to surrounding Lebron with shooters

[Greyhound]

I think thats more of an effort thing, if he doesnt have the ability he just wont

But looking at it it seems alot of people thought of him as a switchable type defender till the bubble happened, and his defensive tracking stats dont look bad in isolation either, its more so hes overmatched in certain center matchups i feel and his defensive rebounding is booty

Yeah rebounding is a bit concerning. AD isn't always super reliable on the boards. I worry Bron's gonna have to take on more of those duties. Maybe that's ok if Schroder is taking over some of the ballhandling/playmaking. Still, Gasol or TT on a minimum would make me feel better.

Rebounding is one area that concerns me. The second unit (in particular) is going to be weak on the glass.

[Greyhound]

Seems like we are allergic to surrounding Lebron with shooters

Cleveland did that and their deficiencies in other areas ended up making LeBron’s work load greater then it should have bin.

I think if is slightly more important to surround LeBron with defenders at this point in his career.

...

That having been said, the defense has taken a step back.

[Slava]

Schroeder and Trez PNR is going to feast in the regular season against second units. Lakers could get a top 3 seed without Lebron having to exert too much effort. Doesn't move the needle at the highest levels but should allow Lebron to conserve energy after a quick turnaround.

I think this is the theme behind this free agency, getting through a shortened season without either lebron or AD having to exert themselves too much.

[dcstanley]

Also worth noting that Bron is pretty close to Trez. They've always had a good rapport on social media.. Doubt he'd be much of a locker room problem.

[Freighttrain]

Lakers are the only team, together with the Heat, who just have had the least amount of rest compared to some teams who have had 7-8 months off. Having Schroder & Harell will be key during the regular season, allowing Bron & AD to ease into the regular season. Once the playoffs start, they'll take over the reins and be ready to take us to the promised land again. I believe Schroder can be that third consistent guy, like Rondo but with a different skillset, a more scoring mentality. I do wonder if this means we're exploring the trade market for Kuz. His value will probably plummet due to the addition's of two 15+ point guys. We should look for a trade and try to get another 3&D guy. Perhaps get into the Bogdanovic sweepstakes if that's an option. But mostly resign KCP and Bradley if we can. Rondo is probably out so I'm not counting on that.

[RCM88x]

They need another C imo. Harrell and McGee is laughable.

[MyUniBroDavis]

I heard Marc might be gotten for the minimum.

if we finish with

schroder/caruso
KCP/Matthews
Kuzma/Kieff
Lebron/Harrell
AD/Marc/Javale

thats a really, really good lineup. In terms of our playoff squad We would have replaced
Green/Rondo/Dwight for Matthews/Schroder/Marc/Harrell.

I think Matthews>Green (at least playoff Green), Schroder>>Rondo, and honestly Marc>Dwight. Harrell could be a really, really good get too depending on his defense.

also keep in mind shooting wise, as much as we're saying that they aren't getting shooters, in this scenario the only person who can't shoot is Harrell. Caruso and kuz are the only "bad" shooters too, so were fine on that front, esp if kuz improves (or Caruso obv lol)

[yoyoboy]

Gasol looked absolutely toasted as the season wore on. Not convinced he wouldn’t be a liability either.