LABron James Discussion: The Final Year?

I've felt like I've become a Lebron James fan for the first time this year. I've really liked how well he's played and kept outside nonsense away from the team. The man is writing a career that is unprecedented and I am really cheering for him.

 

You know I was thinking, Lebron is pretty easy going when his team is rolling. We're playing the best basketball since the season after the bubble and Luka is an MVP candidate. Would he even want to leave this situation to go play in Cleveland with Harden and Mitchell? He has Luka and Reaves here.

He might stay and take a significant paycut instead.

 

i'd been saying before his recent resurgence that it was in his best interest to fit in and help us win. doing what he was doing in the middle part of the season was going to lead to a really bad narrative for him, almost no matter what. we can't be a better team without him (which was basically a fact until recently) and have the story remain intact.

he might have also looked at cleveland and realized that he'd be choosing between a vet min there or possibly a bit more here, and it's not as open and shut as it may have seemed in august.

he should be open to a dirk nowitzki "you guys try what you need to with cap space, and i'll take whatever's left" situation this summer, imo. it's his best and perhaps only chance at another ring.

 

Sign him from January 15th to whenever the postseason ends .. He (rightfully) has not been a 82 games player for some seasons .

Develop good team habits , avoid some media drama then he can join and fit in when it matters .

He can enjoy his family , play golf do whatever he wants to while staying in shape .

Won't happen but would make sense for both parties

 

So LBJ takes accountability and then we go on a win streak

Coincidence?

Could go much deeper

 

i think that's too extreme and also unprecedented, right? i guess maybe mj coming back late that one year, but that's pretty different.

still think he needs to be late career duncan/dirk--just play a smaller role in shorter minutes with planned rest, all at a salary that is flexible to team needs. if we strike out in FA, he gets his 25 million. if we don't, he's vet min draymond with a chance at a ring.

 

This would be the way to finish his career. The talking heads have him potentially going back to Cleveland, maybe joining Steph, etc. A potential 4th team just doesn't feel right for a player of his caliber. Shaq and KD are the only ones near the tip top for me that have this distinction (off the top of my head at 5am), but it's not an ideal look. As neutral as I am about LBJ, I don't want him to stack another team on his basketball reference page ala Harden, Westbrook, Carmelo, etc.

It's simple, really. Take less money, keep this backseat role, keep the tank fueled for late pushes, and try to win your 5th ring/2nd in LA. It's not happening in Cleveland. He's not going to Denver. Good luck trying to make something work in GS (not to mention the optics of going to play with Steph after their history).

All this to say, unless he's back for significantly less money, it's time to move on. Show us you actually care about winning for once in a way that isn't...gross feeling?

 

Legacy wise, it's by far the smartest thing for him to do. But he's always felt underpaid... I'm skeptical.

It's so easy to say when it's not your wallet, but how much money do you really need? He could make up the ~21 million in a heartbeat if he wanted to.

 

i think there are two considerations:

1. is 25 million really what he can fetch on the open market? the only teams with that space are us, chicago, and bkn (maybe det if they let some guys walk?). chicago and bkn are rebuilding and probably wouldn't even make the offer, but it's moot, as lebron probably doesn't accept it. s&ts have to work for us, and the receiving team has to stay under the first apron, so that pool is also limited. the realistic max he's looking at is probably closer to the mle (which is part of why he should agree to the dirk/duncan plan, as his potential max earnings are higher with us).

2. about it not being my wallet...ok, this requires sub-points:

a. actually, i'm pretty sure i've foregone this amount of money (relative to my net worth) in order to have a better life situation in other ways. i bet lots of people have and do regularly.
b. as you said, there's a point at which adding wealth is completely useless. being a billionaire is actually pretty gross when you think about it. there's literally nothing it "buys" you after a point far before reaching that billion. it's part of why pretty much every single one of those folks seems miserable, imo. it's like "i won, but my prize is still being me!"

again, dirk and duncan did it, and i'd bet both don't regret it a bit. they're not broke. they don't feel bad about themselves. the players who followed them weren't adversely affected by their decisions. their fanbases love and deify them to this day. long after these guys are dead, people will speak positively of them. this legacy is more important than your great grandchildren having 20 more million on top of the prior billions.

/rant

edit: btw, all this sidesteps the hot dog stand stuff, and the fact that nothing prevents us from signing lebron to a vet min next year, then re-signing him to 25 million the following year, regardless of his physical condition or playing status...

 

Sounds good and logical for LeBron and Lakers were it not for those pesky unintended consequences such as not one but two LB members committing harakiri.

 

It's true, there's not an obvious great destination for him out there. Warriors would be kind of fun but what does that actually do. Now you have Steph, Jimmy, LeBron and Draymond, that's starting to look 2022 Lakers-esque. I thought Cleveland made more sense before they traded for Harden. Side note - I'm not 100% sure Harden is on that team next year. It would be funny if he does another Harden 3 for 11 with 7 turnovers in a crucial Game 5 and then the Cavs don't give him a multi-year deal. Basically, the same thing Morey did to him in Philly.

It makes most sense to just stick around here, but I'm not sure he goes for it unless there is a legitimate shot to get to the Finals going into the season. Not a "we're a piece away, let's see if prices come down near the deadline" shot, a legit Day 1 of training camp this team can get to the Finals shot. If his choices are teams that don't realistically have a chance to win the title, I think he just goes to Cleveland for a farewell tour. But if we can come to him with a plan to bring in Watson or Grimes + another lower level guy, and then re-sign him and Austin, yeah I could see him taking a pretty sizeable pay cut to stick around. We need him - I think bringing in another legit piece while also re-signing LeBron is the only way to eliminate the talent gap between us and OKC/Spurs.

 

Anyone worried of LeBron injuring his groin again late in the season

 

Oooops …. make it three LB members with the “dagger to my stomach LBJ is still here”

 

He has to love playing with Luka Doncic and being on a team in the hunt, and knows he’s in his very last years playing the game he also loves …. as well.

 

Let's see how Legroin plays out. He seems to play better then snap