Does this tarnish Lebron's Legacy?

If the Lakers were to trade Lebron, which I cannot see a scenario in which they would, what kind of return would you expect??
 
I guess we will agree to disagree. LeBron's career is on a downward trajectory. Zion is a star in waiting. If the Cavs happen to get the #1 pick, there is no way that I would trade that pick to get LeBron for the rest of his career. No team battling for the #1 spot should entertain that thought.
 
They just shut down LBJ for the season,he will miss 25 games this year with a collection of what...how many next year?
 
I would much rather have Zion at this point. He looks like a bigger, stronger and more athletic version of Charles Barkley. I don't know that you can really count on LeBron beyond the next 2-3 years. One guy appears to be on an elevator to the top for the foreseeable future while the other guy is clearly descending from the top.

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Yappi said:
I guess we will agree to disagree. LeBron's career is on a downward trajectory. Zion is a star in waiting. If the Cavs happen to get the #1 pick, there is no way that I would trade that pick to get LeBron for the rest of his career. No team battling for the #1 spot should entertain that thought.
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I would not trade the #4 pick to get him....




...unless I could be sure that I could stick him in Utah for the last 3 years of his multi-year deal. A long deal he refused to ever sign in Cleveland :banana:
 
I really think everyone needs to pump the brakes on Zion Williamson. Yes, he's a great college basketball player, COLLEGE. He will play guys night in and night out who are as big, some bigger, than he is next season. And while he can dominate guys who are 19-20-21 years old, he'll play against guys who are 25-30 and some older. In the NBA they make you do what you don't want to do. You like to go left, they make you go right. You spin left most of the time? You won't get to at the next level.
Can he get better, absolutely. Can he stay the same, absolutely. To proclaim him a top 20 player among the current NBA players is a slap a the current NBA players.
 
Even without getting much better basketball wise, the raw athletic ability probably makes him a borderline top-25 player in his second year. There's guys that are strong and athletic in the pros, but I can't think of anybody that's currently a 275 pound brick chithouse that runs and jumps like him. You're probably going back a handful of years to a bulkier version of LeBron to find a guy that's an equal or superior physical specimen at the forward position.

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nwwarrior09 said:
Even without getting much better basketball wise, the raw athletic ability probably makes him a borderline top-25 player in his second year. There's guys that are strong and athletic in the pros, but I can't think of anybody that's currently a 275 pound brick chithouse that runs and jumps like him. You're probably going back a handful of years to a bulkier version of LeBron to find a guy that's an equal or superior physical specimen at the forward position.

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My first concern was that he could be a 'tweener like Anthony Bennett was. If you watch him play at all, enough to note his improvement even through an injury-hampered season, he's no Bennett. His fire and motor are also impressive. He may never reach peak-LeBron level skill set, but he is going to be a very good NBA player.

Some see him cutting weight, which makes sense. Some have him at 280+ At 265-270 the right way, he's not lost strength and he lasts longer. The quicks and hops are amazing, he handles the ball decently, the shot improved a bit. As long as there is a need to keep up on him outside, he'll be a tough cover for anyone. He's got something to prove, and a bank to build.




Only an idiot would trade that for an independent old man with an attitude. I'M an independent old man with an attitude, and believe me, I'm a pain in the . LBJ is 10x worse, and no longer worth it.
 
cabezadecaballo said:
My first concern was that he could be a 'tweener like Anthony Bennett was. If you watch him play at all, enough to note his improvement even through an injury-hampered season, he's no Bennett. His fire and motor are also impressive. He may never reach peak-LeBron level skill set, but he is going to be a very good NBA player.

Some see him cutting weight, which makes sense. Some have him at 280+ At 265-270 the right way, he's not lost strength and he lasts longer. The quicks and hops are amazing, he handles the ball decently, the shot improved a bit. As long as there is a need to keep up on him outside, he'll be a tough cover for anyone. He's got something to prove, and a bank to build.


Only an idiot would trade that for an independent old man with an attitude. I'M an independent old man with an attitude, and believe me, I'm a pain in the . LBJ is 10x worse, and no longer worth it.
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Awww, come on, cabo, you're underestimating yourself. You're at least half as much of a pain in the as LeBron. :D Just kiddin'.

But I totally agree with you. I think LeBron, while not toxic, is not as inviting an option as he was while in Miami and Cleveland. I've said this before and I'll say it again: LeBron James going to LA was a mistake from the moment he signed. Not only did I think he put business on an equal plane with basketball, he went to LA at the beginning of the end of his career. He would have been King of Cleveland and still been able to produce those dumb- game shows from his home in Bath. His endorsements wouldn't have suffered a single penny. In LA, he is just another big name, and I think he underestimated the fervor by which fans and the organization jealously guard the Laker legacy. He isn't home-grown, and while his talent matches and even exceeds that of West, Baylor, Jabbar, Magic, and Kobe he will never be accepted and regarded with the kind of esteem they are. He has to secretly regret the move from a basketball standpoint. Maybe this off-season will surprise and Magic can entice some of the top free agents to join James. If not, LeBron can start making off-season plans for May and June until his contract runs out.
 
14Red said:
Cowherd says the Lakers should trade LeBron for Zion? Thoughts? That would be pretty baller, but it may be best in the long run for the Lakers?
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It doesn't matter because you can't trade LeBron without his say so.

Would LeBron trade himself? I don't think a lottery team would trade the rights to Zion for LeBron at this stage
 
Lebron is easily the best player the last 15 years and the 2nd best player of all-time.

One injury riddled season will not hurt his legacy.C'mon man.
 
bedevil said:
Awww, come on, cabo, you're underestimating yourself. You're at least half as much of a pain in the as LeBron. :D Just kiddin'.

But I totally agree with you. I think LeBron, while not toxic, is not as inviting an option as he was while in Miami and Cleveland. I've said this before and I'll say it again: LeBron James going to LA was a mistake from the moment he signed. Not only did I think he put business on an equal plane with basketball, he went to LA at the beginning of the end of his career. He would have been King of Cleveland and still been able to produce those dumb- game shows from his home in Bath. His endorsements wouldn't have suffered a single penny. In LA, he is just another big name, and I think he underestimated the fervor by which fans and the organization jealously guard the Laker legacy. He isn't home-grown, and while his talent matches and even exceeds that of West, Baylor, Jabbar, Magic, and Kobe he will never be accepted and regarded with the kind of esteem they are. He has to secretly regret the move from a basketball standpoint. Maybe this off-season will surprise and Magic can entice some of the top free agents to join James. If not, LeBron can start making off-season plans for May and June until his contract runs out.
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I think he made the move as much for his kids' and wife's desires as anything else. He may even feel as though they set a good foundation for his kids' "grounded-ness" here in the midwest and they are now ready for the bright lights.

It's entirely possible that he even consciously sacrificed his career a bit, or that he feels his body falling apart and went for the biggest/longest contract. The latter seems less likely, but nothing I've seen negates that possibility, either. Had he ended up in MSG, the "last contract" idea would be even stronger a possibility.


At any rate, I'd only take him back as a FA, given the roster now. No high picks for a PIA in decline, even declining from the highest high.
 
RJ Barret is better than Zion. Zion has zero chance of being as good as Lebron. He’s too short and isn’t a good shooter
 
Barrett's a more polished scorer at this point, and would pair nicely with Sexton. He and Cedi flowing around with Sexton in the mix could be fun. Motion, motion, motion will be deadly if they all improve a bit at catch-n-shoot.

Zion's accuracy as a shooter improved quite a bit when he was injured, and his superior leaping ability "makes him taller" than he really is. He'll always be a 4, though. His ceiling is a 21st century Barkley. I think that's still higher than Barrett's.
 
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Raider6309 said:
RJ Barret is better than Zion. Zion has zero chance of being as good as Lebron. He’s too short and isn’t a good shooter
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He's only an inch shorter than James, and did you see James' jump shot when he entered the NBA? I would say Williamson's is a bit better at this juncture.
 
As a Cavs fan, I have this bad feeling that a Cleveland reunion tour comes to LA. David Griffin comes in to replace Magic. Ty Lue gets hired as the coach. Kyrie signs in free agency and the Lakers trade for Kevin Love.
 
When Magic pulled this weak move, I can't get over the fact that he used the phrase, "...go back to being the 'big brother' of the franchise...".

He's a smart guy, even if he may be a bit of a phony. He knows what LeBron pulled on "little brother" Kyrie when both were Cavs.

I would not be the least surprised if his bailing out, in part, relates directly to dealing with the Lebron Machine. Magic's "big move or step down" was bringing in LeBron. LBJ is going after Luke Walton and is a source of team dissension.

Magic is now putting himself outside of the ugliness of contract work and hiring/firing. He likely regrets signing LeBron, and he is still Mr. Laker. He wants to remain Mr Laker.


I would love to know what Pat Reilly has had to say to his former captain and right arm on the court over the time in which he first considered bringing LBJ to LA. Considering Magic's past years and years with Reilly and Reilly's four years with Heat LBJ, I'd be shocked if there was not an ongoing dialogue re The King and his Court.
 
Pat Riley's the only one who has every stood up to the LBJ group. They pushed to can Spoelstra and he stood his ground and set the tone of the relationship. Cleveland on the other hand, rightfully or wrongfully, caved and did thing like sign average players (JR and Thompson) to huge contracts to pacify the LBJ group. Now there's a power void in LA that the LBJ group will try to fill which they may have had some role in creating).
 
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