Current Lebron can't even get his team to the playoffs, while pulling his typical franchise wrecking drama. And even Lebron at his best without favorable circumstances couldn't win a title or beat the Warriors.
**** yeah I’d do it. I don’t think CP3 or LeBron have declined nearly to the extent some members on this board make it out to be. Sure they’re not 28 and in their prime but they still have a 2 year window to get the job done together. All else being equal I’d take a CP3/Bron combo over CP3/Harden all day every day. Moving Harden allows CP3 to reassume his Point God position and Ego to play his natural 2 spot if we keep him.
No I don't... ...But mainly because this LeBron led team wouldn't even make the playoffs to have that chance. Dude is not as good as he used to be and is not as good as Harden is now. Everyone here complaining about how CP3 has declined and now we want to go and add someone else who has also declined
So how exactly would LeBron would have helped us make the finals? We know he can no longer Duplicate Hardens 31-6-6 So Does CP3/PJ/EGO/Capela/Green/Shumpert/House/Faried/NeNe/etc would all play significantly better? Rocket River
LeBron is still the best player in the league . When he was healthy, the Lakers were lined up to go to the playoffs this year. LeBron has finals appearances and experience and can play excellent defense (when he chooses to). Harden can't defend the perimeter well but is good in the post. There will be more ball movement in the offense when Harden leaves and less iso. Ideally if we can pick up Kuzma or Ingram then yes, you should pull the trigger. Its LeBron James for heavens sake. I think he makes CP3 better
No, he would actually have to work harder. LAL would win more than 50 games if they have Harden, which means that Lebron has to win at least 48 games in order to make the playoffs. And with the heavy injury we had last season, that means Lebon has to give us Harden like numbers(average over 35 points) and not to miss more than 10 games, which is highly unlikely given that he only averaged 27 points and missed 27 games last season. You may be right, if we have Lebron instead of Harden, and assumes he can be as good as he was in the playoffs in the last few years, which is already a strong assumption to make, we may have a better chance to be the Warriors. However, we won't make the playoffs, so that means nothing.
When Lebron was healthy and when Lakers had the best schedule early in last season, they were only 1 game ahead of the 8th seed in the West. Guess what happened when the schedule got tougher? They were only 1 game about 500 with Lebron playing last season. Yes, Lebron may still be the best player in the league if he doesn't need to play heavy minutes in the regular season and has two all stars supporting him. But we don't have two all stars, and we can't afford him coasting in the regular season because we don't have a chance to make the playoffs if he does so.
