Signing Cousins and trading for Lillard would not be good moves. They would then be capped out just like Miami and Cleveland got to be real quick, with no depth. I think their best move might be to just wait, Kuzma, Ingram, Ball, Hart are all decent to good prospects and more importantly young and cheap. The Lakers have roster flexibility. I would let Randle walk, he's decent but not a great fit. Don't give up assets for Kawhi when you can sign him next summer. They also could be players for Jimmy Butler and/or Klay next summer too.
NBA: LeBron 2018-2019
- Thread starter cycopath25
- Start date
Signing Cousins and trading for Lillard would not be good moves. They would then be capped out just like Miami and Cleveland got to be real quick, with no depth. I think their best move might be to just wait, Kuzma, Ingram, Ball, Hart are all decent to good prospects and more importantly young and cheap. The Lakers have roster flexibility. I would let Randle walk, he's decent but not a great fit. Don't give up assets for Kawhi when you can sign him next summer. They also could be players for Jimmy Butler and/or Klay next summer too.
I don't mind Cousins on a one year prove it deal. If he can come back healthy he gives them a second All Star to run with Lebron, and if it doesn't work out they can dump him and take a shot at the FA market next summer. I agree on Julius Randle. He's a nice player but matching any multi year offer would be a mistake. Roster flexibility should be the top priority until they can take aim at the 2019 free agent class.
I agree completely. I didn’t really lay it out in my post but this move is so much more than basketball. He knows that being involved in the entertainment industry while still a viable NBA player sets him up way better than doing it post NBA.
Lebron is a smart guy and this is the next step in helping further all of his brands and companies. If he can somehow win another championship is just icing on the cake.
If he takes a one year deal, then fine, but I can't see him not getting any long term offers. I'm also not high on him coming back post injury at the same level. He already was trending into more and more of a perimeter shooter (6 3's a game last year) and less of a low post guy, ala Kevin Love. That role is only worth a max deal if they can provide great defense, like Chris Bosh did. Cousins is much closer to Love defensively and that's not going to get better coming back from a major injury. He's also a terrible teammate by almost all accounts.
Yeah, I get the risk there. The odds are against him ever getting all the way back. And it's probably a moot point anyway because I think some team out there is going to give him a multi year deal. But if the market for him doesn't materialize and there's a chance to take a one year flier on him, then I don't see the harm. If it doesn't work out or he's a pain in the ass in the locker room they can ditch his expiring contract or just send him home. I get the feeling that if he finds himself on a one year deal then whoever gets him is going to get the very best version of Boogie. Gotta love those contract years.
I would avoid Boogie like the plague -- injury history and bad personality? Nope.
Keep your powder dry, LA. Get Klay and Kawhi after next year. See which ones of the young guys to keep if LeBron likes them after playing together.
Keep your powder dry, LA. Get Klay and Kawhi after next year. See which ones of the young guys to keep if LeBron likes them after playing together.
I actually hope Cousins stays in NO. I want to see what him and AD can do together.
The Lakers do need a starting Center and I've seen they've shown interest the Cousins/Randle/Noel/Capella. They got McGee, and he can be alright in a pinch but I wouldn't want to count on him to start every night. If they can get one of Cousins/Randle/Noel on a one year deal (Capella is going to be multi years), and keep their financial flexibility for next year when Kawhi, Durant, Thompson, and Butler are all scheduled to be FA's, the Lakers franchise could be set up for a nice run. Especially with the option to snipe Klay or KD from Golden State.
That is all dependent on LeBron being okay playing the long game instead of winning this year. LBJ surprising signing for 4 years without another All Star already in place in LA indicates that could be his mindset.
Randle should be signing a multi-year deal at this point in his career, it would be a big risk for a guy who's already missed one entire season to pass up a long term contract. I agree with you last point, it really does come down to convincing LeBron to not go all in this year in order to be set up much better going forward. Who knows how many more peak years he as but he's seen how quickly you become stuck with a flawed roster once you start bringing in max deals from both Cleveland and Miami.
Randle doesn't shoot well enough and will probably get a long term deal somewhere else. Cousins injury is a huge risk and should only get a 1 year deal from LA. Capella is going to be too expensive. McGee is fine for now but if Noel isn't looking for a massive contract he could be worth a look. Nice rim protector, young, and just needs to rebound and catch lobs.
Before throwing any big, long term money at a center, I would think really hard about what kind of crunch time lineups you think you're going to face in the playoffs. With the current landscape I think I would be comfortable with a 35 year old LeBron getting mins at the 5 down the stretch. If you want to really gas the offense, that's your best bet. The Warriors have shown you can get almost any center off the floor today going small like that. Anthony Davis and Embiid are the only two big guys I would be afraid of, I think you can live with the trade offs if you're facing Embiid and centers can't guard Davis today as is.
The Center market right now is very weak. I was surprised Jordan settled for a 1 year deal even it it ends up being 20+ million due to his age. The way the league is moving there just isn't a demand or landing spots for traditional centers. Randle/Noel/Cappella/Howard are solid players but don't shoot from outside thus appeal is limited with only a few realistic places in need of a starting center Washington, LA, (maybe non playoff teams the Knicks/Hawks/Bucks?) A one year deal may be the best they can get to get their value up, and try again in 2019 when there maybe more options.
I do think Cousins will ultimately get a multi-year deal with NO (even possibly to be traded to the Washington). Boogie's risky but upside is so great.
Two players I think fit the current NBA very well and are on affordable contracts would be the Lakers draft picks from this year: Mo Wagner (7 footer with 3 pt ability) and Svi Mykhailiuk (3 pt shooter on the cheap vs an expensive guy like JJ Redick).
This roster isn't all that bad already and they're certainly not done making moves.
Ball
Ingram
LeBron
Kuzma
McGee
---
LAnce
KCP
Wagner
Svi
Hart
This roster isn't all that bad already and they're certainly not done making moves.
Ball
Ingram
LeBron
Kuzma
McGee
---
LAnce
KCP
Wagner
Svi
Hart
Poor Cameron Lard.
Big men who cannot shoot or be a ferocious rim protector just are not much in demand.
Poor Cameron Lard.
Big men who cannot shoot or be a ferocious rim protector just are not much in demand.
Not right now. But you never know what the league will look like post-Golden State.
LeBron going to the West will only help his finals record. I mean he can't lose in the finals if he doesn't get there.
That's exactly what I kept saying when people said he wanted an easy path to the Finals so he'll stay in the East. Nobody wants their legacy to be a 3-10 finals record. Much better to be 4-7.
I assume your referring Jordan fans pointing to his 6-0 finals record as why he is #1 player of all time instead of LeBron, I think most still put Lebron #2 with that opinion at this time.
Winning one more Finals can elevate LBJ closer to Mike maybe even past one day, but getting there 8 consecutive years adds to his legacy and won't cause him to slip down the rankings if he loses.
I don't think the Lakers will get to the Finals this year but 2019 and after they will be a threat to. Lebron went to LA for the family reasons, off the court interest and to win including compteting for Championships, he didn't go out west to protect a finals record.
Lebron James won't make another finals appearance in his career.
