LABron James Discussion: The Final Year?

There are some around here, me included, who are simply Laker fans. We hope that players and circumstances find a way to work themselves out. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I am always rooting for players until it becomes overwhelmingly obvious that something has to give. I probably was hopeful that Westbrook would work out. I loved AD towards the beginning and was always hopeful something good could come with him. That said, it was an easy pivot for me to switch to being a Luka fan. Playing these games with him, it is easy to see the gravity he brings. We have basically lost AD and Lebron and we have a better team than we did before Luka. If you would have told me that Lebron would be out and we traded Luka for AD and then asked me where I thought the team would be, I would have said a losing record. He is a constant double team and is dangerous from everywhere on the court, it is leading to AR, Rui and Ayton to having outstanding offensive seasons because they have some fairly wide open shots.

I have never been a fan of Lebron off the court, his openly shared political stances are trash, IMHO. But, that doesn't matter, because he is a very good player and that is what I am here for. You can argue that he is getting paid too much, but I don't care about that either. I am fully convinced that he has made more for the Lakers than he has cost. That is really the bottom line for the owners. Past that it comes down to salary caps and what ownership can afford. It is an ongoing problem and the whole league and all the owners are dealing with it and need to figure out how to navigate the money. Personally, I think that the superstars are making too much money and that it should be based on
% of the cap and their current %'s are just too high. The best guys, are making a lot of money outside of their player contracts. Lebron makes 52 million from his contract but makes somewhere between 90 and 126 million outside that contract per year according to Google AI. It says his net worth is 1.3 billion.

He could afford to take a pay cut for one or two years without it making him skip a beat and if he wants to win a ring, that is what he should do.

I am really glad he chose to come to the Lakers, everything we have going right now is mostly because of that. Don't see a good point in bashing him because you simply don't like him as a person. One thing I learned a long time ago, never think that the people you see and admire from afar, seem as good when you meet them in person. Most everyone has flaws and personality traits, just like the rest of us and many of them are just as likely to be morons as any other idiot you have met. I have met a number of famous winemakers who I literally can barely stand. There are lots that are cool too but just saying. Same with musicians, actors and other people in other industries who are famous and well respected. Just because they are good at something you enjoy, doesn't mean you are going to like them as human beings.

Bottom line is, unless athletes are breaking laws and are completely morally repugnant to me, I don't care about most of the personal stuff, I try to ignore it as best I can. I don't get the people hating on Lebron but I defend most players, even on other teams. Good players are fun to watch and even more fun to beat. No point in tearing people down and being a true Laker fan, I simply root for the team and players to succeed.

 

I had to do it. Wemby is monstrous, I've never seen a defender as good as him. Teams percentage at the rim drop below league average, but the better figure is their attempts are halved at the rim. That's just amazing impact on a game - Imagine a team takes 40% of their shots at the rim and against him it's 20%.

 

Push away, I will do the same.

 

And I very much appreciate it. Bc of time restraints I rarely watch anyone besides the Lakers and whoever they are playing.

 

I have no interest in what anyone does off the court or during their personal time. I like watching good basketball and winning championships.

 

Same, that is why I don't get some of the Lebron hate, it seems to be over other stuff. I like watching good basketball and winning rings but I also get that it ain't easy and life and ball is a journey. Nobody gets to the top of the mountain without the challenge of the climb.

 

Then drop the f****** name calling. You know better.

 

We all like different things when it comes to basketball and see it differently. If you like LeBron's game, great, I'm glad. Me personally, there were times I saw him playing selfishly and going for records more than winning. When he plays the right way I give him his flowers. Again this is just my opinion. I'm all for him coming back and helping the team. If he starts doing things I believe are detrimental to the team I will point it out. It doesn't mean I'm necessarily right or wrong or that I hate him. It is just how I see it. I don't expect anyone to change how they see the game bc of me and I have no intention of changing my views. If we all came here and posted the same LeBron is the King posts this place would be boring as heck. I'm not sure why posting contrasting opinions is seen as a bad thing? To me it is what makes it worth coming here.

 

Other than naming the emotionals " The Emotionals" I'm not sure what name calling I have done and that was only in self-defense...lol. I've been called much worse on here several times and I couldn't care less. I don't identify as being a @#$mffk+@#$ so being called that doesn't bother me...lol.

 

Read above. It’s been a lot more than just that.

 

no real dog in the fight, but i feel like toklat was responding to a comment pioneer made that was directed at a group that probably didn't include him. i initially had my own response but chose to let it go.

lebron generates strong opinions that lead to caricaturizing the opposing viewpoint.

 

I'm not in a fight and not going to be. I just don't get offended in that way. If I offended anyone my most humble apologies and I'm moving on. I liked LeBron's interview, as usually he said all the right things. I can sympathize with the sciatica. Hopefully, it doesn't flare back up. I have great expectations for this team.

 

"Don't Push Me"





If you push too much, bad things will happen. Like like to AD.

 

I don't really care what you say about Lebron, just would hate to see it get old and stale. I can understand that some people have doubts about some of his contributions. I mean, heck, I found myself thinking that Luka holds the ball too much too, but I can also see how much he can effect winning. Lebron was that way, he is getting a little old now but I will cut him some slack for everything he has accomplished up to now. But I know the same treatment is coming for Luka after time. Heck even Kobe got a lot of the same treatment. I am just not one of those guys, if a guy has won rings, I usually just figure he knows more than I do and I am more of a fan than a critic. The ONLY one of our superstars that I ever really was unhappy with was Shaq, when he was going at Kobe so hard. I was glad he got moved and I was glad Kobe made it a me or him scenario. I also forgave him after the fact. Life goes on.

 

In a perfect and theoric world , he would start his season in February , around 6 weeks to start being at his best around mid to late March . At a different salary of course

 

He could probably play another 5 years like that.
,

 

I actually say more positive than negative about LeBron. I expect him too be a big part of our championship. No one gets offended about the positive so it isn't highlighted and made more of than it is. I'm trying not to say anything that can be construed as offensive so I will leave it at that...lol.

 

I don’t agree, I think LeBron can play for 5 more years if he plays 60 games a year, but plays one or two games a week only. As you get older, getting into professional sport shape isn’t guaranteed any longer, staying in pro shape is much easier and safer for injuries.

But one day you can’t get back into shape. It’s injury after injury instead as you ramp up. The same thing also happens when you’ve had one too many serious injuries - I’ve been on the side of that train, ankle break and then three knee operations into a hip operation and a back operation. Everytime you come back you lose a few percentage points of your max, until one day you can’t even get into top shape.

 

it was semi-encouraging to hear that lebron has come back and played after the sciatica once already--they must have kept that quiet. that timing kind of lines up retrospectively with when i thought he got a little more stiff in his movements, which i can understand based on my own sciatica experience. the kinds of bending and lunging that you do naturally on a basketball court start to kind of signal themselves unconsciously, and you just stop doing it. feel like it impacted me more on defense, when i have to do more reacting.

i'm actually not super worried about lebron offensively. he knows his role has changed, and i think he'll find ways to be impactful in the new role. defense is the question--can the hoop iq and strength keep him as a plus-defender as the mobility keeps ratcheting down? we'll see soon enough.