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The King Has Landed: Making Sense of LeBron James in Purple and Gold
James has changed basketball several times over in the ways he’s reshaped free agency. Over the past few years, he’s done so by signing short-term contracts that enabled him to retain year-to-year control over his destiny, and we’ve seen the influence in the decision-making of a number of stars since. LeBron’s move to the West tilts the NBA landscape like a seesaw. The Eastern Conference has been unchained. The Celtics and Sixers will have an easier path to the NBA Finals for years to come; Giannis Antetokounmpo could lead the Bucks to the promised land; the Raptors (and Dwane Casey), meanwhile, are thinking his decision came one year too late. And now the Western Conference is more loaded than ever. The cloud James hung over the Eastern Conference this decade will now be felt on every team in the West. Teams on the playoff bubble like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Clippers have to be sulking, and suddenly the Rockets, the only worthy opponent the Warriors faced last season, have company.
But the Warriors are still gatekeepers of the West—and the league as a whole. They should be considered favorites even if the Lakers land Leonard. This reality has fans wondering why James would go West when the Sixers presented a better team and an easier Finals path. Aside from the fact this decision has to do with more than just basketball, it’s worth considering that the James has taken the opposite path of Kevin Durant, who took an easy route in signing with a 73-win team that nearly beat the Cavaliers in 2016.
James is going to a young, raw roster that hasn’t made the playoffs for five seasons. If James brings the Lakers back and stars a new era of glory days in Los Angeles, it’s another notch in his column for the GOAT argument. If LeBron wins a title or titles in Los Angeles, it’d mean that his team toppled the so-called inevitable Warriors dynasty in the most loaded conference in league history and then took down a formidable opponent in the East: Likely either the young, hungry Sixers or a Celtics team helmed by his former teammate in Kyrie Irving. The first major arc of LeBron’s career was defined by his losses to the Boston Celtics; over the years he’s reversed his fate against the storied franchise completely. Now, he has the chance to end his career as part of a greater chapter of the league’s most historic rivalry.
The Lakers ultimately provide LeBron with a world of upside: the chance to win another title with his third team in a new conference in a new era while guiding the most popular basketball franchise in the world back to the top of the league. L.A.’s implications on LeBron’s legacy far exceeds anything else he would have achieved in any other city. LeBron won’t catch the ghost he’s chasing without taking a risk. This is it.
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On July 02 2018 15:00 JimmyJRaynor wrote: meh, did Reggie Jackson make a bitch move when he signed with the New York Yankees? or CC Sabathia ... or Jimmy Key... or Johnny Damon?
its just a made up excuse to hate Durant. Eh, I'm not really knowledgeable about other American sports, you'll have to give me a pass on that one :D. And on the Internet I guess anything short of full support is "hate". I highly respect Durant as a player (and human being in fact, he seems like a genuinely good dude), it's just the decision I'm disappointed in. It's where I realized the actual width of the gap between "NBA basketball as a business" and "basketball as a competitive sport", and I don't really like it. If everybody starts doing KD-type of moves in the future I'll have to get used to it I guess. I argued at length about that already so best is to let it rest. I'm already less virulent about Durant's move than I was before haha. Like I said, winning did kinda justify the move, I see how that would make a person happy.
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On July 02 2018 20:29 ZenithM wrote:Show nested quote +On July 02 2018 15:00 JimmyJRaynor wrote: meh, did Reggie Jackson make a bitch move when he signed with the New York Yankees? or CC Sabathia ... or Jimmy Key... or Johnny Damon?
its just a made up excuse to hate Durant. Eh, I'm not really knowledgeable about other American sports, you'll have to give me a pass on that one :D. And on the Internet I guess anything short of full support is "hate". I highly respect Durant as a player (and human being in fact, he seems like a genuinely good dude), it's just the decision I'm disappointed in. It's where I realized the actual width of the gap between "NBA basketball as a business" and "basketball as a competitive sport", and I don't really like it. If everybody starts doing KD-type of moves in the future I'll have to get used to it I guess. I argued at length about that already so best is to let it rest. I'm already less virulent about Durant's move than I was before haha. Like I said, winning did kinda justify the move, I see how that would make a person happy. The New York Yankees are the "super team" of MLB. The players named received little to no 2nd guessing about their decision to join the Yankees super team. They all left rival teams who fought hard against the Yankees only to join the super team in the next year.
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On July 02 2018 13:32 ZenithM wrote: If he stays in GSW, Curry will enter the top 10 before him then :D. I think the opposite, he joined them and bevame there best player. In the playoffs it has not been close. I dont see how you could rank curry as better when durrant is way way better on the d end and been way more consistent on the o end. And way more healthy
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Japan11285 Posts
Lol who would have guessed LeBron to the Lakers (Sarcasm)
Just like a comment I read on another site "Now LeBron can lose to the Warriors 4 times in the regular season too" lmao
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On July 02 2018 22:34 Twinkle Toes wrote: Lol lakers are still way behind the celts. With out more moves they are maybe a second round team.
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I'm not sure this is the best move for Lebron on a basketball basis. It's similar to a 60-year old getting a new job near a nursing home.
On July 02 2018 13:12 JimmiC wrote: Not to mention coddled their whole lives. Most of the top top guys have been superstars since their early teens and have surrounded themselves with yes men.
Kawhi wasn't a superstar until a few years in the NBA. In his case, I read somewhere (I forgot where - NY Times?) that this is due to an uncle who he trusts. Said uncle is insinuated as a greedy hanger on who is trying or has already succeeded in taking over Kawhi's business interests.
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johnny damon was definitely a bitch for joining the yankees, mainly because of his quotes where he stated he'd never go to the yankees, that he loved boston so much, etc
he also got paid way more there than he would have in boston, so you can't blame him, but you can certainly mock him
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On July 03 2018 00:08 andrewlt wrote:I'm not sure this is the best move for Lebron on a basketball basis. It's similar to a 60-year old getting a new job near a nursing home. Show nested quote +On July 02 2018 13:12 JimmiC wrote: Not to mention coddled their whole lives. Most of the top top guys have been superstars since their early teens and have surrounded themselves with yes men. Kawahi wasn't a superstar until a few years in the NBA. In his case, I read somewhere (I forgot where - NY Times?) that this is due to an uncle who he trusts. Said uncle is insinuated as a greedy hanger on who is trying or has already succeeded in taking over Kawhi's business interests. Well he was drafted 15th overall and was pretty good in college and highschool. So not like lebron level but he was still aau and all that. There are guys who get coddled that dont even make it to college.
That uncle stuff is interesting. It sure has changed his image from quiet, teamoriented super star to trouble maker.
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On July 03 2018 01:56 KOFgokuon wrote: johnny damon was definitely a bitch for joining the yankees, mainly because of his quotes where he stated he'd never go to the yankees, that he loved boston so much, etc
he also got paid way more there than he would have in boston, so you can't blame him, but you can certainly mock him
ah really? hmmm... i recall people in Boston whining about Damon but no one outside of Boston. When Jimmy Key left for New York no one in Toronto even blinked. The rest of the league/USA didn't care.
upon further reflection, i guess the thing that prevents these baseball players' decisions being labelled as a "bitch move" is that the new york yankees are always willing to pay more than any other team. so in that respect the parallel between GSW signing an FA and the NYY signing an FA breaks down.
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On July 03 2018 02:31 JimmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2018 00:08 andrewlt wrote:I'm not sure this is the best move for Lebron on a basketball basis. It's similar to a 60-year old getting a new job near a nursing home. On July 02 2018 13:12 JimmiC wrote: Not to mention coddled their whole lives. Most of the top top guys have been superstars since their early teens and have surrounded themselves with yes men. Kawahi wasn't a superstar until a few years in the NBA. In his case, I read somewhere (I forgot where - NY Times?) that this is due to an uncle who he trusts. Said uncle is insinuated as a greedy hanger on who is trying or has already succeeded in taking over Kawhi's business interests. Well he was drafted 15th overall and was pretty good in college and highschool. So not like lebron level but he was still aau and all that. There are guys who get coddled that dont even make it to college. That uncle stuff is interesting. It sure has changed his image from quiet, teamoriented super star to trouble maker.
Ok, this is one of the articles I've read before about the topic. Can't remember the others but this has enough info.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23366667/inside-tension-kawhi-leonard-spurs
That's the only way Philippine basketball gets in the news. Based on growing up there, they are really into it for a country full of midgets.
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On July 03 2018 04:27 andrewlt wrote:Show nested quote +On July 03 2018 02:31 JimmiC wrote:On July 03 2018 00:08 andrewlt wrote:I'm not sure this is the best move for Lebron on a basketball basis. It's similar to a 60-year old getting a new job near a nursing home. On July 02 2018 13:12 JimmiC wrote: Not to mention coddled their whole lives. Most of the top top guys have been superstars since their early teens and have surrounded themselves with yes men. Kawahi wasn't a superstar until a few years in the NBA. In his case, I read somewhere (I forgot where - NY Times?) that this is due to an uncle who he trusts. Said uncle is insinuated as a greedy hanger on who is trying or has already succeeded in taking over Kawhi's business interests. Well he was drafted 15th overall and was pretty good in college and highschool. So not like lebron level but he was still aau and all that. There are guys who get coddled that dont even make it to college. That uncle stuff is interesting. It sure has changed his image from quiet, teamoriented super star to trouble maker. Ok, this is one of the articles I've read before about the topic. Can't remember the others but this has enough info. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23366667/inside-tension-kawhi-leonard-spursThat's the only way Philippine basketball gets in the news. Based on growing up there, they are really into it for a country full of midgets.
LOL, I think a lot of the team is not really from their, its dudes who played there long enough to get citizenship. I read Andre Blantche was on the team. Rolf.
Good article thanks.
Lakers signed Rondo which is interesting because he loves to always have the ball in his hands and make the pass for the assist. It has upset teammates because he does not always make the "right" pass he will hold till he can get an assist. Which will be interesting to see how it unfolds with LBJ who also has always had the ball in his hands. Maybe rondo will just control the bench. He is such a risk reward signing because at this best he's still a elite PG and at his worst he creates a ton of in fighting.
They also renounced Randle, which I find surprising I think he was effective. I wonder where he will go now he's a UFA. Maybe the Kings? They have no pick next year so no motivation to tank I think he could help them score and rebound.
Also for those of you interested in the complexities of the NBA cap. Cleaning the Glass, probably the top analytics NBA site out there. Lots is behind a paywall but this is not.
https://cleaningtheglass.com/making-sense-of-the-cap/
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next season might be more of the same for lebron, carrying a bad team single handedly.
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Except he will run into much better teams much sooner. Could be a first round exit. Which his mileage might not be the worst thing.
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Blatche got Filipino citizenship even though he has no connection to the country. I don't think he ever played in the local league as an import beforehand. He is 1 inch shy of a being 7-footer but beggars can't be choosers. lol
When I was still there 20 years ago, the big thing was inviting players with mixed Filipino and taller race ancestry to be stars in the local league and/or join the national team. I don't follow the local league but most of the players in that report have local sounding names.
Rondo is a surprise signing for the Lakers. They are so far surrounding Lebron with loads of bricktastic 3-pt shooters. Their best 3-pt shooter might be Lebron.
Carrying a team single handedly in the east is different than the west. Having to potentially face both the Warriors and the Rockets and maybe a team like the Pelicans/Wolves in the first round is not an easy task.
I'm surprised the Warriors let go of McGee if he's signing with the Lakers for the minimum. I'm surprised Ariza went to the Suns but not surprised the Rockets let him go at that price tag.
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I don't really recall what the Warriors' whole contract situation is. Maybe they had to let McGee go because like 2/3ds of their bench was big men. The playoffs really showcased a need in case either Stevenson or Iggy isn't at 100%.
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They definitely had too many big men on their bench. McGee was their most effective traditional center whenever they used one. Him with 4 out of the 5 death lineup players seemed like one of the most effective lineups they had. And I'm pretty sure he was making the minimum there as well.
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On July 03 2018 04:27 andrewlt wrote:
That's the only way Philippine basketball gets in the news. Based on growing up there, they are really into it for a country full of midgets.
Isn't there a joke about "you're playing with Filipinos when the tallest guy is the PG"? xD
@twinkletoes Plenty of people complained about James going to Miami. The prevailing counterargument, and I paraphrase here, was something along the lines of "stfu ur just a h8er". Even if you stripped away the more emotional complaints, it still represented an example of egregious collusion and acting in bad faith.
I think it's rather exciting that Lebron is going to the Lakers. You could argue, though, that Leonard's camp, purposefully or no, committed market tampering by making it known that they would only go to the Lakers. This seems like a pretty serious problem to me, considering the tradee has an incentive for his new team to retain as many of their assets as possible.
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