The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[PaulieWal]

Have at it gents.

[eminence]

Don't see a ton of available moves to address the roster, Kuzma+1st to try to land a decent starter looks like the only real option at first glance outside of vets for the minimum/exceptions. Barnes/Adams/Bertans/Thad Young/Rubio are the 1st names to come to mind that make some sense and are in the right salary range, decent chance not all would require that added 1st.

[falcolombardi]

the injuries probably will mask the terrible roster building lakers did this season

they traded players who knew their role and contributed in their niches (danny, avery, howard) for floor raising players with limited ceiling (harrel, schroeder) the kind of thingh too are not supposed to do when building around a big 2

(also the same mistake as clippers in 2020)

hopefully they are not stupid this off season, aka, not doubling down on drummond, getting 3 and D players instead of mediocre scorers, keep the attention on defense/hustle/shooting around davis/james

[GSP]

Don't see a ton of available moves to address the roster, Kuzma+1st to try to land a decent starter looks like the only real option at first glance outside of vets for the minimum/exceptions. Barnes/Adams/Bertans/Thad Young/Rubio are the 1st names to come to mind that make some sense and are in the right salary range, decent chance not all would require that added 1st.

@ Adams, Thad or Ricky. Just what the Lakers need.....more players that cant shoot

Frank Vogel can coach a top defense even with less than ideal players. They lost Danny, Dwight, Rondo, Bradley, Javale and brought in Denis, Trez, Marc, Drummond and Wes with Ad missing nearly 40 games and Bron missing nearly 30 games and their defense was better this season

that 3rd quarter stretch gives some hope we could still see Bron dominate with the right spacing

[Tracymcgoaty]

I am more worried about AD than Lebron. I still feel lebron has a year or two in him at top level barring any injuries. AD man... l love this dude he was instrumental in winning the chip. But health wise every time this dude falls i hold my breath. Dude needs to work on his body or something.

[falcolombardi]

i think the worse thingh about this season is not even not winning, that can happen

the worst thingh by far is that skip bayless and everyone else will use miami/lakers/celtics early elimination to discrefit 2020 ring

[Baski]

Feels unreal

[thebigbird]

i think the worse thingh about this season is not even not winning, that can happen

the worst thingh by far is that skip bayless and everyone else will use miami/lakers/celtics early elimination to discrefit 2020 ring

The clowns will always say XYZ discredits ____ that LeBron accomplished. At the end of the day, the 2020 ring will be in the history books forever next to all the other ones and no amount of screaming at the cameras by jokers like Bayless can change that.

[dreamshake]

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31559883/offseason-moves-los-angeles-lakers-limited-options-rebuild-roster

Decent summary of what they're looking at in the offseason. A few quotes . . .

Schroder is the Lakers' top priority

Lakers' front office have signaled to everyone listening: 'This isn't just a half a season buyout market rental. Andre Drummond is part of the future moving forward with this franchise.'

[thebigbird]

The next 5ish months off should do wonders for LeBron. The past 15 months have been crazy between the pandemic forcing to stay ready but not knowing when or if the season would start in early 2020, going to the bubble for three months, and then only getting 71 days off before the new season started. Now they’ll get a long summer off to recharge physically and mentally. LeBron will hear all the haters talking about how he’s done as an elite player.

Just trying to look on the bright side of things. Once LeBron sprained his ankle and didn’t look like himself when he came back I felt like this would be the end result. I thought maybe AD could carry them until LeBron had enough time to heal, but that obviously went out the window in game 4. All in all, terrible season but we’ll have a new one before we know it.

[thebigbird]

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31559883/offseason-moves-los-angeles-lakers-limited-options-rebuild-roster

Decent summary of what they're looking at in the offseason. A few quotes . . .

Schroder is the Lakers' top priority

Lakers' front office have signaled to everyone listening: 'This isn't just a half a season buyout market rental. Andre Drummond is part of the future moving forward with this franchise.'

I saw that quote earlier but I really don’t believe it. Drummond just got a DNP - coach’s decision in an elimination game. No way they bring him back.

[LA Bird]

The Lakers were down only 10 at one point in the 4th while shooting under 30% from three. If they add some good shooters and LeBron/Davis return healthy next year, they should still be strong championship contenders. Hopefully the early elimination will be a wakeup call for the front office to value shooting more in the upcoming offseason. I remember how Magic was clowned for building a LeBron team with no 3pt shooting back in 2018 but they have only worsened in 3s made league wise since then.

[falcolombardi]

i think the worse thingh about this season is not even not winning, that can happen

the worst thingh by far is that skip bayless and everyone else will use miami/lakers/celtics early elimination to discrefit 2020 ring

The clowns will always say XYZ discredits ____ that LeBron accomplished. At the end of the day, the 2020 ring will be in the history books forever next to all the other ones and no amount of screaming at the cameras by jokers like Bayless can change that.

yep i saw a dude telling that jordan would never lose in first round

i thought it was sarcasm but when someone corrected him he explained why jordan first round exists didnt count cause he was not in his goat level yet

[Larry David]

The next 5ish months off should do wonders for LeBron. The past 15 months have been crazy between the pandemic forcing to stay ready but not knowing when or if the season would start in early 2020, going to the bubble for three months, and then only getting 71 days off before the new season started. Now they’ll get a long summer off to recharge physically and mentally. LeBron will hear all the haters talking about how he’s done as an elite player.

Just trying to look on the bright side of things. Once LeBron sprained his ankle and didn’t look like himself when he came back I felt like this would be the end result. I thought maybe AD could carry them until LeBron had enough time to heal, but that obviously went out the window in game 4. All in all, terrible season but we’ll have a new one before we know it.

[bballcool34]

At least Lebron seemed very confident he could return to where he was pre-ankle injury in the post game presser

[thebigbird]

Schroder’s comments after the game are... interesting.

Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

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[toodles23]

the injuries probably will mask the terrible roster building lakers did this season

they traded players who knew their role and contributed in their niches (danny, avery, howard) for floor raising players with limited ceiling (harrel, schroeder) the kind of thingh too are not supposed to do when building around a big 2

(also the same mistake as clippers in 2020)

hopefully they are not stupid this off season, aka, not doubling down on drummond, getting 3 and D players instead of mediocre scorers, keep the attention on defense/hustle/shooting around davis/james

Vogel not playing Drummond a single minute in the elimination game makes me think he knew the entire time that he sucks, but was forced to play him because Pelinka was all in on him and possibly locker room politics. It's very discouraging to hear from McMenamin a few days ago that the Lakers consider Drummond to be part of their future, it doesn't indicate that Pelinka has any sense at all.

Lakers are in a tough spot. Schroeder would be good as a 6th man but it doesn't look like he would accept that, and as a starter his shot is too slow and inaccurate to effectively space the floor with Bron/AD. Do they let him walk after giving up a pick for him despite the fit issues? Harrell helped during the grind of the long regular season but obviously in the playoffs he barely even saw the floor. Gasol will be another year older and they treated him like crap anyway. Kuzma gave them nothing in the playoffs and was a bit disappointing all year, but I'm not sure they would be able to trade him for anybody who fits better.

The only guys on the roster I would for sure want back are Lebron, AD, Caruso, and KCP. I like what Wes Matthews and Gasol gave them but given their ages it would be a risk to re-sign them. Markieff is obviously garbage. I'm also not a believer in THT, at least for the Lakers - if he was a better shooter then he would be okay, but given his shot mechanics I don't think he'll ever be a good shooter (and his release is slow and not very versatile); plus, I think it would be better for his development anyway if he went to another team with more minutes and primacy.

[GSP]

i think the worse thingh about this season is not even not winning, that can happen

the worst thingh by far is that skip bayless and everyone else will use miami/lakers/celtics early elimination to discrefit 2020 ring

Who wouldve thought Denver would be the one conference finalist to get out of the 1st round

and without Jamal Murray

[porcerel]

Disappointing season. I've also never seen an athlete more scrutinized than LeBron. He's had about 200 "make or break his legacy" games, many of which are random regular season matchups. A six game sample after 50,000 minutes and 9 finals in 10 years somehow negates all of the GOAT-level seasons and the mind-boggling peaks he ascended to? Sports fans and their emotional, reactionary hot takes are the worst.

Looking ahead, factoring in natural aging, the injury, and months to heal and rest, I'd still expect him to perform like a top ten player next year, albeit the lower end. I'd guess the 25 PER, .200 WS/48, 8+ BPM days are behind him. He's adjusted for loss of athleticism and elevation before, so I don't doubt he can do it again. The ceiling will just be lower this time around.

The Lakers need an athletic, physical center who can do some dirty work and should do everything possible to acquire guys who can snipe from beyond the arc, play solid defense, and buy into their role. They also need a playmaker who can run the offense a bit; there were times this season where Schroder made Chalmers look like Jason Kidd. Not sure how much faith I have in Pelinka, although you would think the necessary changes are abundantly clear at this point.

It's been a blast watching his run as the best in the game for so long. Those days are over, but I'll enjoy seeing what the old guy can muster up in his final handful of years. You have to appreciate rare talents while they are still around.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Schroder’s comments after the game are... interesting.

Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

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Read on Twitter

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Must say I didn't see this coming. I honestly thought Dennis didn't like playing with the Lakers/LeBron because he didn't get to be primary ball handler. Also though maybe he just didn't get along with the players/franchise.

I suppose it's good news though. They don't really have any other options they can afford