The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[nzahir]

I like Myles Turner for them, if it's not super costly. He's a guy who can play 30 minutes with AD as a spacer, so he can be a rolling threat again and cook in the mid post. They don't have assets to acquire another high level playmaker, so better double down on defense with the addition of shooting.

Buddy Hield is another Schroder level guy, who looks decent on a bball-reference page, but won't play a lot of minutes in the playoffs. And he's massively overpaid

At least Buddy can shoot it though

Is Kemba now less likely or more likely if you had to pick to be an option?

[MisterHibachi]

I like Myles Turner for them, if it's not super costly. He's a guy who can play 30 minutes with AD as a spacer, so he can be a rolling threat again and cook in the mid post. They don't have assets to acquire another high level playmaker, so better double down on defense with the addition of shooting.

Buddy Hield is another Schroder level guy, who looks decent on a bball-reference page, but won't play a lot of minutes in the playoffs. And he's massively overpaid

Hield is a real shooter though. His defense might be bad, but they can afford some bad defenders in the lineup. They desperately need some shooting, and not fake shooters like KCP who don't even want to get shots up.

[Mos_Heat]

Hield is a real shooter though. His defense might be bad, but they can afford some bad defenders in the lineup. They desperately need some shooting, and not fake shooters like KCP who don't even want to get shots up.

At least Buddy can shoot it though

Is Kemba now less likely or more likely if you had to pick to be an option?

That's not enough for a 20mil guy tho. Yes he can shot, and he even makes pull up jumpers. But he can't run a P'n'R, has 0.1 career FTr, not fast or can't jump(not a great finisher, which limits his close out attacks) and a bad defender. Adding a guard with this skillset, who's small for his position, not athletic and almost 30 for this type of money would be another huge mistake

[dcstanley]

Not sure how I would feel about Kemba. His age and health are obviously massive concerns but his last full playoff run he averaged 19.6 PPG on 58 TS% despite shooting 32% from 3. The Celtics played two defenses (Raptors and Heat) that are as good as any defense the Lakers would face next season.

If he still has some juice left he's a cut above CJ and helps address the Lakers shot-creation and shooting woes better than any of the other alternatives mentioned.

[tone wone]

Point Bron should be dead and buried and never to be talked about again. I hated watching it. Contrary to what you hear, Lebron is a wonderful off-ball player and having that aspect of his game left completely dormant (Like in 2020) is a poor use of his skill-set.

Unless a legit 20+ppg scorer is added, LA is going to need Lebron to score 25ppg in order for this offense to be respectable. As he ages, being on-ball ALL THE TIME makes that harder NOT easier. The more athleticism he loses the more he needs other ball-handlers and playmaker to set him up.

So you want scoring Lebron?

We need a guard who can score very well off of iso or catch and shoot

I think CJ is out of our price range, but he would be great

Rozier is good and plays defense, but not sure he is enough

Hield is a great catch and shoot guy who can be used like how Lebron used Korver a lot, but now also has AD so you cant key in on Hield

Ideally, LA desperately needs a ballhandler whose a legit pullup threat. Teams just go under screens and dare all their ball-handlers to shoot. This just worsens the spacing issues and makes it almost impossible to run pick n rolls with AD diving to the rim.

The elephant in the room about LA's lack of shooting is neither Lebron nor AD have any real gravity as shooters; so when AD is at the 4 and Lebron at the 3 with a center on floor that 3/5ths of your starting 5 who don't stretch defenses. You're gonna always feel cramped in the halfcourt with that setup.

[Greyhound]

Point Bron should be dead and buried and never to be talked about again. I hated watching it. Contrary to what you hear, Lebron is a wonderful off-ball player and having that aspect of his game left completely dormant (Like in 2020) is a poor use of his skill-set.

Unless a legit 20+ppg scorer is added, LA is going to need Lebron to score 25ppg in order for this offense to be respectable. As he ages, being on-ball ALL THE TIME makes that harder NOT easier. The more athleticism he loses the more he needs other ball-handlers and playmaker to set him up.

What are you talking about?

The Lakers won a championship with “Point Bron”.

As he ages I believe it to be the best utilization of his skills. Your watching likes/ dislikes are no reason for the Lakers to stray from what worked/ works.

Double digit assist LeBron made Anthony Davis the focal point of the Lakers offense. That was the best utilization of the teams two stars.

It forced teams to make tough decisions with their small guards against the Lakers size. Schroder in the starting lineup this past season made the Lakers a lot more conventional (and easier to game-plan for) compared to the season before.

Not having a small guard in the lineup also made the Lakers more adapt at switching small to big on pick and rolls.

When the Lakers moved to their small switchable lineups (with AD at center and LeBron at the point) they were a wrecking ball.

[nzahir]

Hield is a real shooter though. His defense might be bad, but they can afford some bad defenders in the lineup. They desperately need some shooting, and not fake shooters like KCP who don't even want to get shots up.

At least Buddy can shoot it though

Is Kemba now less likely or more likely if you had to pick to be an option?

That's not enough for a 20mil guy tho. Yes he can shot, and he even makes pull up jumpers. But he can't run a P'n'R, has 0.1 career FTr, not fast or can't jump(not a great finisher, which limits his close out attacks) and a bad defender. Adding a guard with this skillset, who's small for his position, not athletic and almost 30 for this type of money would be another huge mistake

What are the better realistic options?

Continue to be a team who is at the bottom 5 in 3 point shooting?

Hield's defensive numbers have improved, but I dont watch him to really know if his defense is actually ok

He isn't just a 3 point specialist, he can score, but yes he does have limitations

[nzahir]

Point Bron should be dead and buried and never to be talked about again. I hated watching it. Contrary to what you hear, Lebron is a wonderful off-ball player and having that aspect of his game left completely dormant (Like in 2020) is a poor use of his skill-set.

Unless a legit 20+ppg scorer is added, LA is going to need Lebron to score 25ppg in order for this offense to be respectable. As he ages, being on-ball ALL THE TIME makes that harder NOT easier. The more athleticism he loses the more he needs other ball-handlers and playmaker to set him up.

What are you talking about?

The Lakers won a championship with “Point Bron”.

As he ages I believe it to be the best utilization of his skills. Your watching likes/ dislikes are no reason for the Lakers to stray from what worked/ works.

Double digit assist LeBron made Anthony Davis the focal point of the Lakers offense. That was the best utilization of the teams two stars.

It forced teams to make tough decisions with their small guards against the Lakers size. Schroder in the starting lineup this past season made the Lakers a lot more conventional (and easier to game-plan for) compared to the season before.

Not having a small guard in the lineup also made the Lakers more adapt at switching small to big on pick and rolls.

When the Lakers moved to their small switchable lineups (with AD at center and LeBron at the point) they were a wrecking ball.

This is what I think, mostly

But we do still need a guy at the guard spot who can create and score by himself and shoot it

CJ would be perfect, but not enough assets

Hield is realistic

Rozier is realistic, but is he really enough?

Need a 3/4 who can also shoot it and hopefully play some d and create a bit

[Fadeaway_J]

Point Bron should be dead and buried and never to be talked about again. I hated watching it. Contrary to what you hear, Lebron is a wonderful off-ball player and having that aspect of his game left completely dormant (Like in 2020) is a poor use of his skill-set.

Unless a legit 20+ppg scorer is added, LA is going to need Lebron to score 25ppg in order for this offense to be respectable. As he ages, being on-ball ALL THE TIME makes that harder NOT easier. The more athleticism he loses the more he needs other ball-handlers and playmaker to set him up.

What are you talking about?

The Lakers won a championship with “Point Bron”.

As he ages I believe it to be the best utilization of his skills. Your watching likes/ dislikes are no reason for the Lakers to stray from what worked/ works.

Double digit assist LeBron made Anthony Davis the focal point of the Lakers offense. That was the best utilization of the teams two stars.

It forced teams to make tough decisions with their small guards against the Lakers size. Schroder in the starting lineup this past season made the Lakers a lot more conventional (and easier to game-plan for) compared to the season before.

Not having a small guard in the lineup also made the Lakers more adapt at switching small to big on pick and rolls.

When the Lakers moved to their small switchable lineups (with AD at center and LeBron at the point) they were a wrecking ball.

This is what I think, mostly

But we do still need a guy at the guard spot who can create and score by himself and shoot it

CJ would be perfect, but not enough assets

Hield is realistic

Rozier is realistic, but is he really enough?

Need a 3/4 who can also shoot it and hopefully play some d and create a bit

Not sure how realistic he is but Rozier would be much better than Hield.

[nzahir]

What are you talking about?

The Lakers won a championship with “Point Bron”.

As he ages I believe it to be the best utilization of his skills. Your watching likes/ dislikes are no reason for the Lakers to stray from what worked/ works.

Double digit assist LeBron made Anthony Davis the focal point of the Lakers offense. That was the best utilization of the teams two stars.

It forced teams to make tough decisions with their small guards against the Lakers size. Schroder in the starting lineup this past season made the Lakers a lot more conventional (and easier to game-plan for) compared to the season before.

Not having a small guard in the lineup also made the Lakers more adapt at switching small to big on pick and rolls.

When the Lakers moved to their small switchable lineups (with AD at center and LeBron at the point) they were a wrecking ball.

This is what I think, mostly

But we do still need a guy at the guard spot who can create and score by himself and shoot it

CJ would be perfect, but not enough assets

Hield is realistic

Rozier is realistic, but is he really enough?

Need a 3/4 who can also shoot it and hopefully play some d and create a bit

Not sure how realistic he is but Rozier would be much better than Hield.

Is Rozier really better than Hield?

Better defender most likely, but not as good as a 3 point shooter and knowing our luck, he will reverse his growth

But say we could do Kuzma, Alfonzo, our 1st and a 2nd for him somehow (not even sure its enough), we would have

Rozier, Pope, Bron, AD, Gasol
AC (re sign), THT (re sign)

Would try to get an exception for Dennis in a sign and trade if we cant figure out a deal

But who could we get with a 15-20ish M exception?

Bring back Wes and Ben for the minimums if they want

I am fine with Trez leaving if we can't properly use him on offense since his D is pretty bad

[homecourtloss]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

[nzahir]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

Hahaha, none

Clips would have kicked our asses, maybe even Utah

We don't have the 3 point shooting to compete and then some people thought we were good the whole season lol

Need to add a high volume 3 point shooting guard for sure and then upgrade the kuzma and kieff spots

Need more consistency there

Batum for the mle would be great if the clips can't pay him

I think Reggie has priced himself out for both teams

He is legit better than Dennis Scrodum

Pelinka is an embarrassment and has been an AWFUL gm

Time to step up or get booted, Lakers are nobodies w/o Lebron and Klutch

[falcolombardi]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

to be fair, 2 game sample sizes are pretty small ans flukey
i could see cavs (with kyrie) , miami or 2020 lakers doing it ...or not, as i say 2 games is a very small sample size, it would be unlikely but to be fair, also was clippers won (they probably lose this series without kawhi 8/10 times)

the issue is more than with kawhi, this is not a big deal, just a thingh that happened, with lebron EVERYTHINGH can be a stain on his career somehow

lebron could miss the playoffs at year 37 after missing 55 games with i hurt and it would ruin his legacy somehow.

[homecourtloss]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

to be fair, 2 game sample sizes are pretty small ans flukey
i could see cavs (with kyrie) , miami or 2020 lakers doing it ...or not, as i say 2 games is a very small sample size, it would be unlikely but to be fair, also was clippers won (they probably lose this series without kawhi 8/10 times)

the issue is more than with kawhi, this is not a big deal, just a thingh that happened, with lebron EVERYTHINGH can be a stain on his career somehow

lebron could miss the playoffs at year 37 after missing 55 games with i hurt and it would ruin his legacy somehow.

Kyrie...I don’t see it at all. Not two games in a row. Cavs were awful with Bron off court in 2016/2017. Clippers are +18 per 100 possessions without Kawhi on court and they’ve played good teams. I cannot imagine a scenario in which any LeBron team was good enough to be +18 with him off court.

You’re 100% right about the legacy thing. Imagine James out and AD still playing and winning two games. It would be a legacy referendum.

[GSP]

I used to **** on Ty Lue but hes a legit coach. Obviously Spo is the best but i think Lue might be better than Vogel who cant coach an offense

[AmIWrongDude]

Last years Lakers team wins the ship this year. Only thing that would stop them is a fully healthy Nets team. I’m just sad seeing who all of the other “contenders” this year are.

Bron is old as dirt and ain’t gonna have many more chances. This was the year for #5 as the man and idk how many other chances he’ll have.

[letskissbro]

Lue and the Clippers are just reminding everybody of what the 2016-18 Cavs already proved which is that 5 out is so clearly the future of offense and it's only a matter of time before it's adopted league-wide.

I remember there was this sentiment going around on here during the Warriors' dominance that motion offense was the future and 'LeBron-ball' was inefficient and limited the ceiling of his teams because it took his shooters out of rhythm or some bs. I always argued it was the opposite and I'm clearly right

Team success very clearly hinges more on having reliable outside shooting at this point than even having superstars. The gap between the best player in the world and the 12th best player has become completely muddied because if you surround that borderline guy with enough shooting, his job becomes so easy that he can match anybody's production. I don't even know if 2-way play is much of a factor compared to just having guys who can reliably knock down shots.

It's a shame that AD refuses to play his position and Pelinka is allergic to good roster construction. Between the 2019 offseason and the Lowry trade they've had multiple opportunities to put together an all-time dominant team. Like perennial 67+ win level. LA could've feasibly run knockdown shooters around the greatest decision maker and the greatest PnR big ever but instead they chose to go 1990s tall ball and make it as hard as possible on their superstars to generate offense. They kinda lucked out last season with it being a bit of a gap year without a really dominant 3 point shooting team.

Now they're in a tough spot and have to maneuver around a tight cap situation because Pelinka isn't good at his job. What they need to do is just go all out on offense and not even put a second into what damage it does to their defense from this year. LeBron and AD on their own will be enough to make it passable

[Gooner]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

None, because everything revolves around LeBron. LeBron system has it's pros an cons.

[letskissbro]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

None, because everything revolves around LeBron. LeBron system has it's pros an cons.

The Clippers are literally running the "LeBron system" lmao. The only difference is they have better players

[Gooner]

Which one of LeBron’s teams could ever defeat a team like the Jazz two times in a row without him?

None, because everything revolves around LeBron. LeBron system has it's pros an cons.

The Clippers are literally running the "LeBron system" lmao. The only difference is they have better players

Not really.