steady986:
Lol. People mentioning how the Suns are doing well with CP3 and a young core, how the Grizzlies are doing well with pieces they drafted, how the Warriors are coping well post KD, how the Heat are resurging recently, how the Cavs are doing fine post LeBron. Help me ask them how many championships these teams have won in the time period. Lol. We always want to talk about how the Lakers have done poorly by mortgaging their future, how they sought quick success rather than having patience in developing their drafts. Lol. They fail to mention the championship they won as a result of all that. There are 30 teams in this league, and if the Lakers are only able to win one championship in 30 years then that's still on par.

We like to judge the Lakers differently. A team that just won a championship 2 years ago. Talking about they mortgaged their future. Even if we don't win a championship until we're able to get good drafts in 2026, we're good. The Celtics haven't won a championship since 2008, and yet we're receiving moral lessons by a fan on how to win championships . It took us 8 years to win post Shaq, and 10 to win after that. Lol. If we don't win within the next 6-8 years, or at least if we are not competitive, then you can raise the alarm. I would do that AD trade again if given the opportunity. It turned into a championship, nothing else matters.

Thank you, the level of vitriol Lebron receives sometimes, even I who is more of a Kobe/Timmy guy just does not understand. The NBA is about winning the championship, all those story about being competitive without winning it all is bollocks.

donlittle25:
I don’t get why people are missing the point.

You can draft well and compete for 7-8 years when the time is right or you can put pieces together and compete for 3 years, and maybe with luck win a championship. Losing so many cards while trying to put pieces together is the bad way to go like the lakers. They just don’t have any bargaining chips. None. Hopefully they can become a FA destination once again but most guys are plying their trade with other markets these days and are able to attract serious endorsements which only big teams could offer before. That was the selling point of these big teams but you could find that almost anywhere now if you are good enough.

The selling point of the Lakers used to be that it was the glamour franchise but the difference now is that the margin for error is shrinking. You can play for small markets and still get your flowers as we're seeing with Giannis and Ja.

The Lakers getting to just 1 Finals after 4 years of AD and Lebron would be a disaster

Khanben:


The draft is a crap shoot. Nobody has figured out the formula on how to quantify a can't miss prospect. That is why, if you already have a bonafide number 1 option in place, drafts picks are meant to fill up the team. The goal of an nba team is to win, not to be competitive. Ask the Raptors and they will tell you that the past 4 years were better than all those years they kept losing in the playoffs. Yes they only won 1, but if you hook Masi and co to a polygraph they will tell you it was worth it because they have proven that they have what it takes to build a team which can win it all because they have done it before.

PS: The worst is when it comes to legacy, nobody cares about how many playoffs you made, they all care about if you won a chip.

Are you comparing the Lakers to a backwater franchise like Toronto Raptors? Do you see anyone scrutinizing Toronto? There's a difference between expectations for both teams. And there will always be. Toronto is never expected to win a championship and have been punching above their weight all this time

Bear in mind they didn't mortgage anything for Kawhi. They lost nothing so I don't quite understand this comparison

Roland17:


As in ehn! I no even bother respond to that particularly post. As though LeBum is supposed to improve in the coming years. A player that has progressively declined in most aspects of his game, especially on defense, is the one he is reminding the Laker nation has 2 more seasons (including this season) to endure. LeBum that averaged 23 pts in the post season the last time we saw him, can't carry the Lakers by himself, either with younger players or without a healthy AD! Some stories just write themselves.

Most of these guys are not Laker fans, they are just LeBum fans and anything that protects debunked narratives is fine and dandy!

The great teams do not merely think for now they think for the future as well. No serious team wants to fluke one bubble ring and remain irrelevant and hamstrung for years to come. Bronsexuals cannot see the trees for the forest. They have hailed the decision to get a perma crock AD but at what cost?

Even if they want to defend the decision to trade for AD who had prior to joining LA missed at least 12-15 games a season, does it make sense to still attack Pelinka for not moving their only pick in the next 5 years for John Wall?

Oya nau. Shebi the guys that they deemed were not good enough to contribute have been shipped out. Time for AD to carry the load

Khanben:


DeRozan was only going to work as a sign and trade. The major reason that deal and the one for Lowry did not work was the GMs fixation with THT. Now what is THT doing? absolutely nothing.

Kuzma and KCP were always going to be the key pieces in any trade for DeRozan. Isn't that what we gave for Westbrook?

steady986:


It's like you're not even aware of what the DeRozan situation was then. The only way we could have traded for him was a sign and trade (assuming SA was willing to do that. And why would they?), and doing that would have hard capped us. And he wasn't going to take a MLE from us to put us within cap

But I learnt it would still have cost the Lakers in the end almost the same pieces as Westbrook.

Also, I heard DeRozan wanted a 3-year contract and the Lakers refused.

And I think Pelinka overvalued THT which otherwise would have netted the Lakers more power during negotiations.

I for one am happy that DeRozan did not end up with the Lakers, even though I knew that is what Lakers really needed. It would have reduced DeRozan to a marginal star, and for sure he would not be in MVP conversations today. Yall know how long I have been rolling with LeKing, but I call it how I see it. If you go from team to team, you should expect these type of things to happen. Its the same thing happening to Durant now. Its not good, its not bad, its just how these things work. I am very happy to see Deroan get his just props after all these years.

My personal reading on the Lakers: Even though Lebron, Magic and other Laker greats are against Pelinka on this roster issue, Pelinka will not be fired. Why? He is that guy. Those of you in corporate environments know what I'm talking about. The green snake under green grass that knows how to survive by throwing everybody else under the bus. He is going to stroke Jeanie Buss ego and do everything to survive, including trading Lebron and AD if need be.

I am interested to see how this plays out - this is class 301: Black in Corporate America - After they have hired and promoted you, how to save yourself from the orcs coming for you. Some players are still in class 101 - How to stay hired.

steady986:
Lol. People mentioning how the Suns are doing well with CP3 and a young core, how the Grizzlies are doing well with pieces they drafted, how the Warriors are coping well post KD, how the Heat are resurging recently, how the Cavs are doing fine post LeBron. Help me ask them how many championships these teams have won in the time period. Lol. We always want to talk about how the Lakers have done poorly by mortgaging their future, how they sought quick success rather than having patience in developing their drafts. Lol. They fail to mention the championship they won as a result of all that. There are 30 teams in this league, and if the Lakers are only able to win one championship in 30 years then that's still on par.

We like to judge the Lakers differently. A team that just won a championship 2 years ago. Talking about they mortgaged their future. Even if we don't win a championship until we're able to get good drafts in 2026, we're good. The Celtics haven't won a championship since 2008, and yet we're receiving moral lessons by a fan on how to win championships . It took us 8 years to win post Shaq, and 10 to win after that. Lol. If we don't win within the next 6-8 years, or at least if we are not competitive, then you can raise the alarm. I would do that AD trade again if given the opportunity. It turned into a championship, nothing else matters.

Exactly right. The aim of each season is win the championship. We dont build teams just to be competitive. If they dont win the ring, its ultimately pointless. The blazers and kings in the kobe/shaq era were well built, but no ring. Who remembers them today? Which of them is in top 75?

A40:
Are you comparing the Lakers to a backwater franchise like Toronto Raptors? Do you see anyone scrutinizing Toronto? There's a difference between expectations for both teams. And there will always be. Toronto is never expected to win a championship and have been punching above their weight all this time

Bear in mind they didn't mortgage anything for Kawhi. They lost nothing so I don't quite understand this comparison

Under Kobe the Lakers had 7 years without a chip, after Shaq left, nobody killed him for that. This Lakers team still has a shot at another title till Lebron contract runs out.
The Raptors gave up and all-star, a shooter and a 1st round pick for a one year rental. If Lebron had been a member of that team, you will be screaming to the heavens that he was the one who forced the deal.

PS: D Ainge was practically worshipped in Boston for more than a decade and all he had to show for it was 1 championship

Incase World War 3 goes down. It was nice knowing y'all

birdman:
I for one am happy that DeRozan did not end up with the Lakers, even though I knew that is what Lakers really needed. It would have reduced DeRozan to a marginal star, and for sure he would not be in MVP conversations today. Yall know how long I have been rolling with LeKing, but I call it how I see it. If you go from team to team, you should expect these type of things to happen. Its the same thing happening to Durant now. Its not good, its not bad, its just how these things work. I am very happy to see Deroan get his just props after all these years.

My personal reading on the Lakers: Even though Lebron, Magic and other Laker greats are against Pelinka on this roster issue, Pelinka will not be fired. Why? He is that guy. Those of you in corporate environments know what I'm talking about. The green snake under green grass that knows how to survive by throwing everybody else under the bus. He is going to stroke Jeanie Buss ego and do everything to survive, including trading Lebron and AD if need be.

I am interested to see how this plays out - this is class 301: Black in Corporate America - After they have hired and promoted you, how to save yourself from the orcs coming for you. Some players are still in class 101 - How to stay hired.

The fact that Klutch Sports and Lebron are trying to make Pelinka the fall guy is so sad and laughable. From 'Rob wants his respect' to this. Then he wonders why nobody respects him. Leadership is not only about taking the glory when things pan out, part of being a great leader is taking ownership when shyte goes south as well.

The damage had been done building this team with LeNomad's approval. A real rider would go down on his shield not put this on Rob. Jeannie would be smart to stick with Rob and offload LeNomad if it hits the fan

Khanben:


Under Kobe the Lakers had 7 years without a chip, after Shaq left, nobody killed him for that. This Lakers team still has a shot at another title till Lebron contract runs out.
The Raptors gave up and all-star, a shooter and a 1st round pick for a one year rental. If Lebron had been a member of that team, you will be screaming to the heavens that he was the one who forced the deal.

PS: D Ainge was practically worshipped in Boston for more than a decade and all he had to show for it was 1 championship

Are you seriously comparing what the Raptors gave up for Kawhi to what the Lakers gave for AD? They got Danny Green and Kawhi for essentially DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and Keldon Johnson. Are you kidding? How do you even compare that to what you gave up for AD?

What shot? I promise you if not for that bubble break no way LeNomad wins that last title. With this Russia and Ukraine situation maybe another break will fall LeNomad's way who knows?

Danny Ainge got to two finals, only missed a chance at another final because KG was hurt. The Celtics maximized their trade. The Lakers haven't. Fluking a championship and fading to irrelevance while mortgaging your future is not maximizing

A40:
Are you seriously comparing what the Raptors gave up for Kawhi to what the Lakers gave for AD? They got Danny Green and Kawhi for essentially DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and Keldon Johnson. Are you kidding? How do you even compare that to what you gave up for AD?

What shot? I promise you if not for that bubble break no way LeNomad wins that last title. With this Russia and Ukraine situation maybe another break will fall LeNomad's way who knows?

Danny Ainge got to two finals, only missed a chance at another final because KG was hurt. The Celtics maximized their trade. The Lakers haven't. Fluking a championship and fading to irrelevance while mortgaging your future is not maximizing

A chip is a chip, i swear if it was anybody except for Lebron people will not be talking about any covid break. Timmy has 1 ring because of a lock out shortened season and nobody talks about it.

The Celtics won one chip with that trade and after fleecing the Nets has done nothing with all the boat load of picks they got. This is my very issue with all this lebron slander, teams have traded away way more picks for less results, than what the Lakers have gotten and nobody gives them grief for it. Worse we talk as if they have no assets, if the Lakers put Lebron up for trade next season teams will still put up an unprotected lottery pick. AD is still worth multiple 1 round picks, so which future did they mortgage away.

A40:
The fact that Klutch Sports and Lebron are trying to make Pelinka the fall guy is so sad and laughable. From 'Rob wants his respect' to this. Then he wonders why nobody respects him. Leadership is not only about taking the glory when things pan out, part of being a great leader is taking ownership when shyte goes south as well.

The damage had been done building this team with LeNomad's approval. A real rider would go down on his shield not put this on Rob. Jeannie would be smart to stick with Rob and offload LeNomad if it hits the fan

Guys everything is not hate all the times. Sometimes be calming down. It was Pelinka that tried to coopt AD and Lebron into this, saying that they supported his lack of action at the trade deadline. Those ones came out through their camp that said they had no hand in it. That is as far as we all know. Everything else is speculation to draw traffic. I cannot blame Lebron for refusing to be used in Pelinkas politics. Everyone should man up and own their actions.

Some of these issues are so straightforward, the way you guys try to lebron everything, ko make sense. My 2 cents.

Khanben:


A chip is a chip, i swear if it was anybody except for Lebron people will not be talking about any covid break. Timmy has 1 ring because of a lock out shortened season and nobody talks about it.

There is a visceral need people have to down Lebron, even when he is a situation where all he is doing is saying nothing, folks will still find an excuse. If the guy talks, they will still blow it up. I suppose this is the price of greatness - a consistent band of fans that just love to hate. Anyways I look at Lebron's bank account, so I am not pitying him either.

Khanben:


A chip is a chip, i swear if it was anybody except for Lebron people will not be talking about any covid break. Timmy has 1 ring because of a lock out shortened season and nobody talks about it.

Bwahahaha. Don't even go there. 2 of LeNomad's 4 chips came from lockout/shortened seasons and not even a notorious anti Bronsexual like myself ever uses it as a counter argument to discredit Lebron Blames even further.

Khanben:

The Celtics won one chip with that trade and after fleecing the Nets has done nothing with all the boat load of picks they got. This is my very issue with all this lebron slander, teams have traded away way more picks for less results, than what the Lakers have gotten and nobody gives them grief for it. Worse we talk as if they have no assets, if the Lakers put Lebron up for trade next season teams will still put up an unprotected lottery pick. AD is still worth multiple 1 round picks, so which future did they mortgage away.

They won a chip and went to the Game 7 of another NBA Final. They were competitive for 4 seasons Compare that to the Lakers who were relevant for one season and their future is now in jeopardy

The Celtics were able to parlay those picks from the Nets to get Kyrie, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They might not have won a title but they made two Conference Finals and at least have key pieces to keep competing. So yes they did fleece the Nets by squeezing as much juice from KG and Pierce and still able to flip those to Tatum and Brown

Nobody is giving you a lottery pick for a Lebron on an expiring contract. Don't con yourself. Especially with this Bronny business

As for AD only a stupid GM will give up multiple picks for a guy that has clearly shown he cannot lead a team. And has zero track record of being healthy 10 years in the league

birdman:


Guys everything is not hate all the times. Sometimes be calming down. It was Pelinka that tried to coopt AD and Lebron into this, saying that they supported his lack of action at the trade deadline. Those ones came out through their camp that said they had no hand in it. That is as far as we all know. Everything else is speculation to draw traffic. I cannot blame Lebron for refusing to be used in Pelinkas politics. Everyone should man up and own their actions.

Some of these issues are so straightforward, the way you guys try to lebron everything, ko make sense. My 2 cents.

Lol. Why do you Bronsexuals always have an excuse to bat for this man even when he's in the wrong.

I bear no hate towards him. I am not a fan yes but you will almost never see me accuse him of what he's not guilty of. There's no critique of mine about him that extends beyond basketball lines.

Are you going to sit here and pretend Lebron is happy and didn't want Pelinka to make a move? Whatever you feel about Pelinka don't you think his readiness to acquiesce to Lebron and his posse is what led to this mess?

LeNomad's constant fraternizing and flirting with other GMs does it paint Pelinka in a good light? Is that leadership? To not have the principles to stick to your troops and battle to the bitter end?

A40:


Are you going to sit here and pretend Lebron is happy and didn't want Pelinka to make a move? Whatever you feel about Pelinka don't you think his readiness to acquiesce to Lebron and his posse is what led to this mess?

LeNomad's constant fraternizing and flirting with other GMs does it paint Pelinka in a good light? Is that leadership? To not have the principles to stick to your troops and battle to the bitter end?

So the issue is now wether Lebron is feeling happy or not? We dealing with feelings now, not actions? We trying to judge him based on what we think he's feeling? wow

Lebron is a grown man, he can hang out wherever he wants. He doesnt need Pelinka's permission.

You still havent shown where he abandoned the Lakers. All you are talking about at this point is what you feel he is feeling. Not what you heard him say or do. Just what he is feeling. If that isnt personal, I dont know what is.

In other news, Pippen's decision to release that book is costing him big time. I keep seeing photo ops of all the NBA 75 and Pippen is no show. That saying is wise, some things are better left unsaid

birdman:
In other news, Pippen's decision to release that book is costing him big time. I keep seeing photo ops of all the NBA 75 and Pippen is no show. That saying is wise, some things are better left unsaid

100%.

He ended up rubbing off a lot of people the wrong way because it was quite obvious he was trying to make money from his book. I just hope it was worthy trade off for him!

Tellwhat:

This guys have massive potentials especially when sexton returns

That Allen and Garland na real quality

Mobley, okoro, even osman has been Good for them, they still have Lauri markannen. Na wetin LeBron Wan go scatter be that. Believe you me those guys would become Robots and less show less expressions when LeBron is there. All of them productivity go reduce drastically.

Roland17:


Brodie is not the entire problem, that roster is bad and poorly constructed and you are right, LeBum played a big role in the construction of that roster but guess what? He may abandon ship and blame everyone else but himself.

A roster that has Melo (37), Trevor Ariza (36), Dwight Howard (36) D'Andre Jordan (33), Kent Bazemore (32), Avert Bradley (32) all on veterans minimum I guess but are supposed to be supporting casts for player who turn LeBum (38), Russ (34), Anthony Davies (29) by the the end of this season! It can't work! No one is interested in playing defense or pushing themselves. Most of them are on their last legs.

Yet someone is saying they have 2 more years to go, in the same dreaded Western conference that has the likes of the Suns/ Warriors/ Memphis/ Mavericks/ Jazz/ Nuggets.

As in, Bron would always be Bron. Now him dey try out the blame on Pelinka who Clearly wanted buddy heild etc. Bron na chief assembler, once the assembling cast him go jump ship. Now na that young Cleveland team him Wan go scatter. Imagine all this nonsense & he expects people to recognize him as the Goat? imagine letting Caruso go just because you Wan assemble team. No be curse, dem no go make the play-in, talk more of the play-offs

joshboo:


As in, Bron would always be Bron. Now him dey try out the blame in Pelinka who Cleary wanted buddy heild etc. Bron na chief assembler, once the assembling cast him go jump ship. Now na that young Cleveland team him Wan go scatter. Imagine all this nonsense & he expects people to recognize him as the Goat? imagine letting Caruso go just because you Wan assemble team. No be curse, dem no go make the play-in, talk more of the play-offs

So it was Bron that let Caruso go, not Pelinka? Hmm the plot thickens

Khanben:


So it was Bron that let Caruso go, not Pelinka? Hmm the plot thickens

In the words of Carmelo Anthony "Nigga, you the GM". That is what he said to Lebron.

Knicks fans no kukuma get joy before! They are now chanting “Let’s go Heat”

Zion better keep that him midget mentality for New Orleans because NY go chop am raw, dem no send! Na everyday him go cry go house after any bad performance.

Roland17:
Knicks fans no kukuma get joy before! They are now chanting “Let’s go Heat”

Zion better keep that him midget mentality for New Orleans because NY go chop am raw, dem no send! Na everyday him go cry go house after any bad performance.

If that is his end goal, then he better be ready because new York media has no chills at all

Rudy Gobert is a better defender than Draymond Green.

Khanben:


So it was Bron that let Caruso go, not Pelinka? Hmm the plot thickens

Oga he isn't called LeGm for nothing, let's be realistic here, lebron assembled this new look lakers team.

joshboo:


Oga he isn't called LeGm for nothing, let's be realistic here, lebron assembled this new look lakers team.

We should stop exaggeration, does the gm get his approval before finalizing a deal, YES, but that is just like every franchise player in the league. News already came out that the Nets only made the trade for Harden both times because KD signed off on it. On the sixers side, the only reason the deal for Harden was not made sooner was because Embiid wanted Beal and only accepted the Harden trade because Beal had season ending surgery.

Android22:
In the words of Carmelo Anthony "Nigga, you the GM". That is what he said to Lebron.

Lol abeg free these dishonest folks. If that team was clicking we would be hearing LeGM and all other nonsense. Nobody would mention Pelinka's name as the brains behind the roster. They want to have their cake and eat it

joshboo:


As in, Bron would always be Bron. Now him dey try out the blame in Pelinka who Cleary wanted buddy heild etc. Bron na chief assembler, once the assembling cast him go jump ship. Now na that young Cleveland team him Wan go scatter. Imagine all this nonsense & he expects people to recognize him as the Goat? imagine letting Caruso go just because you Wan assemble team. No be curse, dem no go make the play-in, talk more of the play-offs

I'm convinced his ancestors were Fulani or Berber. Always in migration. That's why I call him LeNomad

A40:
I'm convinced his ancestors were Fulani or Berber. Always in migration. That's why I call him LeNomad

Chai,Lebron don suffer for your hand