The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[Mos_Heat]

Yeah, that's kinda the problem. They need shooting, wing defense and shot creation. A lot of holes and not a lot of resources

It’s not impossible though

I think a guy like Kemba or Buddy helps fix shot creation and shooting. Kemba shouldn’t be too tough to get

I listed some decent wing defenders above that are reasonable

Imagine if we could do Dennis and Kuz/Kcp for Kemba
Kcp or Kuz, 1st, 2nds, Alfonzo for Barnes
Re sign AC, THT, Ben for the min
Let Drummond walk
Trez: Not sure if he walks, maybe sigh and trade or opts in

If we can’t get a better stretch 4 than Kieff bring him back for the min

Kemba, Mle for a guard (Batum?), Lebron, AD, Gasol
AC, Ben/THT, Barnes, Trez/vet min lob threat

THT sign and trade maybe?

We have a lot of moves we can make

Kemba's knees are shot. He's not a huge upgrade over Scroder if at all. I don't know how real were Bogdanovic rumors a year ago, but if it was real, they really blew it.

Barnes is ok as a stretch 4, he can guard bigger wings like Kawhi, but fairly useless against guys like Booker or Harden. Plus Lebron should play the 4 anyways so it's not the best fit. Covington could be nice with AD behind his back, but he's 1-on-1 defender either

[TroubleS0me]

@ least Jordan is not the only one to be eliminated in RD1,

its still an amazing accomplishment for him to not be eliminated in RD1 until now after all these years

When LBJ is leading your team in 3PT FG% in the playoffs
thats when you know its bad.
the 07 Cavs had better shooting than this

[Mos_Heat]

To me, the best route is to bring pretty much the whole team back with little tweaks here and there. Pray that THT would make some strides and then flip him, Schroder and 2027 pick for a guy who can at least shoot, make entry passes and run P'n'R with Lebron and AD

[falcolombardi]

@ least Jordan is not the only one to be eliminated in RD1,

its still an amazing accomplishment for him to not be eliminated in RD1 until now after all these years

When LBJ is leading your team in 3PT FG% in the playoffs
thats when you know its bad.
the 07 Cavs had better shooting than this

i think almost everyone in the all time greats has been elininated in round 1 at least once, specially if it was before or after their prime

[nzahir]

Yeah, that's kinda the problem. They need shooting, wing defense and shot creation. A lot of holes and not a lot of resources

It’s not impossible though

I think a guy like Kemba or Buddy helps fix shot creation and shooting. Kemba shouldn’t be too tough to get

I listed some decent wing defenders above that are reasonable

Imagine if we could do Dennis and Kuz/Kcp for Kemba
Kcp or Kuz, 1st, 2nds, Alfonzo for Barnes
Re sign AC, THT, Ben for the min
Let Drummond walk
Trez: Not sure if he walks, maybe sigh and trade or opts in

If we can’t get a better stretch 4 than Kieff bring him back for the min

Kemba, Mle for a guard (Batum?), Lebron, AD, Gasol
AC, Ben/THT, Barnes, Trez/vet min lob threat

THT sign and trade maybe?

We have a lot of moves we can make

Kemba's knees are shot. He's not a huge upgrade over Scroder if at all. I don't know how real were Bogdanovic rumors a year ago, but if it was real, they really blew it.

Barnes is ok as a stretch 4, he can guard bigger wings like Kawhi, but fairly useless against guys like Booker or Harden. Plus Lebron should play the 4 anyways so it's not the best fit. Covington could be nice with AD behind his back, but he's 1-on-1 defender either

Batum for mle?
OPJ is likely too expensive for mle

I think Kemba is a much better fit, injuries are the concern though

I wonder if we could get Wiggins, but I wonder what he thinks about Lebron after getting shipped out

[Dupp]

Why didn’t crowder try in Cleveland?

[thebigbird]

Wes is a guy I’d like to see back. He never should’ve been out of the rotation, imo. Solid shooter and wing defender. The Lakers need multiple of that type.

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[JLei]

Expected but disappointing result. Team is built around having 2 of the top 5 players in the world being awesome, great defense and just enough shooting to get by. Last year they had that and won the title pretty easily (1 seed, beat Clips and Bucks back to back right before the shutdown, walked through the bubble) this year they did not have that.

Definitely not a blow it up offseason. Just need to get AD and Lebron healthy and make some changes on the edges.

Before AD's injury they were 21-6 with AD completely out of shape and Lebron in 2nd gear and Lebron kicking it up a notch after looking like the likely MVP (rather close but he had narrative on his side). Injuries then took a toll. And even then they were in control of the series until AD went down.

The formula isn't broken but highly dependent on having those 2 healthy and then throwing 3 bodies on the court that can defend and whoever is making a shot at that point. Finding those players is key. Last year Rondo, KCP and Green were enough. This year they really had no one once KCP's confidence went.

I'll say Kuzma really disappointed in that series, wasn't expecting him to be a complete offensive waste and only being able to do role player stuff (offensive rebound, play defense). I'd be on the fence of whether to try to further develop him or try to move him in a trade.

Anyways injuries suck but they'll be back.

[nzahir]

Expected but disappointing result. Team is built around having 2 of the top 5 players in the world being awesome, great defense and just enough shooting to get by. Last year they had that and won the title pretty easily (1 seed, beat Clips and Bucks back to back right before the shutdown, walked through the bubble) this year they did not have that.

Definitely not a blow it up offseason. Just need to get AD and Lebron healthy and make some changes on the edges.

Before AD's injury they were 21-6 with AD completely out of shape and Lebron in 2nd gear and Lebron kicking it up a notch after looking like the likely MVP (rather close but he had narrative on his side). Injuries then took a toll. And even then they were in control of the series until AD went down.

The formula isn't broken but highly dependent on having those 2 healthy and then throwing 3 bodies on the court that can defend and whoever is making a shot at that point. Finding those players is key. Last year Rondo, KCP and Green were enough. This year they really had no one once KCP's confidence went.

I'll say Kuzma really disappointed in that series, wasn't expecting him to be a complete offensive waste and only being able to do role player stuff (offensive rebound, play defense). I'd be on the fence of whether to try to further develop him or try to move him in a trade.

Anyways injuries suck but they'll be back.

I’m so out on Kuzma

Too inconsistent rn for a team trying to win it all and a bad fit

We need more shooting, end of discussion

Pelinka has some type of mental blockage to not understand this

The biggest move is all dependent on Dennis

Either sign and trade, keep him, sign him and trade at deadline or let him walk (worst option)

For sure bring back AC

Either bring THT back or get something for him

Then deal with other needs depending on what has happened in these previous steps

I’m expecting a ton of new pieces

[Heej]

Don't see why anyone would have faith in Schroeder. He's too terrible a shooter to be on a LeBron team. Him and Kuz gotta go

[Mos_Heat]

Batum for mle?
OPJ is likely too expensive for mle

I think Kemba is a much better fit, injuries are the concern though

I wonder if we could get Wiggins, but I wonder what he thinks about Lebron after getting shipped out

Batum can't defend. He would add passing and shooting, tho. Wiggins is too expensive and not good enough

[Mos_Heat]

Don't see why anyone would have faith in Schroeder. He's too terrible a shooter to be on a LeBron team. Him and Kuz gotta go

His perfomance in games 4-6 was trully pathetic for a guy who wants starter money

[Freighttrain]

THT Kuz & Schröder & any available picks gives us what? A max guy perhaps? I'm desperate

[nzahir]

Batum for mle?
OPJ is likely too expensive for mle

I think Kemba is a much better fit, injuries are the concern though

I wonder if we could get Wiggins, but I wonder what he thinks about Lebron after getting shipped out

Batum can't defend. He would add passing and shooting, tho. Wiggins is too expensive and not good enough

Batums defensive numbers aren’t bad according to rpm and RAPTOR and from watching him as well

Long frame and arms

Can hit the 3

Would be a solid fit

I feel like he stays with the clippers sadly, but who knows

[Mos_Heat]

THT Kuz & Schröder & any available picks gives us what? A max guy perhaps? I'm desperate

Depends on how THT and Schroder will look next season. That package + 2027 pick and 2028 swap might be good enough for a mid tier star

[JLei]

THT Kuz & Schröder & any available picks gives us what? A max guy perhaps? I'm desperate

Might get you Kemba.

Being more injured will be fun but high risk high reward. Kemba would be perfect. And AD and Lebron + KCP/ Caruso is like the perfect team to cover his defensive weaknesses (might be the only team that really could).

[PaulieWal]

THT Kuz & Schröder & any available picks gives us what? A max guy perhaps? I'm desperate

Might get you Kemba.

Being more injured will be fun but high risk high reward. Kemba would be perfect. And AD and Lebron + KCP/ Caruso is like the perfect team to cover his defensive weaknesses (might be the only team that really could).

No way, having 3 injury prone stars - I know LeBron is not injury prone but just penciling in some missed game due to age and more wear n tear, those would be some incredibly low odds of having your 3 best players healthy for the playoffs. The next guy they get - if they get one has to be someone with a clean injury history IMO.

[JLei]

THT Kuz & Schröder & any available picks gives us what? A max guy perhaps? I'm desperate

Might get you Kemba.

Being more injured will be fun but high risk high reward. Kemba would be perfect. And AD and Lebron + KCP/ Caruso is like the perfect team to cover his defensive weaknesses (might be the only team that really could).

No way, having 3 injury prone stars - I know LeBron is not injury prone but just penciling in some missed game due to age and more wear n tear, those would be some incredibly low odds of having your 3 best players healthy for the playoffs. The next guy they get - if they get one has to be someone with a clean injury history IMO.

There's a window here (Lebron is old), 1 or 2 runs left. Depends on how far off you think they are. I think just holding steady and they probably are the best team if healthy so I wouldn't do that. But if you think he's gonna regress a bit (down 15-20% versus 2020/ 2021 pre ankle sprain Lebron) you'd be more likely to go for a moonshot.

[Greyhound]

Phoenix is better than Atlanta, Toronto and Boston teams that LeBron faced in the conference finals when he was in Cleveland, I don't think anyone can disagree with that. Injuries played the part for sure, but you pay the bigger price for that in the west.

LeBron got injured because an eastern conference player dove on his ankle like it was a football. Really no idea what that has to do with playing in the West or “paying the bigger price for that in the West.”

Solomon Hill made a natural basketball play, it was just bad luck. It was really disappointing to see people attack him for nothing.

That play may not have been intended to injure LeBron, but there was nothing “natural” about it. He certainly did not care if he happened to injure him.

He dove into a man’s leg going after a ball that was out of reach. It was stupid fake hustle, by an end of the bench bum attempting to impress his coach with his “hard play”.

[nzahir]

THT Kuz & Schröder & any available picks gives us what? A max guy perhaps? I'm desperate

Might get you Kemba.

Being more injured will be fun but high risk high reward. Kemba would be perfect. And AD and Lebron + KCP/ Caruso is like the perfect team to cover his defensive weaknesses (might be the only team that really could).

No way, having 3 injury prone stars - I know LeBron is not injury prone but just penciling in some missed game due to age and more wear n tear, those would be some incredibly low odds of having your 3 best players healthy for the playoffs. The next guy they get - if they get one has to be someone with a clean injury history IMO.

Say BKN lives up to their potential and wins it all, so we have enough talent?

Hell no

Need to add top end guys unless we can create a very very solid team that is built well, and idk if we can or if I can trust Pelinka

Our #3 guy can’t be Dennis