i hope we dont trade BI...James and Ingram will play beautiful music together! (sorry for the pun, just one happy laker fan here)
Joining the happy Laker fans on this thread Projected depth chart - lots of interchangeable parts: PG - Ball / Hart SG - KCP / Mykhailiuk SF - Ingram / Kuzma / Stephenson PF - LBJ / Randle* / Wagner C - McGee / Zubac I also doubt that the Lakers will still make a push to acquire Kawhi from the Spurs in the off-season or that the Spurs would be willing to help the Lakers form a superteam at this point. I also read that the Lakers don't have much cap space left to make a realistic attempt to acquire DMC. They can probably use whatever cap space they have to sign a three-point specialist or to shore up the backcourt some more.
it's been reported that the Lakers have refused to include Kuzma in a possible trade package with the Spurs for Kawhi..
Heading into the offseason, critics had a field day lambasting LeBron for his desire to see where he could best land in free agency. Even a seemingly proper move as assessing his options — which everybody else in his position has sought to do — was viewed through lenses that fit the “He’s chasing rings” narrative. (As an aside, even his purported texting of Kevin Durant was cast in a negative light. The news was spread by Stephen A. Smith without corroboration, and it was promptly debunked by, among others, fellow ESPN scribe Zach Lowe. Come on. The dude’s close friends with KD. You think he’d discuss something as important as forming a superteam by text?) Well, guess what? LeBron chose the Lakers. If he’s really desperate for hardware, as naysayers insist, he should have opted in and forced a trade to the Rockets. Or opted out and moved in with the Sixers. Instead, he’s packing his bags for La-La Land, the one place where he will be most under scrutiny. Win, and he’ll just be accomplished enough to emerge from the shadows cast by the franchise’s greats. Lose, and he’ll be a bust. As currently constructed, the Lakers are little better than the Cavaliers LeBron left in his wake. They’re younger, yes, and boast of more potential. The flipside is that they’re in the West, where competition is much stiffer and they’re pegged to last until the second round. So, yes, LeBron’s no longer running after ghosts he cannot catch. He knows his legacy is secure. He has gone to nine Finals in 15 years, the last eight consecutively. His teams were favored in a mere two of those nine appearances, and only once (against the Mavericks in 2011) did he fail to meet expectations. He gave Cleveland its first championship in any sport over the last half century, and against the 2016 Warriors, identified by advanced analytics as the best-constructed team of all time by far; to top it off, he did so in dramatic fashion, leading a comeback never before seen in he annals of pro hoops. Clearly, LeBron believes his basketball legacy is secure. He’s now after more important matters outside the court. Sure, he’ll still aim to succeed; there are, after all, no limits to excellence. Nonetheless, his pursuits in the here and now are clearly set up for the there and then. It’s why he agreed to a four-year contract. No more one and ones or two and ones. And it’s no coincidence that when he becomes a free agent anew, he will have the opportunity to play alongside his son. The critics will never be silenced. LeBron has long been aware of the fact that he cuts a polarizing figure. There was once a time when he fretted over all the negative feedback. That time is long past. He knows his place in history is secure. And now it’s time for him to be, well, simply happy.
I get that the Lakers have always been the glitzy poster child of the NBA, but if the lakers don’t add anyone else, can they beat Golden State now that they have LBJ?
On paper, the Lakers can compete what with LBJ, the current young core + some veterans like McGee & Stephenson. They are supposedly talking to Capela & Cousins. Doubt if the Rockets will let Capela leave especially now that Ariza has left. Cousins may be an intriguing addition. It depends if LBJ can control him. Team chemistry will now be key as well as the working relationship between LBJ & Luke Walton. Doubt if Walton will want to be like a Tyron Lue.
I doubt that this will be the final iteration of the Lakers that Lebron will ultimately play with this season. The real wheeling and dealing has barely just begun. Remember how the 2014 Cavs looked in the offseason before Lebron announced he was coming back to Cleveland? I remember some of his "teammates" then welcoming him in interviews and on social media only to be traded before the season started. I actually have a feeling Lonzo Ball will be traded away due in large part to his loudmouth dad (or maybe that's just me hoping for it to happen. LOL!)
whats good about the lakers now is that they have young talent, LBJ will have to make sure they stay in the hunt for a deep playoff run and a management that actually has a long term plan for the franchise everything is looking good for the lakers and it’s all worth the wait for us laker fans!
Definitely the Lakers become the strongest, brightest spot for this coming NBA season...and a lot of buzz is saying that they SHOULD be actually great with LBJ on board...but Being strong on paper doesn’t necessarily win you championships...it may get you there and it may lead you deep into the playoffs but still...it’s a long, long road to get there...and as long as the young Lakers dont let King James take all the slack all year long then they may actually contend against a much stronger and cohesively superior Warriors team... And then there’s Boston in the East (hehe)
Wow. They decided to break the league further with this move. This'll make the NBA harder to watch for me now that superstars are just teaming up together or taking massive pay cuts to join super teams just to win a ring.
I thought Adam Silver was good. I was wrong. This kind of free agency move should be discouraged. Warriors is the ultimate team of all-time now.
Boogie is coming back from an Achilles injury though, and will be back around Dec or Jan, so I get his decision, signed with GS while undergoing rehab and might even get a ring.
Five All-Stars in one team? Are you kidding me? I thought the NBA was about "parity"? More like a "party" in the Hamptons every year. This has got to stop. SMH...
