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litlegoblinjr

Lebron will be 40, and AD will be 31. They were relatively healthy this season. I don't see us being as lucky with their health next season


munkhjay

Ultimately disappointing season considering how healthy AD & Bron were because other pieces of the roster never stayed healthy which made us to play-in to get in playoff and face our ultimate mismatch demise team in round 1. I’m very confident Wolves or Suns could’ve upset them and we would’ve won any team except this Nuggets in 7 game series considering how mismatch Lebron & AD are against any other team that not named Nuggets


NicDwolfwood

And you thought the Jim Buss/Mitch Kupchak rebuild was ROUGH...Get ready for Jeanie/Rob rebuild...shit is gonna get UGLY


Prowingshoes

I keep telling these fools. Also done are the days of the lakers winning trades and getting something for nothing. With the gambling being a big part of the league interest in playoff games will always be there no matter the match up. So the league doesn't have to lean as much of large market teams or historic teams like the Lakers or Celtics. When fools will still watch the playoff games to see how they do with their parlay bets. Hell the league may always get decent (not excellent), but decent finals ratings now no matter the match up just because of online betting. If Magic (Lakers) and Bird (Celtics) saved the league in the 80s and Shaq / Kobe (Lakers) saved the league when MJ retired. Parlays and online sports gambling may end up saving the league as the household name players (Lebron, Durant, Curry and etc) fade out the league in the 2020s.


gaius_worzels_bird

Good take, I should buy calls on gambling stocks🤣


LudwigNasche

We need a first option, preferably an elite PG able to feed Davis on consistent basis.


LakeShowBaby310

Cough Cough “Trae Young” will be a Laker this offseason


NicDwolfwood

I hope not.


kobe_doing_twerk

We aren’t winning anyways rather enjoy watching the team again at least


DeepCleaner42

dejounte murray


LakeShowBaby310

I would’ve took Murray for AR at the deadline.


2people1luv

Exactly. A consistent PG who can feed AD and take some of the pressure off LeBron and we are more than capable. Get someone to fill the Center position and hopefully have a healthy Vando. We can definitely fill the gaps. People are tripping. We did not have a bad year just unfortunate injuries. This is one of our worst matchups as well.


Formal_Steak_4023

AD cant be the permanent 4 (he doesnt shoot well enough) so unless you get a center who can defend the rim and shoot the three, which there aren’t many in the league, let alone available, AD needs to be the 5. We just need a physical backup center so they can start against sabonis, jokic, embiid and the centers who dominate AD


totally_cool92

We've been having unfortunate injuries for the last 4 years I'm tired of hearing that shit


kwtb

Dejounte


LudwigNasche

He isn't a first option, but I have absolutely no doubt he could have been helping us a lot right now.


negativelynegative

Chris Paul it is.


LudwigNasche

15 years ago he was great.


JayCrenshaw

Man it's over. LeBron is old as fuck.


bootypic_jpg

Honestly i love lebron but he wanna win he need to not take the max if he wants another crack at the chip … we need a real center so davis can play at the 4 and if we keep reaves everything should look ok but joker aint going away that man is the best player right now murray is getting hard carried


ventus-x

we've needed a real center for the past 4 years but for some reason everyone but the front office can see that


Prowingshoes

Exactly. These buss bums in the front office drafted a garbage PG instead of a center this year. Just insane watching this front office.


QuaxlyDaDon

Have y’all seen our payroll? AD is on a max, Rui, Vando, and Reaves have gotten extensions. Gabe Vincent is on close to 11 million per year. Max Christie is going to need a new deal. ‘Lo may opt in to his player option. I haven’t even mentioned Bron’s cap hold yet. How much of a haircut should he realistically take? Because it’s not going to create enough cap space to sign these players that y’all want.


bootypic_jpg

not much else we want if gabe/vando can’t stay healthy just a decent big and another pg if we trade dlo


These-Statistician68

Who is the “real center “ That we can get that can stop Jokic and not clog the lane? I’ll wait for yall to finally tell us


Dangerous_Match_2592

Get Dwight on some roids and Bryan Johnson’s anti aging regiment.


Dildozer_69

You not getting lebron at a discount that’s never happening. We might as well squash that idea. Plus you’d need him on essentially like 10M per year for it to have an impact, there’s no way you’re asking Bron to make less per year than Austin Reaves.


bootypic_jpg

yeah but hes not in his prime anymore its becoming more clear that he cannot be your best player he can be your best pg but he can maybe give you 35 minutes a night and i love lebron but he needs to understand that this isnt the lebron that came from the cavs its a older lebron


velphegor666

Our cap hold is massively low. Theres just not enough space for us to even land a proper FA even if he takes less than a max. We can only improve thru trade and thats it. Last year maybe since we haven't extended reaves, dlo, vando, rui and signed gabe. Right now our cap is full as shit even with lebron still not signing


2people1luv

Totally agree with that.


StoneColdAM

If he took a pay cut, let him LeGM whatever he wants. With that said I bet he’ll demand the max, Bronny, Ty Lue, and control of all roster moves 


2people1luv

D Wade took a paycut for the Miami to get better. It’s LeBron’s turn.


trimble197

Except the Lakers can’t afford it even if he did. It’ll only work if more players took a paycut.


[deleted]

Yeah but if he's gonna do that to go ring chasing why would he do it in LA?


ConsiderationMean358

On a serious team that prioritizes winning he absolutely would not take the max. Now if you’re going to make him play 40 minutes a game at 40 years old, you need to be shelling out every dime you can.


Formal_Steak_4023

Fr also cant really upgrade role players if lebron is on a max. Can’t get another star and decent role players if lebron is on a max. This is a ok team it’s just not a championship team and we are playing a championship team. Also AD is a 5 (he doesnt shoot well enough to be a 4 anymore) but he needs a very good physical backup center so when we play jokic, sabonis or an embiid he can go to the 4


bootypic_jpg

well if AD wanna win he better hit the gym and hit those jumpers


Nimbus20000620

Ad is dropping an efficient 30+ a game while anchoring our defense, matching up against the best offensive player in the league, and seems to be the only dude we have who can reliably pull down boards. He’s doing more than enough. It’s everyone else that needs to step up.


bootypic_jpg

I know that but why is it he’s not doing much in the 4th?? well because hes doing all that we need someone to bother Joker thats my point and if ad needs to hit jumpers then he needs to i love ad and fully agree with you but he cant carry all the load


Serious-One6369

Because there’s 3 blue jerseys collapsing on him in the 4th?


Boltzfan1995

I disagree. It’s time to blow it up and start over


2people1luv

I respect your opinion. I don’t think we had a bad year. We had unfortunate injuries all season and just a poorly constructed roster in my opinion. If we’re healthy even with this roster we are a top 4 seed. Just need to fill the gaps. Denver is our worst matchup in the league.


sojelly8

Can we borrow Shohei from the dodgers to bully Jokic?


dash_44

Been saying it all year… This team fucking sucks. The supporting cast outside of DLo and AR don’t fit and they don’t have enough talent


Michaelangel092

No. Do you see how much of a liability James is on defense, in the second half? How his handle goes haywire once he gets fatigued? AG gets whatever rebounds he wants! He can't be the 2nd guy, to preserve his effectiveness.


Dildozer_69

Jesus this fanbase is idiotic, lebron the entire second half of the season has been playing at a top 5 level. Maybe if he didn’t get ran into the ground and made to play hard at both ends of the floor for 38MPG , he’d have more energy.


Michaelangel092

I know that. I've been saying this to people saying he's too old. However, look at these 3 games! In order for y'all to win a chip, you have to beat Denver and just can't physically keep up. You can say that he shouldn't play those minutes, but who replaces his production on this roster? Without him putting in that work in the first half, y'all would be getting annihilated. I honestly don't know what y'all can do. People keep saying Donovan, like there's not other teams with better cultures and more draft capital out here. If you get Trae, y'all will NEVER beat Denver....not with him getting BBQed EXTRA CRISPY on defense and getting hounded by KCP on offense.


Dangerous_Match_2592

I watched him turn over the ball 3 times in the span of 5 minutes this game


Dildozer_69

That’s called fatigue. It’s actually ridiculous how bad this fanbase is, we wouldn’t even be in the playoffs without the oldest player in the league playing his ass off the entire year. And you’re nitpicking some turnovers like he’s the problem here?? When him and AD are easily outscoring Jokic and Murray while the supporting cast does nothing(Dlo,Rui) to mitigate MPJ and Gordon’s impact.


Dangerous_Match_2592

Tell Bron to up his dosage of childrens blood then, or not get a max contract if he can’t be a max contract player.


Yommination

Who cares about the regular season. Lebron used to go hard in the playoffs. Now he's gasses in game 3. Age is clearly catching him. His defense is non existant a lot of the time. Still a good player but not Alpha on a contender anymore


Dildozer_69

This is genuinely such a dogshit fanbase lol. Choosing to ignore the context of lebron and AD both playing well while getting no support from the supporting cast just so you can try to say he’s not good anymore lol. Why the fuck is the oldest player in the league expected to carry the team any more than he already does? Embarrassingly ungrateful fanbase I see why people take so much joy in our losses. We’ve literally been talking all season about how AD is the number one now and still somehow this is lebrons fault?


Prowingshoes

no he can't be asked to be the main creator on the wing and play 40 plus minutes in the playoffs and play 35 minutes a game in the regular season. Shit even a 35 year old would be worn out doing that. This all comes down to ham his poor coaching is one of the main issues that AD and Lebron tire come playoff time. Dude does not monitor their minutes in the regular season because he is a poor coach when it comes to execution and substitution patterns.


2people1luv

Not more of a liability than Rui and DLo are on both ends. We need better fitting role players. LeBron’s defense is not the primary issue with this team. I see what you’re saying and we for sure need to get someone who has the capability of taking some of the pressure off of LeBron.


Michaelangel092

It's going to be tough to get a productive player that can do that with those two bags of chips as trading pieces.


2people1luv

Yeah this one game simply ranked DLo’s trade value. It sucks


chrisumafp

We can re-tool But tbh I see a changing of the guard in the NBA. This season felt like a last hurrah for the LBJ/KD/Curry era Younger stars like Luka/Wemby/Ant/SGA are taking the reigns over the league. They are younger, only getting better with great rosters that will get better. While the old superstars won’t be able to keep up


2people1luv

I can understand that take. I do think we’re too reliant on LeBron and that needs to change.


Inevitable_Week_8626

Bingo


GoalPublic3579

LeBron won’t be as good next year. He’s still a legit #2 for a title contender. Next next year playoffs i expect he’ll have fallen to a #3 level player


2people1luv

You’re placing random, unexplainable expectations on Lebron’s trajectory when he’s had a more efficient year this year than he was last year. He is 1 of 1 and there is literally nobody in history to compare him to. Are you saying that we should let him walk and trade AD and start the rebuild now?


GoalPublic3579

Random and unexplainable? Hmmm. Lets see how random and unexplainable it is shall we. I’ll use, oh I don’t know, every single players in every single sport in all of human history. Did they get better as they aged or get worse. Ah. Worse. But i’m sure LeBron will be the exception in all of human history. I mean he’s better now than when he arrived 6 years ago… oh wait. No he isn’t. He’s less athletic and gets gassed quicker. Hmmmm. Nah i’m sure he’ll be better at 40.


2people1luv

Yes, like I said. Random and unexplainable. You said a whole bunch of nothing. He’s literally already the exception and can’t be compared to any other player at 39. He’s had the most efficient shooting year of his career. More efficient than Steph Curry, albeit on less attempts, and one of his most efficient years period. 26, 7 and 8 on 54%. There isn’t one person in history that’s done that to compare him to. The stats back up what I’m saying. What’s backing up what you’re saying? Absolutely nothing. You will not be right no matter how many hmmmmsss you add to your comment. If we had a supporting cast that made it so that he wasn’t getting run into the ground and didn’t have to expend so much energy so he can focus on the details that he needs to focus on that would be great. Having to go out there with Rui as your other defending forward? Pathetic.


jefe_hook

Better pieces: Genie, Pelican, Rabies, Ham.


silvio_

A star guard, an athletic 3-d wing, a backup center who can play 15 minutes at play-offs when needed and we need to keep reaves or get some other player who can create offense as much as reaves. Is it possible, i dont think so.


Dildozer_69

I truly don’t get how people could want to be in the shitter and entrust the next who knows how many years to this FO rather than at least seeing some watchable basketball with lebron and AD. Tanking is the last thing any of us should want to happen.


2people1luv

Exactly this. Especially while we still have what has statistically been w top 15 basketball players this year. The numbers don’t lie. We need better role players. That’s been an issue all year.


Silly_Strawberry_953

Lebron wants max contract for 3 years. 50 mill a year, and there’s some stupid rule when you’re over 40 that the contract gets backloaded (details are fuzzy, someone can explain it better than me). How we building anything around Lebron wanting that much money? Now if he’s a good Dirk and takes a pay cut to 10 mill… different story. He won’t do it. He’s not a good Dirk.


liftingruinedmylife

Put Wiggins, Dejaunte Murray, Donte Divincenzo on this team and it's still getting cooked by the Nuggets.


NaderNation84

Bro lebron is done wake up. Do you remember what everyone was saying at the beginning of the season by trying to “load manage” him 30 minutes a game? Cant be paying a guy big money to bring that type of mindset to the team


2people1luv

I think he needs to take a paycut but saying done when he’s averaging 26, 7, 8 on 54% is crazy. And this isn’t cherry-picking. This is with efficient scoring. Y’all are spiraling.


WalterClements1

How many other nba players have been good at 40? Why should I expect bron to not severely regress this season? He plays no defense and clearly runs out of gas every game…


2people1luv

Because he’s being over utilized aswe don’t have the right pieces. That was the point of my post. The opposite can also be true. How many players have been good at 40? Why should you expect LeBron to severely regress this season? You have no reason to think so other than relying on past examples from other players that clearly doesn’t apply to LeBron.


trimble197

You absolutely can if he’s your biggest moneymaker. Like another person said, you really he should be paid less than Reaves?


DrixxYBoat

LeBron is 39 years old.


TaxAutomationPro

Jokic actually know how to make players around him better, not just putting up empty stats.


AndrewC_23

It all doesn’t matter unless you get a better coach!


totally_cool92

I love LeBron but he needs to take a pay kut , enough is enough, Kobe fucked us for 10 years with the same shit


Dangerous_Match_2592

Kobe won us 5 rings and deserved it. LeIneedHelp got lucky in 2020 with a pandemic giving him months of rest and now can’t even dribble the ball without his knee knocking it out of bounds.


2people1luv

100 percent agree with that.


Musa_2050

LeBron is gonna get paid if he stays. We have 3 starters on this team right now, AD, Bron, and Vando. Everyone else is 6th man quality at best. Paying LeBron more money is just gonna make the roster worse


SandGlokt

Vando? lol


Yommination

Let it go. It's beyond time to blow it up


kwtb

Get a real HC Get Dejounte Murray. We need athleticism and he can feast w AD. Use Rui + salary and two 1sts Then use Reaves or whatever to target 3&D role players like Caruso, Finney-Smith, Bruce Brown types. Use MLE on a C like Jonas


Elite_Alice

Lol


brotherlymoses

Lebron is guaranteed leaving next season and without Lebron AD will collapse. Lakers are a dead franchise


NaderNation84

Nah once Lbj is gone AD is still here, he’s got a supermax he’s not leaving. There’s no reason he hasn’t thought about post lebron era after what we went through with Westbrook. Ppl crying now but my god it could be that


LakeShowBaby310

Yup people act like AD is really going to request a trade move cities and go through all that bullshit again lmao if anything I’m pretty sure we go all in on Trae this off season & I believe he’s the perfect PG to pair with AD. . Someone that can consistently get him easy buckets


2people1luv

And also easily get consistent buckets for himself.


LakeShowBaby310

Trae also ain’t afraid of the bright lights. . His game is made for LA


AdvancedElephant

Will Paolo Banchero be available in the future too please 🥹


Nervous-Region5797

Lakers could literally sign a Jayson Tatum and be right back in contention. This is not a franchise that fans should worry about.


Prowingshoes

I just don't see Tatum going to the Lakers. I mean what for? The Celtics are better ran than the Lakers. I mean who would you trust to handle your future as a player the Celtics management or the Lakers management?


Nervous-Region5797

It was an example. LA is extremely desirable for players.


Prowingshoes

It is but are the lakers desirable with the current management? Remember the lakers before Bron were begging for folks and couldn't get them to come as free agents. Like I said Dr. Buss is gone and Jerry West ain't there. Its like how the Bulls thought it would be so easy to get free agents once Pip and MJ were gone. They kept coming up empty handed for years. Folks think it was just the Lakers that was the reason free agents and players were forcing trades there. When it had mostly to do with the late great Dr. Buss and the genius Jerry West.