AllforOne
... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
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- Jan 17, 2014
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Yes, it's a crazy idea. Hear me out.
LeBron cannot be happy in L.A. He just can't. The Lakers are 31-40 and on the brink of elimination. The roster is in shambles. The organization is in shambles. Lakers Nation's take on Bron is "you'll never be Kobe." They're not even the most popular NBA team in their own city.
Whispers are that they will completely strike out this summer in their bid for any of the top free agents. The Pelicans aren't going to trade them Unibrow, unless they change their mind about the offer the Lakers made before the trade deadline last month. Barring some lottery luck, the Lakers won't be in a position to get a potential star with their pick.
Best-case scenario, LeBron will spend the next three years as he has spent this one: teaming with inconsistent youngsters like Ingram and Lonzo and veterans with names like Kentavious and JaVale, and making other plans for late April through June.
The Cavs, meanwhile, are looking like a strong supporting cast for a superstar. Since Love returned, they're playing .500 ball. Sexton is a ROY candidate (Non-Luka Division). Osman looks like a player. LNJ and Zizic are solid, if not spectacular, youngish big men. They have some veterans who can play load-bearing roles on a winning team (Knight, Delly, Clarkson, TT). They also have two first-round picks this summer, including a pick near the top.
Let's say it is July. The music has stopped, all of the name free agents have landed elsewhere, and the Lakers are left holding their cocks (sorry, Jeannie; here, hold this banana). Unibrow has been traded to Not The Lakers (maybe Boston, maybe somewhere else; but not purple and gold).
Meanwhile, the Cavs have gotten stronger. They traded Swish just before the end of the NBA salary year in June, and got a first-round pick (and a player with a longer contract) for their trouble. They drafted a useful role player with the Rockets pick. Shit, let's go full retard, and say that Nick Gilbert and his bowtie delivered yet another #1 overall pick to The Land, which they used on Zion.
How far-fetched would it be for LeBron to go to Richie Paul in that situation and tell him, "keep this quiet, but find a way to get me back to the Cavs"?
Understand, I wouldn't be giving the Lakers much in return, if I were the Cavs. I'm already getting them out of a messy marriage, as well as taking on the long-term contract of a 34 year old who had his first significant injury ever this season. Any deal would have to be based on veterans with matching salaries + picks from the Cavs' rebuilt stash.
I also don't pretend to know the state of the relationship between LeBron and the Cavs. I figure that there is a bridge between Bron and Dan Gilbert, but we all know that there is a hell of a lot of water beneath that bridge. Maybe Bron/Savannah/the boys like it too much in L.A. to move back. Maybe the Cavs have moved on. Maybe both.
I just can see a scenario -- however far-fetched -- in which LeBron joins Love/Sexton/Cedi/(Zion/RJ/Ja)/LNJ/etc. And we're back to June basketball.
OK, you've held your tomatoes this long. Let me have them.
LeBron cannot be happy in L.A. He just can't. The Lakers are 31-40 and on the brink of elimination. The roster is in shambles. The organization is in shambles. Lakers Nation's take on Bron is "you'll never be Kobe." They're not even the most popular NBA team in their own city.
Whispers are that they will completely strike out this summer in their bid for any of the top free agents. The Pelicans aren't going to trade them Unibrow, unless they change their mind about the offer the Lakers made before the trade deadline last month. Barring some lottery luck, the Lakers won't be in a position to get a potential star with their pick.
Best-case scenario, LeBron will spend the next three years as he has spent this one: teaming with inconsistent youngsters like Ingram and Lonzo and veterans with names like Kentavious and JaVale, and making other plans for late April through June.
The Cavs, meanwhile, are looking like a strong supporting cast for a superstar. Since Love returned, they're playing .500 ball. Sexton is a ROY candidate (Non-Luka Division). Osman looks like a player. LNJ and Zizic are solid, if not spectacular, youngish big men. They have some veterans who can play load-bearing roles on a winning team (Knight, Delly, Clarkson, TT). They also have two first-round picks this summer, including a pick near the top.
Let's say it is July. The music has stopped, all of the name free agents have landed elsewhere, and the Lakers are left holding their cocks (sorry, Jeannie; here, hold this banana). Unibrow has been traded to Not The Lakers (maybe Boston, maybe somewhere else; but not purple and gold).
Meanwhile, the Cavs have gotten stronger. They traded Swish just before the end of the NBA salary year in June, and got a first-round pick (and a player with a longer contract) for their trouble. They drafted a useful role player with the Rockets pick. Shit, let's go full retard, and say that Nick Gilbert and his bowtie delivered yet another #1 overall pick to The Land, which they used on Zion.
How far-fetched would it be for LeBron to go to Richie Paul in that situation and tell him, "keep this quiet, but find a way to get me back to the Cavs"?
Understand, I wouldn't be giving the Lakers much in return, if I were the Cavs. I'm already getting them out of a messy marriage, as well as taking on the long-term contract of a 34 year old who had his first significant injury ever this season. Any deal would have to be based on veterans with matching salaries + picks from the Cavs' rebuilt stash.
I also don't pretend to know the state of the relationship between LeBron and the Cavs. I figure that there is a bridge between Bron and Dan Gilbert, but we all know that there is a hell of a lot of water beneath that bridge. Maybe Bron/Savannah/the boys like it too much in L.A. to move back. Maybe the Cavs have moved on. Maybe both.
I just can see a scenario -- however far-fetched -- in which LeBron joins Love/Sexton/Cedi/(Zion/RJ/Ja)/LNJ/etc. And we're back to June basketball.
OK, you've held your tomatoes this long. Let me have them.