[Amick] LeBron James' free agency: Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul or Paul George could sway decision

Sure, and I'm not saying that Lebron can't still be very good after 35, but Kareem wasn't a top 10 player in the NBA after 35 and I don't think it's a given that Lebron would be either.

By that point in Kareem's career he was still scoring 20+ but his rebounding fell off a cliff and his defense was nowhere near what it once was and you also had

Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Bernard King
Doctor J was still playing at a high level
Kevin McHale was killing it
Ralph Sampson was tearing up the league before he fell off
Moses Malone
Isiah Thomas
Adrian Dantley was scoring 30 a game in those days
and a host of others vying for that last spot in the top 10


by the time he was 37 you also could add Micheal Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Clyde Drexler to the list of players ahead of him.

I think Lebron has as good a chance as anyone to still be top 10 past 35, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking that it's a lock for him to be the first to do so in NBA history.

 

But, if his family wants to get out of Ohio and move to California, he's going to be a Laker. He already has 2 mansions out there.

 

Why can't his family live in LA while Lebron wins championships in Houston? Why does he have to tank his career for his family to live there?

 

Exactly.

 

No, it doesn't.

I'm actually thinking I'm too low at 60/40.

And I do get LOVE will be easier to get than LeBron.

 

If not for injury, there is good chance that Lebron will still be top 5 player in the league at age 35, I definitely will bet on that if we have a chance

 

At 35, maybe, I'm not sure about beyond 35. It could still happen, but Lebron would be the first player in the history of the league as far as I know to be a top 10 playing past the age of 35. If anyone can do it, then it's probably Lebron, but still....until you see it I'm not sure it's a good bet. Father time is undefeated so in a conversation about Lebron falling out of the top 10 it's a matter of when, not if.

 

Because he'd have little chance at those Championships he's talking about being in the mode for ….

Even if the Fakers land PG13 and Lebron they aren't better than the Rockets or GSW , they are a distant 3rd.

I cant see them being able to manipulate the cap in one offseason to put a supporting roster together capable of beating either team in a 7 game series. GSW while not the greatest team ever is way up there on the list …. top 3-5 in the history of the league.

And don't try to give me several great role players taking discounts to play with Lebron or in LA …. they haven't taken discounts to play with Lebron in the past and they haven't taken discounts to play in LA. These players are out to get paid every dollar they can ….

 

I don't disagree with that interpretation because that's where most of the sauces point ….


I do have to question those sauces mainly because of the rift between Lebron and Dan Gilbert. I find it hard to believe he stays to play for someone he apparently loathes.

 

didn't MJ win finals MVP at age 35

 

Sure, he turned 35 a few months before the playoffs started.....and then he retired. He wasn't a top 10 player in the league past the age of 35 though most would agree that he was the best player in the league AT 35 even though there was a lot of competition for that title. He was certainly top 10 AT 35, but that was the end of his effective career.

 

i think without the lockout the next year he probably would have ended up playing and still been a top 5 player

and another guy we could make a case for is steve nash, who did make the all-nba 2nd team as a 36yr old

 

I can see the case for MJ if he had returned, but again, he'd be the exception and even with him he was pretty bad by the time he played again at 38 so time still caught up with the GOAT.

As to Nash, his game aged REALLY well, but even with him his career took a nose dive within a few years of turning 36 and you can't blame all of it on Kobe (though I imagine some of it was certainly his fault)

The initial point was that Lebron wouldn't have that many years left as a top palyer, and I suggested that he didn't have 4 or 5 years left. While he might have his game age really well and make it to 35 or 36 as a top player who could carry a team....that's only 2 more years and it's hard as hell to find guys that even made it that long. With the Nash example, he wasn't a guy who could carry a team when he was 36 but he was still a very good PG despite his defense being an abomination at that point. Jordan was still that guy at 35, but it took more and more help, by that point in his career he essentially had a "big 3" in Chicago at a time when no one else did. If Jordan had the roster for the 6th championship that he had for the first championship....they don't make the finals, the Pacers likely beat them IMO.

 

Why do you think that means he is gone? I would think it means he is staying.

 

i agree w/ the point that lebron can't expect to be the man anymore, and even starting this upcoming season he should hand off the torch to harden and let him do all they heavy lifting. this would extend lebron's career and allow him to continue playing at a high level in the playoffs for years to come. as you mentioned, to be Tha Man just takes a lot more energy and effort. one of the reasons KD is such an incredibly cowardly p***y to have run away from that in the middle of his prime.

 

Basically this. No matter what, no matter wherever I go, Akron is home, Akron is where it started. "Just a kid from Akron." Much love to Akron, I'll never forget you guys ... but I'm out. I may be leaving the Cavs but Akron will always be home.

You can read it the other way too. Akron, home, pics of his family, he's staying home! He's staying with the Cavs!

But now you're touting Akron/family/home if you're staying? Where he's been the last 4 years? I guess I'm just missing why he needs to tout Akron now when he's already [been] there?

Of course we're reading way too much into this silly **** and have no idea.

 

It's all done guys, it's happening, the deal is probably already agreed, just waiting to see if Morey can dump Anderson with just one 1st rounder instead of two.

Spoiler

Just wondering though, why do this, at this time? I mean, he knows he's not staying there so...i wonder if he already knows where he'll go, and if he already know beofre having any meetings maybe...maybe i need to stop doing this to me

 

I can see it. Just curious.

 

He can, I just don't think he will. I'd imagine he'd like to have all his home games in the same city his family resides in.

 

Why??
Because he’s Lebron!!! You don’t know the egos of some of these guys and the desire to carve there own path and not follow Lebron.

You will have ring chasers but they are usually just past their prime anyway. It should be rockets or any team in the east based on my logic.

Lakers are not America’s team anymore. Golden state is ( sounds crazy to say!!).