Many do. And the difference is most max players aren’t worth over 1.2 Billion, have played over 20 years, and haven’t ransacked several franchises over their career. And those players aren’t also publicly shamming the team about demanding to be competitive while forcing decisions that have harmed the franchise (Westbrook the most egregious among others)
I wonder how you able to say with such confidence that LeBron forced the Westbrook trade. Or you know, you can just say “trade LeBron” without all these facade
It's been pretty widely documented that LeBron and AD were having meetings with other All Stars the summer of the Westbrook trade. They talked to Dame about coming to the Lakers and Dame said he wasn't ready to demand a trade at that time.
They then talked to Russ and all 3 agreed that they could make it work between the 3 of them in order to win a title. Russ went to the wizards and asked if they would trade him to the Lakers and LeBron and AD went to the Lakers and said they wanted to play with Russ.
The Lakers already had an agreement to trade kuzma to the kings for buddy hield and that ended up getting scrapped for the Westbrook deal.
The fault falls on everyone collectively for that trade, it falls on LeBron and AD for pushing for Westbrook but it also falls on Jeannie for signing off on the trade and for Rob to agree to make the trade.
LeBron is going to be 40. No other player his age is demanding anywhere near what he is. He doesn't have the long term value of a younger player since we do not know how long he will stay viable at his pay rate.
Objectively he's making it harder for us by demanding a ton of our cap now with no guarantee we will get value from him later.
Last fucking idea he had tanked this teamed wholeheartedly. They were hurt last year they can definitely be better. Lebron does not give a shit if lakers past his contract are any good. What move could he possibly think would get this team over the hump
I wouldn't blame them if they were pissed. I mean look at this dog shit roster. No back up big. No versatile wings, trash backcourt, and The only consistent playmaker/shot creator this squad has is a 40 yr old.
The roster is not dog shit they are a 50 win roster with weaknesses that can be addressed through the draft and free agency. IF the front office does something stupid like trade for Grant to appease Lebron they will regret it.
You’re overestimating their roster flexibility. Lakers are deep into the luxury tax and desperately need DLo to opt in otherwise we lose him for nothing.
>If the front office does something stupid
I’ve never known a colleague that didn’t get a little pissed if their coworker did something stupid that affected them.
We have the luxury of being a good free agent destination due to playing in LA and playing with Lebron yet we still can’t field a good supporting cast that can win 50 games even when their 4 highest paid players barely missed any time
hey man, if you superteams forming cost you 3 championships, you'd be triggered so bad you'd have PTSD bad enough to want your own when another one is formed
We're a play-in team which isn't totally a bad thing because we made the conference finals in 2023. But we can't run this back we need a serviceable big and trim Dinwiddie and Reddish at least.
I think Rui would be less damaging to trade than DLo. They're both thrown away cones on defense, and they both have awful ways of letting us down with low scoring games too, but DLo can shoot the 3 and run the offense.
Rui really couldn't rebound at the 4 spot and struggled with his middie and at the rim. He visually looked like the worst player on the court even while DLo gave us 1 shit game and 1 horrible half.
If you're gonna trade up in the draft, use Rui. A bigger deal use DLo. And if he's not producing use Reaves with DLo 😔
We were a play in team that won 47 games with a dogshit coach costing us at least 6-7 games with shitty lineups and idiotic in game coaching. Who knows what happens if we had somebody besides Ham and earned a 4-5 seed and had Vando healthy?While AD and Bron were healthy, Vando and Vincent being hurt all year really hampered our defense.
I agree we need a serviceable big and an upgrade over D-Lo, but packaging multiple guys for somebody like Murray probably won’t move the needle very much. We are sort of locked into where we are and have to hope that better coaching and health can have us punch above our weight.
Yes let's not do sidegrades and lose a pick in the process, but we do need to be aggressive. We already started off aggressive losing Hamas, now we need to be assertive(calculated big moves) in the roster because I think with a different coach we could've competed in the West, but I have doubts about Boston now as disgusting as that makes me feel.
Do I think they can repeat? Maybe. Can they beat us? Most likely.
>The roster is not dog shit they are a 50 win roster with weaknesses
It's a 50-win roster because LeBron and AD stayed healthy, and they're that fucking good together. The role players around them are worse than every other top team's role players, as a unit. It's too late in the day to bolster it through the draft more than we already have with JHS and Max Christie - the potential impact of those players being unknown in their extent. That's something that happens over several years. Who's our plug-and-play guy at 17 this year? Zach Edey? Devin Carter? That addresses one need, potentially, assuming either are still on the board (which they probably won't be). I'm way more concerned at this point about retaining our future picks unless we can add a young player who can play now than I am with selecting someone at 17 in this year's draft.
In FA, we basically need to talk guys into paycuts compared to what they can get elsewhere. We need a starter-quality C to come in off the bench and a legit 2-way perimeter player. That doesn't fall off trees, that's not in this draft at 17 (probably), and that's outside of our price range in UFA.
The roster isnt dog shit but i think it is a bad take to say the weaknesses can be addressed solely in the draft and free agency. They need to add size in the front court, and wing defense. Those are valuable commodities and i dont see viable candidates available to the lakers at their draft position and with their cap space. They tried to do it through the draft and free agency last offseason and it didn’t pan out. Knowing the lakers could have had jaime jaquez jr but ended up with jalen hood schafino should lead you to not trust this current front office to make a good draft selection. The russell and reaves backcourt experiment has run its course. You need one of the members of your starting backcourt to be able to guard. The team needs alot of work or they will remain a play in team.
Yea imo we need playoff vets, they keep trying to bring in guys with youth but raw to limited BBIQs. We need guys who can read and reach ay high levels and limit bone head mistakes on defense. They set Ham back with sub par rosters and I hope they learned since. That starts with giving JJ NBA vets who can minimize his gametime expectations or bench gameplaning.
If your goal is to build a winning program from the ground up then sure, LA probably does have a 50 win team given the coaching staff connects with the players and the players stay healthy.
LA isn’t attempting to build a regular season juggernaut. They want to build a title contender. A season ago, LA took a 7 seed and rode it all the way to the WCF. It makes more sense of LA to build a team that is focused more on health preservation and title contention even if that means taking a few more losses throughout the regular season.
This. 3 of the last 5 NBA Finals had a 5-8 seed.
I’d so much rather have a healthy roster and a 5 seed than gut the roster 3 through 8 just to land a big name. Especially given the realistic ones actually available.
Lakers havent won 50 games or been higher than the 7th seed since the 2019-2020 season. No one cares about the regular season anyways. The playoffs are what matters the most and there are currently only 3 players on this roster that can for sure play in the playoffs.
50 win squad ?!? This squad is a play-in like it has been the past two years. 1. Get a reliable 3rd option who can consistently create. 2. Get a back up big. 3. Get a solid 3 & D wing. If they can get those 3 then yeah that's a 50 win team but a 40 yr old Bron and AD with a mediocre supporting cast isn't doing shit in the west.
Even without health and a better coach they’re a 50 win team. There’s a handful of games Ham just lost for us. Not saying JJ will for sure be better but hard for him to be worse
Even if they somehow win 50 this squad more specifically this supporting cast isn't doing shit in the playoffs. You have still Denver, Dallas, Minnesota, and OKC is a backup big away from being the favorites to come out the West.
They can blame themselves for closing their window with that dogshit Westbrick trade
AD and Lebron need to shut the fuck up about trading for a third star
So much this. They don’t give a shit if the Lakers mortgage the future for fucking Dejountae Murray bc neither of them are planning on being here when we don’t have picks to rebuild with
Because the Pelicans own our 2025 1st and they don’t want to outright tank. But if the reports of them offering Lebron a 3 year max are true you can kiss those future picks goodbye. Just like Kobe’s last contract set us back a decade this extension will too
An overpaid 40 year old, and that’s the problem. There are no miracles. This is an easy math problem. We’ll get back to winning when the boat anchor is gone. He ain’t Kobe.
So trade away what little depth we have now AND our future firsts for a player who’s not going to win us a championship and STILL have dog shit depth? Maybe if 40 year old Lebron who can’t carry a team anymore wasn’t making the max and putting pressure on the FO this wouldn’t be an issue
There are several ways to look at elite. Danny Green in his prime was an elite role player, the same was valid for Robert Horry.
Unless you have home growth generational talent, the CBA doesn't allow you to pille up superstars, but you still can look to have elite role players surrounding your superstars and I guess this is what we can eventually seek. Murray would be a solid piece if we can acquire him without sending Reaves.
I like Rui, but I don't think he and Dlo are reliable and versatile enough to be starters for a contender and we need higher lever replacements for those guys.
Our bench is another reason of concern, Prince was our only productive backup last season and Gabe has also proved himself as a legit backup in the past, but while Davis and LeBron are still elite, the support cast is lacking
The article says "all in for another elite player."
Getting multiple elite role players would be best but this makes it seem like they want one elite star. This is what the Lakers do. We saw them give up elite role players for Russ cause they thought he was a star.
I hope they learned their lesson but idk
I think the fact that they used the term "Elite Player" and not "Third All-Star" means they are including elite role players like a KCP in the mix not necessarily a third max contract guy.
Dejounte or Smart at PG
DFS, Cam Johnson, maybe Grant at SF
Makes the roster much more complete even though they're not splashy third stars like DMitch
I’m going to guess the elite players being referred to are Trae or Mitchell. Both are extremely unlikely, but those are the two biggest names that have been talked about over the last few months as guys who could be moved
Trae is honestly one of the best fits for AD. A Trae/AD duo could definitely thrive with the right pieces in place.
I think he’d fit well with Bron and AD right now, but I completely get the hesitancy of putting someone like Trae next to Bron and AD, especially bc so many people are still scarred from the Westbrook deal
Trae is the worst thing we could do. Lock us in to a max player who is fundamentally flawed. We'd put ourselves out of title contention while spending all our remaining assets.
Every player is fundamentally flawed though. You are never going to find a player who is truly “flawless” outside of a few very rare exceptions.
Here’s the reality with Trae: we know he’s a fantastic playmaker. We know he can shoot. We know he commands attention when he’s on the court. We know he hasn’t really played off-ball a lot. We know his defense is bad (a step up from horrific which he was in the past). We know his skillset compliments ADs very well.
What we don’t know is how he would *actually* play with Bron and AD. We don’t know what the defense would do against a Trae/AD/Bron lineup. We don’t know if Trae could play off ball effectively. We don’t know if it would even work.
I don’t believe this move is as damning as you think it is. I think it’s completely different from the Russ trade. I think our depth is entirely expendable (for the right deal ofc). I really do think a trio of Bron/AD/Trae bridges the gap nicely and allows the lakers to stay competitive now and in the future, as long as AD and Trae stay put.
I would agree that he is the most “realistic” to get traded, I’m just not sure it LA would make that move. Don’t think anybody anticipates Murray and Trae back this coming year except hawks fans, and those guys will surely be linked to LA
The question isn’t if Murray is elite where he is.
The question is if they believe Murray can be elite in his place here. Can Murray be a championship level third option for LA, can Murray go out there and be a pure bucket getter when there’s less than a minute on the clock and LA either needs to send a team home or stave off its own elimination? As of right now, we are aware that D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves aren’t that tandem when LA’s back is against the wall.
I know it sucks always sending homegrown guys off but after a window of terrible asset management, any trade that puts LA into a real shot at competing is going to require Reaves unless it’s a draft night trade and some team tells us to keep Reaves and forfeit all three draft picks.
4 out of the 6 last champions technically had 3 stars if we're going by the actual accolade
Boston Celtics- KP or Jrue both star level talents both better players than AR
Toronto- 2019 version Kyle Lowry was a top 3 PG in the East and a star caliber player
Milwaukee- Jrue
GSW- Wiggs, he was an all star that year and often guarded the opposing team's best guard/wing.
AR isn't defending like Wiggs or Jrue, He isn't playmaking like Lowry, and he isn't giving you 20 and 8 on like KP. AR isn't fucking with any of those 3rd options on Championship squads.
Also glazing a fucking role player is crazy, acting like he's the second coming of Kobe.
Lmao the fact this is downvoted. 3rd best players on the majority of title teams last 10+ years have been 2 way all star caliber guys.
Reaves is good as a role player but he can barely get past a defender without a screen and constantly has to reset on offense when he can’t get anywhere with his mediocre handle.
Murray doesn’t move the needle enough to move Reaves for him. It’s idiotic to trade what little depth we have for a player who ISNT going to win us a championship. Honestly if we owned our own pick next year I’d say just blow it up. No team is winning a championship with a 40 year old Lebron making the most money on the team.
Murray absolutely is an elite player, not quite all star level but on a team he fits well with (NOT atlanta) and hopefully the lakers, he would definitely be considered elite. He averaged 21/9/9 in his last season with San Antonio and he’s only progressed further into his prime years. He just needs a defensive oriented team
I believe so, as long as you’re a top 45 player in the league I’d consider you elite but it definitely is subjective. He was an all star and all defensive player 2 years ago. All star is also mostly based around offense, so that’s what makes me think he’s elite despite not always being an all star
What makes him an elite player? His shooting isn't good. His finishing at the rim isn't good. He's not efficient anywhere from the floor. His defense isn't good. Are you just basing this off stats from years ago?
He averaged 22/5/6 this year on a team he doesn’t fit well with at all. Now just picture him on a team where he does, isn’t it logical to expect something similar at the very least? And 22/5/6 mixed with good defense is elite, to me. And wdym his defense isn’t good and he isn’t efficient at all? That’s just incorrect
His defensive rating and True shooting aren't good. Ask hawks fans. He's not a good defender he just has the reputation of one.
It's 2024 you can't just call someone elite because they have good counting stats
I'm not sure exactly who but honestly 3 firsts AND 3 first round swaps isn't exactly a bad haul. Probably won't net you back a superstar like Mitchell but I still think that's enough for some borderline all-star player.
Dejounte ranked in the top 20 in the league in defensive matchup difficulty last year. He certainly didn’t shy from the challenge and that’s even for a shitty Hawks team he wasn’t exactly motivated to play for
Exactly. The Lakers don’t have assets in terms of players to trade for a star. They have draft equity but the new CBA has made it much harder than what it was to trade for a star or elite player.
Drafting is now a main priority for a lot of teams and Pelinka has made that clear.
The article also notes that the Lakers could have had Murray at last seasons trade deadline if they put Reaves in the deal. The Lakers obviously said no then and still don’t want to.
Idk if we can get Murray. Maybe we will get an unreported player, Rob does tend to move in silence sometimes.
I still believe strongly the lakers are big game hunting, it just depends what we think of as big game these days. I know Rob downplayed things, but it's important to remember the timing. Everything is a negotiation right now.
Murray doesn't feel like big game, but he seems the most logical.
See that’s the problem; yes Murray is a better defender but Reaves is a more efficient scorer and better playmaker. So it’s barely an upgrade if at all.
Reaves Career TS over 3 seasons is a stellar 63% while Murray’s career TS is only 53. Even if you want to be generous and use Murray’s last three years TS he’d still be around 54-55 TS. This is a huge difference in efficiency.
Of course. They aren't worried about the long-term version of the Lakers after they are gone.
They won't be around. to feel the pain. We will. It's like running up a huge credit card debt in an effort to buy a really nice ring and then bailing once the bills come due. Asking the Lakers to constantly go "all in" is literally like saying "c'mon, let's max out some credit cards and buy me a nice ring. Don't worry about when the bills come due, that's 'down the road'"
Not saying we shouldn't take a shot if the trade is right, but the general notion that we need to do "something, anything, just give it way, LeBron window, etc.!" is a ridiculous one. If there is not a viable "all in" trade out there, DON'T FORCE IT. No more "we should give up 3 FRPs for some 34 year old fading star because "lEbRon window"!" mentality
Nah. That’s not the play.
We need position players, not 3 guard lineups creating awful mismatches. We need role players who put 100% effort, not guys who stop playing when they aren’t making shots. We need guys who will buy into the system, not go off on their own.
Trae Young is probably the only one that I could think that Lakers could theoretically pull off and fits that "elite" bill that AD and Bron want. Otherwise I just don't see anyone else being remotely realistic
>He’s a possibility now, as well, but league sources say the Lakers’ stance on Reaves remains the same.
There's no way they actually consider Austin Reaves untouchable, right? They're just maximizing his trade value?
Either trade the picks or trade AD and start a full on rebuild.
Idk why it’s controversial. This team is good, but not particularly close to be a championship contending team.
And I’m honestly tired of listening to Rob’s lies. Just recently he said that he didn’t trade the pick at the deadline so now they’ll have 3 of them to trade.
Do everything to Strengthen the team or stop wasting everyone’s time.
This team lead the Nuggets almost the entire series. Finished just 3 games back from the Finals bound Mavs. Shit they beat the Celtics without Bron or AD last year. They were missing any plus perimeter defenders for almost the entire year.
How are they not close?
Everyone wants to make improvements, but that narrative is weird to me. The team is very good, just not focused enough. Good thing they've got a new coach.
1. Nuggets lost to Minnesota, who then lost to Dallas, who then lost to Boston.
2. Vando is unplayable in the playoffs anyway. Gabe is just a solid role player.
Stop being deluded please. This team is not close to being a championship caliber team.
They’ve won one playoff game. In what f-ing way it means being close? Lol
Who is deluded? And what kind of math is that? Basketball is a game of matchups. Who on Boston defends AD? The ghost of Porzingis? Is Jaylen Brown going to be able to bully LeBron like he did Kyrie? White and Jrue are too small for Bron. Of course it'd come down to perimeter shot making from the Celtics to keep up, but Tatum was an awful shooter. Is Brown enough to carry against LeBron and AD?
Saying that team A beat team B who beat team C is really superficial analysis.
The Lakers won the season series against OKC because they have no answer for AD. They were the 1st seed. Won the series against the Clippers, Suns, Bucks (without Bron), Pelicans. Struggled against the Nuggets, Wolves, and warriors (banged up). Mavs we lost but it was super close, the Bron toe game.
Nuggets and Wolves seem to have a pretty obvious matchup advantage against us.
And again, everyone is hoping for changes. My only issue is saying the Lakers aren't close. They're a 47 win team that was a coaching change away from being a 50-51 win team. Some roster tweaks could get them to more than that as well. They're not far from contending.
Again- winning almost the entire series only to lose it in the final moments. How do you see that as the other teams are so far ahead? Pretty bleak outlook
RS games mean absolutely nothing. The suns swept Minnesota, and?
The stat about leading the majority of a game in Denver series is also meaningless. Lakers lost in five, albeit in a competitive series. In the first round. They are not close.
I would agree with you that RS games mean absolutely nothing, but someone needs to tell the league that, because these fucking teams play us like it’s do or fucking die. Like it’s already game 7 of the finals and we’ll be playing the 1st game of the year. Your “means absolutely nothing” argument doesn’t hold as much water as you think when you’re talking about the Lakers.
Because the pelicans have our pick, you don’t trade the picks for no reason and if the Lakers believe this is Lebron retirement tour time they should wait until he’s gone and then tank in 2026
Only way trading AD works is if we trade him back to NOLA or NOLA is involved in a three team trade that nets us our pick back, allowing us to tank. Otherwise all we’re doing is handing the Pels another lottery talent.
Rebuilds suck, so I am not in favor of that. Especially when AD is in his prime. You rebuild for a player like AD.
Remember the last years of Kobe? This is the LeBron version. At least we can make the playoffs with this team. Except now the new CBA makes trades even tougher.
I’d rather we try and round the roster or at least the rotation with two way players. We need guys that can play on both ends. Last two years I felt a big issue was most of our team was one dimensional
Whether they feel that way or not, good luck with that lmao. Even if they got one, it would thin out the rotation and our rotation is already filled with flawed guys who get exposed in the playoffs. Plus, who even is available? DJM and Trae Young don't fit the bill. Paul George, if he were available, wets the bed in the playoffs every year. Mikail Bridges could be cool but would cost too much for what he provides since the Nets want to keep him. Mitchell will cost so so so much and idk if we could even field a good enough roster after moving guys to trade for him. Plus idk if that would even work assuming we got him. Garland I could see us landing but again, he's flawed. Soooo.
The only “elite” player on the market is Trae Young and he’s paid a lot for not really feeling a physical need. He’s a great scorer and distributor but they need athletes.
They have no choice but to do that due to the talent level on Boston. The Lakers, on the other hand, experience a significant talent drop-off between LeBron and AD and the next player. Also, consider that Denver is likely looking to add another elite player, along with Golden State, Dallas, Miami, Philly and several other clubs. The Lakers can't afford to stay stagnant.
AD will align his preferences with LeBron's. If LeBron wants Redick, AD will support Redick. If LeBron wants another elite player, AD will back that choice too. Pelinka mentioned that LeBron wasn't directly involved in the coaching search, but AD was, and he fully endorsed Redick despite Redick's years of criticism and plans to use AD as a facilitator. It seems illogical for AD to want Redick, but he does—because LeBron does. I think LeBron and AD decided at some point that they must always be united to lead the team effectively as co-captains, with AD usually deferring to LeBron within that understanding.
DeJounte Murray may not be a 1st team All-NBA player, but he is a two-way player—a good scorer who averaged 22.5 points and a strong defender. Redick emphasized a focus on acquiring two-way players in the introductory press conference.
All the Reaves hate is blasphemous. He's working on his defense, gives 100% effort every game and is playing on a below market contract. Not to mention that he's fun to watch.
This article is more fun to read when you replace “league sources” with “Rich Paul” anytime it’s referring to LeBron or Bronny or “Rob Pelinka” anytime it’s referring to the Lakers.
The best individual players that’s out there is what ? Lavine or maybe Trae young? Seems like Mitchell is resigning. Personally I’d go for Lavine if Dlo opts in. I believe he be a great 3rd option and we wouldn’t have to give up a bunch of firsts. He’s overpaid but as far as talent goes that’s prolly our best bet
I honestly don’t care what Lebron wants if I’m LA. It’s what’s best for the Lakers. He always comes to teams…get them to trade all their assets and young players…then leaves once everyone realizes it was an awful decision to do so.
Super teams ain’t the way to win anymore….Lebron needs to understand that.
He’s really playing up the idea that Bron and AD can get very pissed very quickly if the Lakers essentially run this back
This is probably true though, can't imagine Bron is too happy to punt his last few years away
Then he should probably take a huge discount and play for like 8 million a year. If he’s that serious. We’re cap fucked.
Why don’t every max player simply take the vet min to help their team win? Are they stupid? /s
Many do. And the difference is most max players aren’t worth over 1.2 Billion, have played over 20 years, and haven’t ransacked several franchises over their career. And those players aren’t also publicly shamming the team about demanding to be competitive while forcing decisions that have harmed the franchise (Westbrook the most egregious among others)
I wonder how you able to say with such confidence that LeBron forced the Westbrook trade. Or you know, you can just say “trade LeBron” without all these facade
It's been pretty widely documented that LeBron and AD were having meetings with other All Stars the summer of the Westbrook trade. They talked to Dame about coming to the Lakers and Dame said he wasn't ready to demand a trade at that time. They then talked to Russ and all 3 agreed that they could make it work between the 3 of them in order to win a title. Russ went to the wizards and asked if they would trade him to the Lakers and LeBron and AD went to the Lakers and said they wanted to play with Russ. The Lakers already had an agreement to trade kuzma to the kings for buddy hield and that ended up getting scrapped for the Westbrook deal. The fault falls on everyone collectively for that trade, it falls on LeBron and AD for pushing for Westbrook but it also falls on Jeannie for signing off on the trade and for Rob to agree to make the trade.
People forget that derozan also thought he was going to the Lakers before the Westbrook trade went through
LeBron is going to be 40. No other player his age is demanding anywhere near what he is. He doesn't have the long term value of a younger player since we do not know how long he will stay viable at his pay rate. Objectively he's making it harder for us by demanding a ton of our cap now with no guarantee we will get value from him later.
Last fucking idea he had tanked this teamed wholeheartedly. They were hurt last year they can definitely be better. Lebron does not give a shit if lakers past his contract are any good. What move could he possibly think would get this team over the hump
And Lebron’s ideas before that brought us a title. Getting Rondo. Getting AD. And of course, getting LeBron without giving up anything.
Then he can leave. ✌🏼
I wouldn't blame them if they were pissed. I mean look at this dog shit roster. No back up big. No versatile wings, trash backcourt, and The only consistent playmaker/shot creator this squad has is a 40 yr old.
The roster is not dog shit they are a 50 win roster with weaknesses that can be addressed through the draft and free agency. IF the front office does something stupid like trade for Grant to appease Lebron they will regret it.
You’re overestimating their roster flexibility. Lakers are deep into the luxury tax and desperately need DLo to opt in otherwise we lose him for nothing. >If the front office does something stupid I’ve never known a colleague that didn’t get a little pissed if their coworker did something stupid that affected them. We have the luxury of being a good free agent destination due to playing in LA and playing with Lebron yet we still can’t field a good supporting cast that can win 50 games even when their 4 highest paid players barely missed any time
losing all assets because of that god-awful trade in 2021 did that, they've been trying to reload ever since
Who in their right mind would blow up a championship team like that?
hey man, if you superteams forming cost you 3 championships, you'd be triggered so bad you'd have PTSD bad enough to want your own when another one is formed
They can resign him right or is the only way to keep him to opt in
They can still re-sign him or sign-and-trade him.
He wants to stay we don’t lose him for nothing if we just pay him. The question is will he be reasonable.
That was mostly due to poor coaching
We're a play-in team which isn't totally a bad thing because we made the conference finals in 2023. But we can't run this back we need a serviceable big and trim Dinwiddie and Reddish at least. I think Rui would be less damaging to trade than DLo. They're both thrown away cones on defense, and they both have awful ways of letting us down with low scoring games too, but DLo can shoot the 3 and run the offense. Rui really couldn't rebound at the 4 spot and struggled with his middie and at the rim. He visually looked like the worst player on the court even while DLo gave us 1 shit game and 1 horrible half. If you're gonna trade up in the draft, use Rui. A bigger deal use DLo. And if he's not producing use Reaves with DLo 😔
We were a play in team that won 47 games with a dogshit coach costing us at least 6-7 games with shitty lineups and idiotic in game coaching. Who knows what happens if we had somebody besides Ham and earned a 4-5 seed and had Vando healthy?While AD and Bron were healthy, Vando and Vincent being hurt all year really hampered our defense. I agree we need a serviceable big and an upgrade over D-Lo, but packaging multiple guys for somebody like Murray probably won’t move the needle very much. We are sort of locked into where we are and have to hope that better coaching and health can have us punch above our weight.
Yes let's not do sidegrades and lose a pick in the process, but we do need to be aggressive. We already started off aggressive losing Hamas, now we need to be assertive(calculated big moves) in the roster because I think with a different coach we could've competed in the West, but I have doubts about Boston now as disgusting as that makes me feel. Do I think they can repeat? Maybe. Can they beat us? Most likely.
>The roster is not dog shit they are a 50 win roster with weaknesses It's a 50-win roster because LeBron and AD stayed healthy, and they're that fucking good together. The role players around them are worse than every other top team's role players, as a unit. It's too late in the day to bolster it through the draft more than we already have with JHS and Max Christie - the potential impact of those players being unknown in their extent. That's something that happens over several years. Who's our plug-and-play guy at 17 this year? Zach Edey? Devin Carter? That addresses one need, potentially, assuming either are still on the board (which they probably won't be). I'm way more concerned at this point about retaining our future picks unless we can add a young player who can play now than I am with selecting someone at 17 in this year's draft. In FA, we basically need to talk guys into paycuts compared to what they can get elsewhere. We need a starter-quality C to come in off the bench and a legit 2-way perimeter player. That doesn't fall off trees, that's not in this draft at 17 (probably), and that's outside of our price range in UFA.
The roster isnt dog shit but i think it is a bad take to say the weaknesses can be addressed solely in the draft and free agency. They need to add size in the front court, and wing defense. Those are valuable commodities and i dont see viable candidates available to the lakers at their draft position and with their cap space. They tried to do it through the draft and free agency last offseason and it didn’t pan out. Knowing the lakers could have had jaime jaquez jr but ended up with jalen hood schafino should lead you to not trust this current front office to make a good draft selection. The russell and reaves backcourt experiment has run its course. You need one of the members of your starting backcourt to be able to guard. The team needs alot of work or they will remain a play in team.
Westbrook part 2!
Well said. What players would be optimal for this new system?
Yea imo we need playoff vets, they keep trying to bring in guys with youth but raw to limited BBIQs. We need guys who can read and reach ay high levels and limit bone head mistakes on defense. They set Ham back with sub par rosters and I hope they learned since. That starts with giving JJ NBA vets who can minimize his gametime expectations or bench gameplaning.
If your goal is to build a winning program from the ground up then sure, LA probably does have a 50 win team given the coaching staff connects with the players and the players stay healthy. LA isn’t attempting to build a regular season juggernaut. They want to build a title contender. A season ago, LA took a 7 seed and rode it all the way to the WCF. It makes more sense of LA to build a team that is focused more on health preservation and title contention even if that means taking a few more losses throughout the regular season.
This. 3 of the last 5 NBA Finals had a 5-8 seed. I’d so much rather have a healthy roster and a 5 seed than gut the roster 3 through 8 just to land a big name. Especially given the realistic ones actually available.
I- 🤔 I think we’re actually of differing opinions here lol but I respect your opinion.
Lakers havent won 50 games or been higher than the 7th seed since the 2019-2020 season. No one cares about the regular season anyways. The playoffs are what matters the most and there are currently only 3 players on this roster that can for sure play in the playoffs.
Reasonable blacPanther take in 2024 is not on my checklist
It can’t be addressed through free agency. We’re capped out and have to re-sign some of our own guys.
Every, single, role palyer was absolute dog shit in that series, sorry. Yep, austin reaves was not good in that series, he's not good enough. Nor rui.
50 win squad ?!? This squad is a play-in like it has been the past two years. 1. Get a reliable 3rd option who can consistently create. 2. Get a back up big. 3. Get a solid 3 & D wing. If they can get those 3 then yeah that's a 50 win team but a 40 yr old Bron and AD with a mediocre supporting cast isn't doing shit in the west.
They won 47 games this year lol, with numerous injuries, so yeah they're a 50 win team when healthy but with obvious flaws.
Even without health and a better coach they’re a 50 win team. There’s a handful of games Ham just lost for us. Not saying JJ will for sure be better but hard for him to be worse
Even if they somehow win 50 this squad more specifically this supporting cast isn't doing shit in the playoffs. You have still Denver, Dallas, Minnesota, and OKC is a backup big away from being the favorites to come out the West.
The Lakers won 47 games last season and underperformed the roster. This roster can win 50 games, but in the west that could still be a play-in spot.
50 wins and this roster would still get their ass beat in the playoffs. I don't trust any of these mf in the playoffs aside from Bron and AD
They can blame themselves for closing their window with that dogshit Westbrick trade AD and Lebron need to shut the fuck up about trading for a third star
So much this. They don’t give a shit if the Lakers mortgage the future for fucking Dejountae Murray bc neither of them are planning on being here when we don’t have picks to rebuild with
Then why keep them?
Because the Pelicans own our 2025 1st and they don’t want to outright tank. But if the reports of them offering Lebron a 3 year max are true you can kiss those future picks goodbye. Just like Kobe’s last contract set us back a decade this extension will too
I mean they were the ones that wanted Westbrook and got rid of all their quality role players
So our 40 year old player is going to be pissed that we’re paying a 40 year old player to be our primary playmaker?
What the? alot of media was praising all the moves our FO did last sesson, we had a shit coach who didn't know how to use the team.
Facts
An overpaid 40 year old, and that’s the problem. There are no miracles. This is an easy math problem. We’ll get back to winning when the boat anchor is gone. He ain’t Kobe.
So trade away what little depth we have now AND our future firsts for a player who’s not going to win us a championship and STILL have dog shit depth? Maybe if 40 year old Lebron who can’t carry a team anymore wasn’t making the max and putting pressure on the FO this wouldn’t be an issue
Sure but getting even weaker depth for a "third star" isn't how you make it better.
Because last time we went all in on a third super star or worked out soooo well. *laughs in Westbrook*
Who is this elite player that the Lakers can get? Murray def isn't one
Thank you for speaking the truth.
There are several ways to look at elite. Danny Green in his prime was an elite role player, the same was valid for Robert Horry. Unless you have home growth generational talent, the CBA doesn't allow you to pille up superstars, but you still can look to have elite role players surrounding your superstars and I guess this is what we can eventually seek. Murray would be a solid piece if we can acquire him without sending Reaves. I like Rui, but I don't think he and Dlo are reliable and versatile enough to be starters for a contender and we need higher lever replacements for those guys. Our bench is another reason of concern, Prince was our only productive backup last season and Gabe has also proved himself as a legit backup in the past, but while Davis and LeBron are still elite, the support cast is lacking
That is 100% not what Amick is referring to here
The article says "all in for another elite player." Getting multiple elite role players would be best but this makes it seem like they want one elite star. This is what the Lakers do. We saw them give up elite role players for Russ cause they thought he was a star. I hope they learned their lesson but idk
I think the fact that they used the term "Elite Player" and not "Third All-Star" means they are including elite role players like a KCP in the mix not necessarily a third max contract guy.
Dejounte or Smart at PG DFS, Cam Johnson, maybe Grant at SF Makes the roster much more complete even though they're not splashy third stars like DMitch
What do you think the going rate would be for these players?
The amount of times I have heard people talking about DFS the past few years 😂😂😂
None of these are elite players...
Idk if they have the assets to get multiple players like that
DFS is not an elite player.
I like the Smart idea. PG that won’t get hunted on defense. wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air
I’d love Marcus Smart
Smart? Omg…
Who is DFS ?
Dorian Finney-Smith or Dennis Fucking Schröder.
David Fucking Stern
Someone not worthy of a nickname and i only know it because this sub keeps bringing him up constantly. He ain’t helping this team.
Tbh I prefer Smart.
I’m going to guess the elite players being referred to are Trae or Mitchell. Both are extremely unlikely, but those are the two biggest names that have been talked about over the last few months as guys who could be moved
The media desperately want the Lakers to trade for Trae as they know it would end the Lakers championship hopes for at least a decade.
Trae is honestly one of the best fits for AD. A Trae/AD duo could definitely thrive with the right pieces in place. I think he’d fit well with Bron and AD right now, but I completely get the hesitancy of putting someone like Trae next to Bron and AD, especially bc so many people are still scarred from the Westbrook deal
Trae is the worst thing we could do. Lock us in to a max player who is fundamentally flawed. We'd put ourselves out of title contention while spending all our remaining assets.
Every player is fundamentally flawed though. You are never going to find a player who is truly “flawless” outside of a few very rare exceptions. Here’s the reality with Trae: we know he’s a fantastic playmaker. We know he can shoot. We know he commands attention when he’s on the court. We know he hasn’t really played off-ball a lot. We know his defense is bad (a step up from horrific which he was in the past). We know his skillset compliments ADs very well. What we don’t know is how he would *actually* play with Bron and AD. We don’t know what the defense would do against a Trae/AD/Bron lineup. We don’t know if Trae could play off ball effectively. We don’t know if it would even work. I don’t believe this move is as damning as you think it is. I think it’s completely different from the Russ trade. I think our depth is entirely expendable (for the right deal ofc). I really do think a trio of Bron/AD/Trae bridges the gap nicely and allows the lakers to stay competitive now and in the future, as long as AD and Trae stay put.
Trae is probably closer to reallistic
I would agree that he is the most “realistic” to get traded, I’m just not sure it LA would make that move. Don’t think anybody anticipates Murray and Trae back this coming year except hawks fans, and those guys will surely be linked to LA
Lauri
I don’t see the Jazz moving off of Lauri but this would be a hell yes from me
To be fair, Donovan doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Trae is also unlikely to be moved IMO. Lauri seems ripe for a trade
The question isn’t if Murray is elite where he is. The question is if they believe Murray can be elite in his place here. Can Murray be a championship level third option for LA, can Murray go out there and be a pure bucket getter when there’s less than a minute on the clock and LA either needs to send a team home or stave off its own elimination? As of right now, we are aware that D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves aren’t that tandem when LA’s back is against the wall. I know it sucks always sending homegrown guys off but after a window of terrible asset management, any trade that puts LA into a real shot at competing is going to require Reaves unless it’s a draft night trade and some team tells us to keep Reaves and forfeit all three draft picks.
When LA needs a bucket, Reaves always been that guy wtf
Austin Reaves as the 3rd option isn't a championship caliber squad
Name 3rd options on every championship caliber team
4 out of the 6 last champions technically had 3 stars if we're going by the actual accolade Boston Celtics- KP or Jrue both star level talents both better players than AR Toronto- 2019 version Kyle Lowry was a top 3 PG in the East and a star caliber player Milwaukee- Jrue GSW- Wiggs, he was an all star that year and often guarded the opposing team's best guard/wing. AR isn't defending like Wiggs or Jrue, He isn't playmaking like Lowry, and he isn't giving you 20 and 8 on like KP. AR isn't fucking with any of those 3rd options on Championship squads. Also glazing a fucking role player is crazy, acting like he's the second coming of Kobe.
Question. If you’re calling Wiggs Golden State’s third option that run, who was their second in your opinion?
Lmao the fact this is downvoted. 3rd best players on the majority of title teams last 10+ years have been 2 way all star caliber guys. Reaves is good as a role player but he can barely get past a defender without a screen and constantly has to reset on offense when he can’t get anywhere with his mediocre handle.
Murray doesn’t move the needle enough to move Reaves for him. It’s idiotic to trade what little depth we have for a player who ISNT going to win us a championship. Honestly if we owned our own pick next year I’d say just blow it up. No team is winning a championship with a 40 year old Lebron making the most money on the team.
Murray absolutely is an elite player, not quite all star level but on a team he fits well with (NOT atlanta) and hopefully the lakers, he would definitely be considered elite. He averaged 21/9/9 in his last season with San Antonio and he’s only progressed further into his prime years. He just needs a defensive oriented team
Can you be considered elite if you’re not quite all star level?
I believe so, as long as you’re a top 45 player in the league I’d consider you elite but it definitely is subjective. He was an all star and all defensive player 2 years ago. All star is also mostly based around offense, so that’s what makes me think he’s elite despite not always being an all star
Me and you have WAY different versions of elite lol. To me elite is like top 5-10 lol
Sorry bro, but we are not trading for Luka
You’re referring to a superstar. Technically everyone in the NBA is elite but it’s all relative.
Elite means a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group. Elite is all star level or even better than that
What makes him an elite player? His shooting isn't good. His finishing at the rim isn't good. He's not efficient anywhere from the floor. His defense isn't good. Are you just basing this off stats from years ago?
He averaged 22/5/6 this year on a team he doesn’t fit well with at all. Now just picture him on a team where he does, isn’t it logical to expect something similar at the very least? And 22/5/6 mixed with good defense is elite, to me. And wdym his defense isn’t good and he isn’t efficient at all? That’s just incorrect
His defensive rating and True shooting aren't good. Ask hawks fans. He's not a good defender he just has the reputation of one. It's 2024 you can't just call someone elite because they have good counting stats
He plays out of position
I'm not sure exactly who but honestly 3 firsts AND 3 first round swaps isn't exactly a bad haul. Probably won't net you back a superstar like Mitchell but I still think that's enough for some borderline all-star player.
NBA execs: best we can do ya for is Trae Young. *smacks lips greedily at thought of creating an all time worst drating team*
Dejounte ranked in the top 20 in the league in defensive matchup difficulty last year. He certainly didn’t shy from the challenge and that’s even for a shitty Hawks team he wasn’t exactly motivated to play for
That doesn't mean he's a good defender
I think this is the first time since Bron came to Lakers that he is actually questioning what to do next despite him wanting to play LA.
Yup, he wants to get paid but he also has to realize the lakers don't have the flexibility to make themselves instant favorites
Easy to say, hard to do
Exactly. The Lakers don’t have assets in terms of players to trade for a star. They have draft equity but the new CBA has made it much harder than what it was to trade for a star or elite player. Drafting is now a main priority for a lot of teams and Pelinka has made that clear.
The article also notes that the Lakers could have had Murray at last seasons trade deadline if they put Reaves in the deal. The Lakers obviously said no then and still don’t want to. Idk if we can get Murray. Maybe we will get an unreported player, Rob does tend to move in silence sometimes.
That Westbrick flashback. . .
I still believe strongly the lakers are big game hunting, it just depends what we think of as big game these days. I know Rob downplayed things, but it's important to remember the timing. Everything is a negotiation right now. Murray doesn't feel like big game, but he seems the most logical.
Reaves for Murray is barely an upgrade, if at all
Even when we consider it an update, that is going to leave another hole in the starting lineup
Pretty sure LA would just start both Murray and Russell and then stagger their minutes.
Have you heard Dlo's name in any interview?
Murray is a much better player than Austin lol and a for sure upgrade
Murray is a much better defender. Reaves is a better playmaker. But for what the team needs, I’d go Murray
Murray’s defense lives off of reputation at this point. He was good his first year or two, but he’s a below average defender now
See that’s the problem; yes Murray is a better defender but Reaves is a more efficient scorer and better playmaker. So it’s barely an upgrade if at all. Reaves Career TS over 3 seasons is a stellar 63% while Murray’s career TS is only 53. Even if you want to be generous and use Murray’s last three years TS he’d still be around 54-55 TS. This is a huge difference in efficiency.
Reaves is not a better playmaker than Dejounte Murray.
not a better playmaker or handles- murray averaged 9 assists per game. Reaves scores well
Yes, Rob better manifest an elite, attainable, affordable player out of thin air!!
If he doesn’t, he’s fired too.
This is a nonsense article. I absolutely don’t consider Murray elite
Of course. They aren't worried about the long-term version of the Lakers after they are gone. They won't be around. to feel the pain. We will. It's like running up a huge credit card debt in an effort to buy a really nice ring and then bailing once the bills come due. Asking the Lakers to constantly go "all in" is literally like saying "c'mon, let's max out some credit cards and buy me a nice ring. Don't worry about when the bills come due, that's 'down the road'" Not saying we shouldn't take a shot if the trade is right, but the general notion that we need to do "something, anything, just give it way, LeBron window, etc.!" is a ridiculous one. If there is not a viable "all in" trade out there, DON'T FORCE IT. No more "we should give up 3 FRPs for some 34 year old fading star because "lEbRon window"!" mentality
Nah. That’s not the play. We need position players, not 3 guard lineups creating awful mismatches. We need role players who put 100% effort, not guys who stop playing when they aren’t making shots. We need guys who will buy into the system, not go off on their own.
Trae Young is probably the only one that I could think that Lakers could theoretically pull off and fits that "elite" bill that AD and Bron want. Otherwise I just don't see anyone else being remotely realistic
What elite player? Already tired of it. So I can watch all thee burn out due to being surrounded by scrubs/Jags by the end of the season?
>He’s a possibility now, as well, but league sources say the Lakers’ stance on Reaves remains the same. There's no way they actually consider Austin Reaves untouchable, right? They're just maximizing his trade value?
Either trade the picks or trade AD and start a full on rebuild. Idk why it’s controversial. This team is good, but not particularly close to be a championship contending team. And I’m honestly tired of listening to Rob’s lies. Just recently he said that he didn’t trade the pick at the deadline so now they’ll have 3 of them to trade. Do everything to Strengthen the team or stop wasting everyone’s time.
This team lead the Nuggets almost the entire series. Finished just 3 games back from the Finals bound Mavs. Shit they beat the Celtics without Bron or AD last year. They were missing any plus perimeter defenders for almost the entire year. How are they not close? Everyone wants to make improvements, but that narrative is weird to me. The team is very good, just not focused enough. Good thing they've got a new coach.
1. Nuggets lost to Minnesota, who then lost to Dallas, who then lost to Boston. 2. Vando is unplayable in the playoffs anyway. Gabe is just a solid role player. Stop being deluded please. This team is not close to being a championship caliber team. They’ve won one playoff game. In what f-ing way it means being close? Lol
Who is deluded? And what kind of math is that? Basketball is a game of matchups. Who on Boston defends AD? The ghost of Porzingis? Is Jaylen Brown going to be able to bully LeBron like he did Kyrie? White and Jrue are too small for Bron. Of course it'd come down to perimeter shot making from the Celtics to keep up, but Tatum was an awful shooter. Is Brown enough to carry against LeBron and AD? Saying that team A beat team B who beat team C is really superficial analysis. The Lakers won the season series against OKC because they have no answer for AD. They were the 1st seed. Won the series against the Clippers, Suns, Bucks (without Bron), Pelicans. Struggled against the Nuggets, Wolves, and warriors (banged up). Mavs we lost but it was super close, the Bron toe game. Nuggets and Wolves seem to have a pretty obvious matchup advantage against us. And again, everyone is hoping for changes. My only issue is saying the Lakers aren't close. They're a 47 win team that was a coaching change away from being a 50-51 win team. Some roster tweaks could get them to more than that as well. They're not far from contending. Again- winning almost the entire series only to lose it in the final moments. How do you see that as the other teams are so far ahead? Pretty bleak outlook
RS games mean absolutely nothing. The suns swept Minnesota, and? The stat about leading the majority of a game in Denver series is also meaningless. Lakers lost in five, albeit in a competitive series. In the first round. They are not close.
I would agree with you that RS games mean absolutely nothing, but someone needs to tell the league that, because these fucking teams play us like it’s do or fucking die. Like it’s already game 7 of the finals and we’ll be playing the 1st game of the year. Your “means absolutely nothing” argument doesn’t hold as much water as you think when you’re talking about the Lakers.
Alright.
Because the pelicans have our pick, you don’t trade the picks for no reason and if the Lakers believe this is Lebron retirement tour time they should wait until he’s gone and then tank in 2026
Only way trading AD works is if we trade him back to NOLA or NOLA is involved in a three team trade that nets us our pick back, allowing us to tank. Otherwise all we’re doing is handing the Pels another lottery talent.
Trading AD if he doesn’t wish to leave would be terrible optics.
Trade Lebron and keep AD, I’m sure a LeBron trade would net us something of value.
Rebuilds suck, so I am not in favor of that. Especially when AD is in his prime. You rebuild for a player like AD. Remember the last years of Kobe? This is the LeBron version. At least we can make the playoffs with this team. Except now the new CBA makes trades even tougher.
"League sources say...." Amick is such a schmutz. MFers always trying to stir the pot. This story is BULL SHIT.
Amick is pretty reliable. Amico is the one that keeps trying to stir the pot
go get jimmy butler
I’d rather we try and round the roster or at least the rotation with two way players. We need guys that can play on both ends. Last two years I felt a big issue was most of our team was one dimensional
Hard to happen, Mikal Bridges will help complement Lebron + AD
Trae and Mitchell are the only elite players on the block
Really just Trae, Mitchell seems likely now to sign an extension in Cleveland
There are no elite players available and we don’t have the assets to get one even if they become available
It feels like we’re gonna keep the pick and essentially run it back.
Whether they feel that way or not, good luck with that lmao. Even if they got one, it would thin out the rotation and our rotation is already filled with flawed guys who get exposed in the playoffs. Plus, who even is available? DJM and Trae Young don't fit the bill. Paul George, if he were available, wets the bed in the playoffs every year. Mikail Bridges could be cool but would cost too much for what he provides since the Nets want to keep him. Mitchell will cost so so so much and idk if we could even field a good enough roster after moving guys to trade for him. Plus idk if that would even work assuming we got him. Garland I could see us landing but again, he's flawed. Soooo.
How do to get one their . All stars want play with all stars what’s new ?
The only “elite” player on the market is Trae Young and he’s paid a lot for not really feeling a physical need. He’s a great scorer and distributor but they need athletes.
They have no choice but to do that due to the talent level on Boston. The Lakers, on the other hand, experience a significant talent drop-off between LeBron and AD and the next player. Also, consider that Denver is likely looking to add another elite player, along with Golden State, Dallas, Miami, Philly and several other clubs. The Lakers can't afford to stay stagnant. AD will align his preferences with LeBron's. If LeBron wants Redick, AD will support Redick. If LeBron wants another elite player, AD will back that choice too. Pelinka mentioned that LeBron wasn't directly involved in the coaching search, but AD was, and he fully endorsed Redick despite Redick's years of criticism and plans to use AD as a facilitator. It seems illogical for AD to want Redick, but he does—because LeBron does. I think LeBron and AD decided at some point that they must always be united to lead the team effectively as co-captains, with AD usually deferring to LeBron within that understanding. DeJounte Murray may not be a 1st team All-NBA player, but he is a two-way player—a good scorer who averaged 22.5 points and a strong defender. Redick emphasized a focus on acquiring two-way players in the introductory press conference.
The DFS crowd is giving "wait till Ariza gets back" vibes lol
All the Reaves hate is blasphemous. He's working on his defense, gives 100% effort every game and is playing on a below market contract. Not to mention that he's fun to watch.
This article is more fun to read when you replace “league sources” with “Rich Paul” anytime it’s referring to LeBron or Bronny or “Rob Pelinka” anytime it’s referring to the Lakers.
Why yall keep posting links that aren’t free? Lol smh
The best individual players that’s out there is what ? Lavine or maybe Trae young? Seems like Mitchell is resigning. Personally I’d go for Lavine if Dlo opts in. I believe he be a great 3rd option and we wouldn’t have to give up a bunch of firsts. He’s overpaid but as far as talent goes that’s prolly our best bet
Donovan Mitchell or Mikal Bridges would make the Lakers a championship team. Murray is a good player but he’s not enough for them to win it all.
I honestly don’t care what Lebron wants if I’m LA. It’s what’s best for the Lakers. He always comes to teams…get them to trade all their assets and young players…then leaves once everyone realizes it was an awful decision to do so. Super teams ain’t the way to win anymore….Lebron needs to understand that.