Woj: LeBron James To Lakers For 4 Yr/154 Mil

[DROB27]

Must suck for Cavs fans he give the lakers 4 years but insisted on doing 1+1 deals with his home town team

[XxIronChainzxX]

Lebron signs with Lakers - "Hurr durr he gave up on winning", even though they have assets and cap space to form a better team than CLE.

Cleveland is a dumpster fire. I'm sure he's going to form a better team than Cleveland. IMO, with the potential defense around him he's well on his way right now compared to this 2018 team. But "a better team that CLE" wouldn't necessarily make the WCF this year, going up against either GSW or Houston in the 2nd round. To even make the Finals he needs a team a team as good as one with 2 MVPs in their prime + bubble all-NBA supporting talent. He's an underdog for the Finals with Kawhi on this team added for free. That's not a great situation for winning.

A team with Lebron has a chance in any conference, it wont be as easy, but I also imagine the youth and talent we surround him with will give him a punchers chance at the very least of making it to the Finals.

HOU was one CP3 injury away from beating GSW.

Give Lebron some gasoline and a stout defense, and you're looking at a solid shot.

LeBron is incredible, no doubt, but we've seen him with a dysfunctional dumpster fire against GSW, and it was a ugly sweep. I think he matches up way better against Houston. Who's going to actually defend him properly?

I think if you give him Kawhi then he has a shot.

I wouldn't give Houston a pass either. LeBron proved down 3-2 that it's not over till its over. GSW could have beaten a healthy Houston team 2 more times IMO. But even assuming Houston could win, there was a great supporting cast around CPE and Harden. I'm not sure LA is there even with Kawhi and losing no one, and remember that the clock is ticking against LBJ.

The lucky thing is that GSW is soft. Their main guys have all folded multiple times under pressure, so I think if LBJ can narrow the talent gap enough without declining too much to father time, LA absolutely has a shot at another ring.

[NPZ]

Must suck for Cavs fans he give the lakers 4 years but insisted on doing 1+1 deals with his home town team

I get your point, but I doubt they took that personally with what they already knew about Dan The Man. Most of em probably didn't blame him. That's what you have to do with a nothing franchise (til he won them a title) to keep the owner in line. Dominique Wilkins and Karl Malone probably wish they knew to do that in the 80s while they languished for 12+ years of prime, one true star or superstar short of a duo.

[ButCanMarkDunk]

Cleveland is a dumpster fire. I'm sure he's going to form a better team than Cleveland. IMO, with the potential defense around him he's well on his way right now compared to this 2018 team. But "a better team that CLE" wouldn't necessarily make the WCF this year, going up against either GSW or Houston in the 2nd round. To even make the Finals he needs a team a team as good as one with 2 MVPs in their prime + bubble all-NBA supporting talent. He's an underdog for the Finals with Kawhi on this team added for free. That's not a great situation for winning.

A team with Lebron has a chance in any conference, it wont be as easy, but I also imagine the youth and talent we surround him with will give him a punchers chance at the very least of making it to the Finals.

HOU was one CP3 injury away from beating GSW.

Give Lebron some gasoline and a stout defense, and you're looking at a solid shot.

LeBron is incredible, no doubt, but we've seen him with a dysfunctional dumpster fire against GSW, and it was a ugly sweep. I think he matches up way better against Houston. Who's going to actually defend him properly?

I think if you give him Kawhi then he has a shot.

I wouldn't give Houston a pass either. LeBron proved down 3-2 that it's not over till its over. GSW could have beaten a healthy Houston team 2 more times IMO. But even assuming Houston could win, there was a great supporting cast around CPE and Harden. I'm not sure LA is there even with Kawhi and losing no one, and remember that the clock is ticking against LBJ.

The lucky thing is that GSW is soft. Their main guys have all folded multiple times under pressure, so I think if LBJ can narrow the talent gap enough without declining too much to father time, LA absolutely has a shot at another ring.

If Kawhi comes to the Lakers, they will beat the Warriors. Im going to have to throw down a stack on that bet.

[NPZ]

It's as if you took a 1-year break from the NBA and just woke today. Magic/Pelinka took over a team that was capped out with no draft picks. They miraculously got rid of Mozgov's contract and even got a pick in the deal, which was used to draft Kuzma (which allowed them to trade down with their other pick and select Josh Hart in the 2nd round). They signed KCP last year which opened up a communication channel with Lebron's circle (and filled a huge hole at SG). I believe Lebron told them a year ago he was coming. That would explain why Magic then broke up their league-leading bench and traded Nance/Clarkson in a salary dump and obtained another 1st round pick. It was a controversial move among Laker fans, because why send out young talent without knowing if you can sign anyone with that cap space? Ironically, Cleveland helped the Lakers sign Lebron by doing that deal.

There were a series of moves that Magic and Pelinka made to clear the way for this offseason to take place. Saying they "just happened to have cap space" is just silly. It didn't happen by mistake.

They dumped D'Lo, too. Another solid move.

West built capspace to acquire Shaq over the course of at least 2 years and mad dashed two of their recent 1st rounders off to the worst team (Vancouver) to get a high 2nd rounder. Dumped Vlade for a rookie on the new rook salary scale. Logo gets all the credit rightfully, but no one is ballsy enough to sit there and say LA got Shaq just cuz. It took some similar well-timed criticisms from fans in the paper to also piss Shaq off as Gil's small time comment about "getting his team back" might've pissed off Bron. West also got in there first with a max offer that ORL had to counter. Though ORL wound up offering more, the damage of trying to leverage was done. We'll find out all the things the Mag/Pelinka FO did to get this done in coming years.

[wco81]

Raptors fan accusing another team of being soft?

[Revived]

Read on Twitter

[zimpy27]

... it's not too late for LeBron to back out...

[Soca]

... it's not too late for LeBron to back out...

[DS17]

[000078ude54]

Yeah it's seriously pathetic and embarrassing. I'm seeing that same sentiment on other Cavs message boards like "WE LOVE YOU LEBRON I HOPE U WIN MORE CHAMPIONSHIP, THANK YOU LEBRON, LEBRON APPRECIATION THREAD". Like seriously where is your self respect and dignity? He just ditched your team again. You're acting like a wife whose husband just left her for a younger woman but she's grateful because he bought her a BMW 3 series a few years ago. My theory is that they're all brainwashed by the media's huge pro LeBron propaganda campaign this last season. They set it all up on purpose so nobody would get mad at him for leaving his hometown team again, this time just to become a movie star lmao. It really makes you lose respect for your fellow human beings to see how mentally weak they are.

Preach.

We live in a culture where the masses are prisoners of the moment and heavily steeped in cognitive dissonance.

How many "LeBron could surpass/has surpassed Jordan" stories did we all read and hear over the last year? Elhassan's statement that LeBron just needs one more title to be the GOAT is a perfect example of how people have lost their minds.

LeBron won't ever be KOBE, let alone Jordan. MJ has him beat easily in the numbers and intangibles but somehow we're expected to entertain the bull "LeBron GOAT" narrative endlessly.

*SNAP*
Yep, this is going in my cringe folder

Responses like this prove my point. Prisoners of the moment with short term memory (if any) and a heaping dose of intellectual dishonesty.

[Potential]

Wherever LeBron goes, I go. #LAKERNATION

[Stix]

Bad decision. He should've signed with the Warriors for the min.

[kobe808lak]

Yea but Warriors still da best!

You guys are a sad bunch.

[loserX]

He could have taken the most money in Cleveland. Didn't.
He could have superteamed it up in Houston, or at least tried to. Didn't.
He could have kept the easiest road to the finals in Philly. Didn't. (I haven't read the whole thread but I assume all the haters who said he'd never head west are busy eating crow instead of making up new reasons to bash him, yes?)

Seems to me this is mostly about family, and more power to him for doing it.

[The Moose]

Preach.

We live in a culture where the masses are prisoners of the moment and heavily steeped in cognitive dissonance.

How many "LeBron could surpass/has surpassed Jordan" stories did we all read and hear over the last year? Elhassan's statement that LeBron just needs one more title to be the GOAT is a perfect example of how people have lost their minds.

LeBron won't ever be KOBE, let alone Jordan. MJ has him beat easily in the numbers and intangibles but somehow we're expected to entertain the bull "LeBron GOAT" narrative endlessly.

*SNAP*
Yep, this is going in my cringe folder

Responses like this prove my point. Prisoners of the moment with short term memory (if any) and a heaping dose of intellectual dishonesty.

You start with the 'everyone around me is a brainwashed sheep, only I'm smart enough to wade through the smoke and navigate to the truth' spiel.
This is of course to defend your opinion that Lebron is a worse player than both Kobe and MJ. You believe that these rankings are objective fact and that anyone who dares to disagree with your opinion is "heavily steeped in cognitive dissonance'.

Your justification of Jordan being a superior player is based on "the numbers", a notion which is very easy to debate considering Lebron is superior in plenty of numerical categories, and the "intangibles" which by definition are immeasurable.

You also claim that my post was showing intellectual dishonesty, which is strange considering there was nothing of intellectual substance in the post.

[000078ude54]

*SNAP*
Yep, this is going in my cringe folder

Responses like this prove my point. Prisoners of the moment with short term memory (if any) and a heaping dose of intellectual dishonesty.

You start with the 'everyone around me is a brainwashed sheep, only I'm smart enough to wade through the smoke and navigate to the truth' spiel.
This is of course to defend your opinion that Lebron is a worse player than both Kobe and MJ. You believe that these rankings are objective fact and that anyone who dares to disagree with your opinion is "heavily steeped in cognitive dissonance'.

Your justification of Jordan being a superior player is based on "the numbers", a notion which is very easy to debate considering Lebron is superior in plenty of numerical categories, and the "intangibles" which by definition are immeasurable.

You also claim that my post was showing intellectual dishonesty, which is strange considering there was nothing of intellectual substance in the post.

I never made all-or-nothing statements. You're interested in defending the possibility that LeBron James can be favorably compared to Michael Jordan in the GOAT discussion. Setting aside personal fanship, that's a tall order for anyone. Jordan will always be ahead of LeBron in championships, career scoring average, and individual awards. Some might say the debate can and should end there. Citing those numbers, I'm one of them. Intellectual dishonesty comes from ignoring major statistical categories. Here's a few:

Finals record: Jordan 6 for 6, James 3 for 9
Career scoring average: Jordan 30.1, James 27.2
Playoff career scoring average: Jordan 33.4, James 28.9
MVPs: Jordan 5, James 4
Finals MVPs: Jordan 6, James 3
Defensive POY: Jordan 1, James 0

If we're judging just from those numbers, it's impossible for LeBron to ever be considered the GOAT. From here the only recourse for James supporters is turning to the esoteric, abstract criteria of personal likes and dislikes. That's a wash. Inadmissible pseudo-evidence.

Jordan played his last game for the Bulls 20 years ago. Despite the omnipresence of YouTube clips, we've entered a time period where memories of Jordan's dominance - both statistically and will to win - are evaporating. That's fostering a lot of the "LeBron is GOAT" talk. And frankly, that's human nature. It's the "new is better" argument that what we see in front of us most often appears most real.

I would also say anyone who has watched the NBA consistently the last 30 years can appreciate the Jordan > Kobe > LeBron hierarchy.

[zshawn10]

The 3 main beat writers (Dave McMenamin-ESPN, Joe Vardon-Cleveland.com, and Jason Lloyd-The Athletic) that covered the Cavs over the past 4 years just did a podcast together, giving an inside look at the Cavs team and the relationships between the players.

A lot of interesting notes from the podcast:

Vardon and McMenamin were notified by LeBron's camp (or maybe the Cavs camp. They were vague on this) on Thursday, before lebron opted out, that the Lakers was pretty much a done deal.

Immediately after the 2016 Championship, someone important in LeBron's camp told Vardon that LeBron's next plan was to go to the Lakers to 'play with his friends' (Vardon believes the 'friends' part meant the banana boat)

Kyrie never made strong relationships within the Cavs organization/FO, both before and while LeBron was in CLE. Kyrie didn't like Mike Brown because Larry Hughes, a client of Kyrie agent, already had a bad relationship with Brown. There was also serious debate within the Cavs to choose Dion Waiters over Kyrie at one point.

Kyrie didn't like Lue very much, especially after Ty Lue told the media that "players need to put their brands aside", meaning Love and Kyrie need to stop worrying about endorsements and trust LeBron to lead the team. Ty Lue admitted to Dave McMenamin that Kyrie has treated him like a stranger since day 1 and that it is 'impossible to break through to him'. (which may have been why Kyrie made those remarks this year about coaching styles)

Kyrie did not appreciate LeBron questions directed at him. McMenamin was writing a story about LeBron's improved 3 point shot but Kyrie was annoyed when he approached him about any noticeable changes in LeBron's technique. The media also made a deal about LeBron wearing the "I can't breathe" shirts, despite Kyrie being the one to wear it first. All 3 reporters believe this clearly bothered Kyrie.

Lloyd approached Lebron at the start of this past season and told him that 'you and Kyrie hid the poor status of the relationship very well the past few years' and LeBron agreed (although Lloyd could not reveal the exact quote)

Kyrie and his camp considered leaving after the championship but decided otherwise. Kyrie's father wanted a bigger role in the organization and did not appreciate LeBron's friend, Randy Mims, having a position within the organization.

A big reason why Kyrie wanted out of CLE last year is because he felt the team was built to support LeBron's strengths, and if LeBron left, Kyrie would only be left with those parts that benefitted LeBron's game. Kyrie also told FO that he would opt for surgery if they didn't trade him last year.

The flat earth drama really bothered Kyrie. Didn't like that he was receiving attention now instead of about more serious topics (political and social) like Lebron

LeBron and Love's relationship was rocky in the very first year because Love came to camp out of shape.

Kyrie did not talk to any of his teammates between last years Indiana and Toronto series.

The most dejected the reporters have ever seen LeBron after a game was after Game 6 Finals in 2015. Lebron sat at his locker for about an hour with a towel over his head. The second most dejected was after Game 1 this year. After winning two Game 7's, hitting 2 buzzer beaters, beating higher seeds, with a new team and without Kyrie, scoring 51 points against the Warriors, all the air went out of him.

LeBron did not just hit the whiteboard once. He bashed at it several times.

The JR Smith soup throwing story is one of ESPN'S top 10 stories of the year. They believe the thing that started the drama may have just been simple teasing or a shooting competition that escalated

Wade played a major role in the mid-season team meeting. Cavs felt like locker room was irreparable after that and was a reason he was shipped back to Miami

LeBron would always talk to McMenamin about LA (Hotspots and restaurants), as Dave used to cover the Lakers. Lloyd joked with LeBron throughout the year about him leaving after this season but LeBron genuinely seemed unsure of his decision

Cavs had two players on their radar during the draft. Trae Young, who Gilbert wanted, and Sexton who most of the organization wanted. They had considered Porter until his medical records came out.

They believe after Klay's remarks after Game 4 about basketball being a "man's game", LeBron's demeanor shifted entirely. Lebron was in a good mood during shootaround that morning until he heard about those comments.

https://923thefan.radio.com/articles/cavs-roundtable-discussion-jason-lloyd-dave-mcmenamin-and-joe-vardon

[WarFan]

The 3 main beat writers (Dave McMenamin-ESPN, Joe Vardon-Cleveland.com, and Jason Lloyd-The Athletic) that covered the Cavs over the past 4 years just did a podcast together, giving an inside look at the Cavs team and the relationships between the players.

A lot of interesting notes from the podcast:

Vardon and McMenamin were notified by LeBron's camp (or maybe the Cavs camp. They were vague on this) on Thursday, before lebron opted out, that the Lakers was pretty much a done deal.

Immediately after the 2016 Championship, someone important in LeBron's camp told Vardon that LeBron's next plan was to go to the Lakers to 'play with his friends' (Vardon believes the 'friends' part meant the banana boat)

Kyrie never made strong relationships within the Cavs organization/FO, both before and while LeBron was in CLE. Kyrie didn't like Mike Brown because Larry Hughes, a client of Kyrie agent, already had a bad relationship with Brown. There was also serious debate within the Cavs to choose Dion Waiters over Kyrie at one point.

Kyrie didn't like Lue very much, especially after Ty Lue told the media that "players need to put their brands aside", meaning Love and Kyrie need to stop worrying about endorsements and trust LeBron to lead the team. Ty Lue admitted to Dave McMenamin that Kyrie has treated him like a stranger since day 1 and that it is 'impossible to break through to him'. (which may have been why Kyrie made those remarks this year about coaching styles)

Kyrie did not appreciate LeBron questions directed at him. McMenamin was writing a story about LeBron's improved 3 point shot but Kyrie was annoyed when he approached him about any noticeable changes in LeBron's technique. The media also made a deal about LeBron wearing the "I can't breathe" shirts, despite Kyrie being the one to wear it first. All 3 reporters believe this clearly bothered Kyrie.

Lloyd approached Lebron at the start of this past season and told him that 'you and Kyrie hid the poor status of the relationship very well the past few years' and LeBron agreed (although Lloyd could not reveal the exact quote)

Kyrie and his camp considered leaving after the championship but decided otherwise. Kyrie's father wanted a bigger role in the organization and did not appreciate LeBron's friend, Randy Mims, having a position within the organization.

A big reason why Kyrie wanted out of CLE last year is because he felt the team was built to support LeBron's strengths, and if LeBron left, Kyrie would only be left with those parts that benefitted LeBron's game. Kyrie also told FO that he would opt for surgery if they didn't trade him last year.

The flat earth drama really bothered Kyrie. Didn't like that he was receiving attention now instead of about more serious topics (political and social) like Lebron

LeBron and Love's relationship was rocky in the very first year because Love came to camp out of shape.

Kyrie did not talk to any of his teammates between last years Indiana and Toronto series.

The most dejected the reporters have ever seen LeBron after a game was after Game 6 Finals in 2015. Lebron sat at his locker for about an hour with a towel over his head. The second most dejected was after Game 1 this year. After winning two Game 7's, hitting 2 buzzer beaters, beating higher seeds, with a new team and without Kyrie, scoring 51 points against the Warriors, all the air went out of him.

LeBron did not just hit the whiteboard once. He bashed at it several times.

The JR Smith soup throwing story is one of ESPN'S top 10 stories of the year. They believe the thing that started the drama may have just been simple teasing or a shooting competition that escalated

Wade played a major role in the mid-season team meeting. Cavs felt like locker room was irreparable after that and was a reason he was shipped back to Miami

LeBron would always talk to McMenamin about LA (Hotspots and restaurants), as Dave used to cover the Lakers. Lloyd joked with LeBron throughout the year about him leaving after this season but LeBron genuinely seemed unsure of his decision

Cavs had two players on their radar during the draft. Trae Young, who Gilbert wanted, and Sexton who most of the organization wanted. They had considered Porter until his medical records came out.

They believe after Klay's remarks after Game 4 about basketball being a "man's game", LeBron's demeanor shifted entirely. Lebron was in a good mood during shootaround that morning until he heard about those comments.

https://923thefan.radio.com/articles/cavs-roundtable-discussion-jason-lloyd-dave-mcmenamin-and-joe-vardon

Really appreciate the summary here as I would not have listened myself. They all come off as kind of douchey except Kyrie who sounds like an absolute shthead. Wow.

[Jay 20]

The 3 main beat writers (Dave McMenamin-ESPN, Joe Vardon-Cleveland.com, and Jason Lloyd-The Athletic) that covered the Cavs over the past 4 years just did a podcast together, giving an inside look at the Cavs team and the relationships between the players.

A lot of interesting notes from the podcast:

Vardon and McMenamin were notified by LeBron's camp (or maybe the Cavs camp. They were vague on this) on Thursday, before lebron opted out, that the Lakers was pretty much a done deal.

Immediately after the 2016 Championship, someone important in LeBron's camp told Vardon that LeBron's next plan was to go to the Lakers to 'play with his friends' (Vardon believes the 'friends' part meant the banana boat)

Kyrie never made strong relationships within the Cavs organization/FO, both before and while LeBron was in CLE. Kyrie didn't like Mike Brown because Larry Hughes, a client of Kyrie agent, already had a bad relationship with Brown. There was also serious debate within the Cavs to choose Dion Waiters over Kyrie at one point.

Kyrie didn't like Lue very much, especially after Ty Lue told the media that "players need to put their brands aside", meaning Love and Kyrie need to stop worrying about endorsements and trust LeBron to lead the team. Ty Lue admitted to Dave McMenamin that Kyrie has treated him like a stranger since day 1 and that it is 'impossible to break through to him'. (which may have been why Kyrie made those remarks this year about coaching styles)

Kyrie did not appreciate LeBron questions directed at him. McMenamin was writing a story about LeBron's improved 3 point shot but Kyrie was annoyed when he approached him about any noticeable changes in LeBron's technique. The media also made a deal about LeBron wearing the "I can't breathe" shirts, despite Kyrie being the one to wear it first. All 3 reporters believe this clearly bothered Kyrie.

Lloyd approached Lebron at the start of this past season and told him that 'you and Kyrie hid the poor status of the relationship very well the past few years' and LeBron agreed (although Lloyd could not reveal the exact quote)

Kyrie and his camp considered leaving after the championship but decided otherwise. Kyrie's father wanted a bigger role in the organization and did not appreciate LeBron's friend, Randy Mims, having a position within the organization.

A big reason why Kyrie wanted out of CLE last year is because he felt the team was built to support LeBron's strengths, and if LeBron left, Kyrie would only be left with those parts that benefitted LeBron's game. Kyrie also told FO that he would opt for surgery if they didn't trade him last year.

The flat earth drama really bothered Kyrie. Didn't like that he was receiving attention now instead of about more serious topics (political and social) like Lebron

LeBron and Love's relationship was rocky in the very first year because Love came to camp out of shape.

Kyrie did not talk to any of his teammates between last years Indiana and Toronto series.

The most dejected the reporters have ever seen LeBron after a game was after Game 6 Finals in 2015. Lebron sat at his locker for about an hour with a towel over his head. The second most dejected was after Game 1 this year. After winning two Game 7's, hitting 2 buzzer beaters, beating higher seeds, with a new team and without Kyrie, scoring 51 points against the Warriors, all the air went out of him.

LeBron did not just hit the whiteboard once. He bashed at it several times.

The JR Smith soup throwing story is one of ESPN'S top 10 stories of the year. They believe the thing that started the drama may have just been simple teasing or a shooting competition that escalated

Wade played a major role in the mid-season team meeting. Cavs felt like locker room was irreparable after that and was a reason he was shipped back to Miami

LeBron would always talk to McMenamin about LA (Hotspots and restaurants), as Dave used to cover the Lakers. Lloyd joked with LeBron throughout the year about him leaving after this season but LeBron genuinely seemed unsure of his decision

Cavs had two players on their radar during the draft. Trae Young, who Gilbert wanted, and Sexton who most of the organization wanted. They had considered Porter until his medical records came out.

They believe after Klay's remarks after Game 4 about basketball being a "man's game", LeBron's demeanor shifted entirely. Lebron was in a good mood during shootaround that morning until he heard about those comments.

https://923thefan.radio.com/articles/cavs-roundtable-discussion-jason-lloyd-dave-mcmenamin-and-joe-vardon

Great read man, alot of very interesting stuff. Thanks for posting.