yea but hes 35, he isn't he close to the player he was with Miami even Cleveland. Still can be a very dangerous team I don't deny that but as of right now if they assemble Kemba, Lebron and AD yes they would be title favorites. Other than that theyre a really good team, but wouldn't say a top 5 team even if they fill out they're free agents
LBJ is a freak. He was playing superb until injury. After first summer of rest without deep playoff run I expect him in top notch form next year. He wont be Miami LeBron but thats still 6-8 big dude with Chris Paul bball mind and on that alone he will be top10player as long as he plays
I mean sure i agree he will age much much better than CP3, I just think that what people don't realize is that the Warriors were INSANELY talented and the only shot that any team had was the Rockets and the Bucks. This Lakers team is not a system, its just players whose entire chances hinge on a 35 year old player that will regress. Talent like that can be beaten, but I will say that as of right now if i had to pick it would be a close series. If they get one more star they will be a tier ahead of houston
Lakers will be getting another all-star player. Whether that be Kawhi (Yikes...) or Kemba, I think it won't matter because of Anthony Davis being in his prime will still make them very good. They gave up a lot of depth but we've seen time and time again that when you have 3 all-star players you can get away with having no depth because you can have 2 stars on the floor at all times and get them all rest. With the Warriors being out of the way now I think they are the team to beat in the West. Morey pulling some rabbit out of the hat here is basically the only hopes we have.
This. Depending on whoever they get as the third star, this Lakers team could give teams, including ours, all kind of match up problems. They will not be outstanding shooters like the Worriers, but their size and overall talent will cause us big problems.
As long as he is healthy, AD is the perfect guy to build around after LeBron's retirement. Lakers never had the problem of chasing stars, stars were lining up to join them.
I’m skeptical until I see what they make of the rest of the roster. If they makeup the rest of the roster like they did last offseason then I feel like they could easily be a lottery team again given how AD is so injury prone and how Lebron is going on 35 this year. I know Magic is gone now but many of the same people making the day to day decisions still are there. The signings they made last Summer give me reason to believe they don’t know how to build around Lebron as the primary shot creator. I doubt they learned much honestly. Do they even have a head coach or is that Lebron too? Yeah... call me when they get a bench. The Pelicans scare me more now moving forward since they got a Celtics-Nets like haul. Look at how that trade changed the Celtics future from that point on in a good way. That team will be loaded up you talent and a ton of assets to make trades and sign good free agents. And we have to play them all the flippin time.
Even with that they lack 3 good shooters. DJ and Rondo are shooting turds. Ariza and Kentavius are meh shooters IMO. Troy Daniels/Covington/Vanvleet/Ellington.
I keep hearing Kemba Walker. That’s my hope for them as Walker is good, but I’m not sweating him. Everything goes right for the Lakers they win the title in a walk Everything goes wrong? Lotto AD has been made out of glass to this point in his career and never won anything. Lebron, while not washed, is 35, I’m decline, and just got hurt for the first time ever. Walker is a dude. He’s good. He’s also limited and not going to be the reason you win or lose a title at the NBA level. It will be interesting. It ain’t preordained.
I'm really disappointed the league let this happen after all the tampering and other crap that went on with Lebron , Magic and company …. I hope they all pull a hamstring.
The one thing all these teams have in common is they had bad years … lottery picks. The Rockets never had that luxury …. Morey had to nickel and dime his way to the assets to acquire Harden and now doesn't have the assets to go get that other guy and has been further complicated by #17 …. Luxury Tax Savings being forced to throw away assets to stay out of the tax. The last three years have been pretty fun but ultimately a letdown every time. I don't know if I'd rather this or having had a couple lottery years …. and pile up assets like some of these other teams. I remember the two years before Akeem they won 43 games over that 2 year span. I think CF might explode if we had to suffer thru those type of seasons …. Thing is those top picks aren't guaranteed …. you might get the goldmine or you might get the shaft.
I'm not surprised at all. The lottery rules were changed just for them. The league just wanted '' things to be done the right way''. I hope they will be beaten in the playoffs.
Y’all act like they’re going to get nobody for lack of trying. They’re going to get nobody because of people like Durant doing what he did, and now the NBA helping the Lakers get this.
LeBron averaged 27ppg last year on 51% shooting. His 2018 playoff run was ridiculous as well. His “decline” has been marginal at best. If the Rockets run it back with the same core. The Lakers will be a horrible matchup problem for us. Especially on the boards.