The instant gratification LA mentality in full force. Enter Lebron. No instant championship. No Playoffs. Time to move on
That's pretty ridiculous...but depends on team situation. A young team looking few years down the road? Makes sense Ironically... that's the Lakers.
Definitely, you won’t win with Lebron but also you will never win with their current FO so...rock = hard place.
Jeanie is super cool, I enjoy speaking to her at games here in LA and getting insight into her thoughts, but she's put a lot of faith in Luke. I'm not sure if her opinion on him has changed since the last time I sat next to her at a game, but I would have to disagree with her on him being the right coach for this team. I don't find it hard to believe that they thought about trading Lebron, she was very high on the young core and enjoys seeing them develop and learn to play with each other, Lebron has taken away from that this year. A lot of people are only blaming Magic, but isn't Rob Pelinka their GM? The Lakers are not even in that bad of a spot. Kuz, Ball, and Ingram are starter material. They screwed up with letting DLo go but got Kuzma in return. The Deng and Mozgov contracts were insane, but I dont know if I would put that on Jeanie. Signing Lebron is a no brainer, that hasnt worked out. There are no bad long term contracts.
Um, Lebron was the reason why their ticket prices went up. Soo they made a lot of money this season. Next year they will have another lottery pick to go with another all star and an improved ingram and ball. This is nothing but made up drama. The Lakers are actually doing quite well as much as I hate to say.
And Lebron will be one year older. To go from they are now to winning it all as Lebron continues to age will be extremely difficult. Perhaps it is possible though.
Jeannie seems cool in interviews, and she wants to win, but she keeps putting her faith in the wrong people. Walton, Magic, Pelinka, Kobe, and now the Lebron/Rich Paul combo. There are too many people vying for power there and Jeannie seems to have a tough time taking charge of all those egos. She also seems to rely on the “Lakers tradition” narrative instead of forging her own path. She would probably do better by cleaning house and bringing in people loyal to her that she can trust. Until she does that, the Lakers are going to continue to struggle.
That's tough...and actually think the Laker's wouldn't do that, nor would LeBron (does he have a no trade claus?). I do think LeBron is still the best player, but that's slipping with age...and age is very relevant in a deal like that. There would also be a salary match issue...Mavs would need to throw in one of the bad contracts they picked up (maybe they don't, since both teams under cap?). Not seeing the Lakers doing this. Doncic and KP would potentially be the core of the Mavs for the next decade. LeBron for a couple of years. Further, it would bloat Mavs salary, as Doncic is on rookie contract. I'd have to say No. Currently Doncic and KP would be on the Mavs not available list. I would see LeBron making sense for a team in the championship mix. Would he put the Mavs there? With KP they'd have more top talent than Lakers, but enough to surpass Denver, Houston, GS, etc.? I don't see it. Mavs are gearing up to be in that position in a couple years, when those teams are likely to start slipping. They're looking for pieces to add to Luca and KP...not replace them.
Agree, and the problem with that approach is the 'Lakers tradition" was driven by very sharp people making very smart moves. 'Tradition' doesn't replace that. They don't need to look outside of their own state for the perfect example of that...Da Raidahs. The sharp people left, and/or stopped being sharp, and they (he) tried doing things 'the Raider way', and they went from being the most successful team in sports to a laughing stock for over a decade, and counting. They do still have the glitz and glamour of LA, and the legacy of that team--which is what got them LeBron--but that doesn't substitute for sound management. There was a reason Walton told his dad, when he was offered the job "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is I was offered a head coaching job! The bad news is its the Lakers." They then went and created a roster that didn't make much sense, and I don't think the play style Luke was familiar with.
