The All-Purpose LOL Lakers thread

[Chupacabra]

I hope you're right. I wouldn't begrudge him for going to the Clippers if he wanted to play in LA. It would also make for a great cross-town rivalry. I do hope he'd consider staying in Toronto but I wouldn't be mad at him if he left given he was open about not really wanting to go there to begin with and he delivered a championship in his lone season. I'd probably take that tradeoff on my team. Knowing how fleeting it is.

When Kawhi was on the Spurs and tried to force his way to LA, neither of the LA teams were good. The man just wants to go back to his hometown. If it were me, I would somewhat resent the idea that returning to my hometown is synonymous with joining the Lebrons. Being that there are two teams in LA, I think the choice for Kawhi is fairly clear. The Clippers are much more his style.

 

[Telemachus]

Who of Lebron, AD, and Kawhi do you think is outside of the top 5 players in the league?

AD is not top 5 IMO.

 

[Section 101]

The thing with Kawhi is that he always just wanted to go to LA, not necessarily form a superteam. I still think the Clippers have the most allure for Kawhi. He's not going to stay in Toronto; That just isn't where he wants to be. He's already won something like 3-4 championships, one of which saw him featured as the star player, so I don't think a superteam with Lebron is as appealing as it is to a thirsty player like AD. The Clippers become one of the top teams in the west if they add Kawhi, and maintain a much lower profile than the Lebrons. Also, the Clippers run their organization worlds better than do the amateur-ish 7akers. After the type of success that Kawhi has had in his career, I don't believe he will want to subject himself to the day-time soap opera of the Lebrons when there is another team in LA has none of that drama. In the end I'm pretty sure Kawhi wants to play basketball in LA, not star in a TV romance series.

He's won 2.

 

[Joshoua]

Lebron is a farce he should never be mentioned with the greats of the game

 

[SLAB]

Lebron is a farce he should never be mentioned with the greats of the game

That’s just plain wrong. Lol

 

[Hoovtrain]

Who of Lebron, AD, and Kawhi do you think is outside of the top 5 players in the league?

AD. I think he’s overrated tbh

 

[Joshoua]

That’s just plain wrong. Lol

You can respect him for always stacking his teams to the max and refusing to compete but I won’t. Only went back to Cleveland after they were gonna get stacked with Irving/love

 

[iowamcnabb]

Well hey, we already know super teams can be beat. Lebron is aging, AD is hurt often. The all important 3 ball probably won't be their strong suit. I think it's a shame Kawhi is leaving an incredible situation in Toronto and it would be pretty satisfying if they don't win it all.

 

[Joshoua]

Well hey, we already know super teams can be beat. Lebron is aging, AD is hurt often. The all important 3 ball probably won't be their strong suit. I think it's a shame Kawhi is leaving an incredible situation in Toronto and it would be pretty satisfying if they don't win it all.

No super teams had 3 top 5 players how the hell do you stop Kawhi when your best defender is on Lebron.

 

[SLAB]

No super teams had 3 top 5 players how the hell do you stop Kawhi when your best defender is on Lebron.

Hope that 3 games into his contract Kawhi realizes he hates LeBron more than he hates the Spurs.

 

[Joshoua]

Hope that 3 games into his contract Kawhi realizes he hates LeBron more than he hates the Spurs.

He will when he’s blamed for every loss and gets no credit for wins, see Irving.

 

[BaDgEraffe]

The boss move would be telling the Lakers he'll sign, but only if they trade Lebron. That would be hilarious in so many ways.

 

[SLAB]

He will when he’s blamed for every loss and gets no credit for wins, see Irving.

Naaaa, that’s AD’s job.

 

[Chupacabra]

The boss move would be telling the Lakers he'll sign, but only if they trade Lebron. That would be hilarious in so many ways.

I like it XD

 

[Tetsujin]

No super teams had 3 top 5 players how the hell do you stop Kawhi when your best defender is on Lebron.

By realizing that they literally have no guards

 

[Joshoua]

By realizing that they literally have no guards

Lebron

 

[Tetsujin]

Lebron

Asking Lebron to play PG all game was a tall order even when he was in his prime. He’s 33 now and can’t really afford to exert the effort it’ll take to guard a perimeter player all game anymore. It’s the same reason Luka’s eventual position is 2/3 and Ben Simmons is struggling to take the next step.

At this stage in his career Lebron is best as a point forward and interior roamer on defense, which means that even if Kawhi comes to town, the Lakers are still going to have issues with faster perimeter teams (pretty much anyone now aside from the Sixers or Spurs).

 

[Telemachus]

Asking Lebron to play PG all game was a tall order even when he was in his prime. He’s 33 now and can’t really afford to exert the effort it’ll take to guard a perimeter player all game anymore. It’s the same reason Luka’s eventual position is 2/3 and Ben Simmons is struggling to take the next step.

At this stage in his career Lebron is best as a point forward and interior roamer on defense, which means that even if Kawhi comes to town, the Lakers are still going to have issues with faster perimeter teams (pretty much anyone now aside from the Sixers or Spurs).

LeBron will be 35 in December.

 

[Tetsujin]

LeBron will be 35 in December.

Whoops, thought he was younger which doesn't make my argument any weaker, lol.

Lebron has already played more minutes than almost anyone else in league history.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

LeBron will be 35 in December.

Last year counted double

 

[burekijogurt]

Last year counted double

he ages like Buddy

 

[Kingster]

By realizing that they literally have no guards

But, but, they just signed Troy Daniels.

 

[NME]

The Lakers officially make the big signing everyone's waiting for.

That's right, Jared Dudley is a Laker.

 

[Tetsujin]

The Lakers officially make the big signing everyone's waiting for.

That's right, Jared Dudley is a Laker.

They now have three stretch 4s, one center, and one guard

 

[Sactown ExPat]

Lebron is a farce he should never be mentioned with the greats of the game

Concur. The greatest trick he ever played was convincing millennial journalists he’s the unequivocal #2 of all time. He’s not even top 6 in my life time, let alone guys I never got to see.

In order: MJ, Timmy, Kobe, Kareem, Magic, Bird. Disagree? I’ll hear arguments on Bird...Lebron is multiple rings behind everyone else despite being his own independent GM every year for the past 10 seasons and having his own agency and stable of players. Great job!

 

[sergmatt]

They now have three stretch 4s, one center, and one guard

To be fair that's a hell of a roster for Ice Cube's Big Three league.

 

[Joshoua]

Concur. The greatest trick he ever played was convincing millennial journalists he’s the unequivocal #2 of all time. He’s not even top 6 in my life time, let alone guys I never got to see.

In order: MJ, Timmy, Kobe, Kareem, Magic, Bird. Disagree? I’ll hear arguments on Bird...Lebron is multiple rings behind everyone else despite being his own independent GM every year for the past 10 seasons and having his own agency and stable of players. Great job!

Duncan gets 0 love hell some people might talk Curry over him. Give me dirk and Duncan over a lot of other guys, I’m looking at you Kobe.

 

[Gguod]

Concur. The greatest trick he ever played was convincing millennial journalists he’s the unequivocal #2 of all time. He’s not even top 6 in my life time, let alone guys I never got to see.

In order: MJ, Timmy, Kobe, Kareem, Magic, Bird. Disagree? I’ll hear arguments on Bird...Lebron is multiple rings behind everyone else despite being his own independent GM every year for the past 10 seasons and having his own agency and stable of players. Great job!

Tbh Lebron is without a zero doubt top 3 all time player. Such a long career producing absolutely top level value every year. Its not really even an argument. His career production puts him a lot closer to MJ than players like Kobe, Duncan and Bird.

Yeah he might be a Laker now but that doesnt mean he needs to be disrespected. After all hes one of the all time greats on and off the court.

 

[Tetsujin]

Tbh Lebron is without a zero doubt top 3 all time player. Such a long career producing absolutely top level value every year. Its not really even an argument. His career production puts him a lot closer to MJ than players like Kobe, Duncan and Bird.

Yeah he might be a Laker now but that doesnt means he needs to be disrespected. After all hes one of the all time greats on and off the court.

Seriously, Lebron is like what would happen if you put John Stockton's basketball instincts into I dunno rookie Shaq. The man is a physical monster and also one of the smartest players to ever play the game.

He's also 35 years old and cherrypicks on defense now wherein lies the issue when people start talking about the Lakers as something of a superteazm.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

If kawhi joins the Lakers. Is it as bad as KD joining the warriors or worse? Joining a team with 3 Allstars who just lost in the finals vs joining 2 of the top 5 players in the league? I personally didn't care about KD to the warriors but just wondering about those who didnt like it, how would you view this scenario?

To me, what KD did is worse. Joining a championship winning team that proved they could win it all w/o him AND just overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the team KD defected from. If KD is so freaking great, they should have won that series with him leading the way.

But Kawhi joining the LAL would be a close 2nd. Sure, he proved he could carry a non-vetted team as the undisputed alpha, but to then join a team that just landed who is widely considered one of the all-time greats, along with a former #1 pick and multi-time all-star?? That's totally selling out IMO.

If geography is so damned important, he can still go to SoCal by signing with the Clippers. And keep his current legacy in tact. Many fans would hate that he bailed on Toronto after winning a title, but if he won a title with the Clippers -- while keeping LAL down -- he'd really cement his legacy.

Can't see a team with 3 of the top 7 players in the league not getting the final.

I can. By way of injuries and lack of depth.

Look at what happened to LBJ last season. Now he's one year older. I think the high mileage is beginning to catch up with him and take it's toll.
Look what happens to AD seemingly every season.
And Kawhi is not far removed from a serious injury and even played practically on one leg this postseason.

If they somehow manage to remain healthy all season, there's still the issue of depth. Are those three guys gonna play 35+ minutes every single night?

AD is not top 5 IMO.

I agree. The moment AD lost me was the moment he allowed Draymond Green to continuously push him away from the basket during a playoff series a few years ago.

I get that Draymond is a phenomenal defender. But, c'mon. A guy that's supposed to be as 'great' as AD shouldn't be manhandled by a 6'7" player. Ever.

You'd never see that happen to Tim Duncan. Hell, even DeMarcus Cousins doesn't allow Draymond to own him down in the post.