LeBron becomes the Greatest Laker Ever

We’re nearly twenty four hours post the least public, quietest decision of LeBron “King James” career, selecting the Los Angeles Lakers as…

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LeBron becomes the Greatest Laker Ever

King James is now the greatest Laker of all time!

We’re nearly twenty four hours post the least public, quietest decision of LeBron “King James” career, selecting the Los Angeles Lakers as his next career destination, signing a 4 year $153.3M free agent contract (Technically a three year deal with a fourth year player option). The media hasn’t stopped talking about the news, its implications on the league, Lakers, Cavs, Eastern vs. Western Conference. One of the most intriguing questions, does LeBron James immediately become the greatest NBA player to wear a Los Angeles Lakers jersey?

To put this into perspective, six of the top 8 all time NBA scorers have played for the Lakers, the franchise has won 16 NBA championships and it’s one of the most storied professional sports brands in all of North America, if not the world. If you believe LeBron James is one of the best three, or even two, greatest players in the history of the league (behind Michael Jordan, and possibly Bill Russell), it would stand to reason he’s the greatest Laker of all time as well.

As for the implication for the league:

Los Angeles Lakers — LeBron isn’t joining this team to win immediately. However there are some strong pieces in place and cap room next year to add a Kawhi Leonard as a free agent. This move was about family and post career opportunities but assuredly LBJ sees a chance to build a championship team in the next 2 to 3 years, around all world talents Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and solid role players such as Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart. The quality of the very young pieces (all 4 of those are 23 or younger, Ball/Ingram being under 21) enables the cap flexibility and development projection that is key to this decision. Net Net — the Lakers will be a playoff team next year, probably in the 4th/5th seed range but they are aiming for ‘19-’20 to be a title contender.

Cleveland Cavs — this franchise is in a far better shape than the last time LeBron left. They have some “pieces”, in particular a still in his prime Kevin Love who I predict will step up in LBJ’s absence to be an Eastern Conference all-star and a player who keeps them relevant, albeit in the 7th/8th seed playoff hunt. In addition some of their secondary pieces will enable them to be competitive, such as Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson and the younger pieces they added this past year such as Larry Nance Jr, Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson. There will be a lot of talk about this year’s 8th pick, Collin Sexton, he needs to show on the court his talent but he fits a need and is a talented, headstrong, competitive type leader who could be the primary building block. One major issue, they gave away their first round pick in ’19, unprotected, to Atlanta in the Kyle Korver deal back in ’17. The Cavs have NO reason to tank in ‘18/’19. Net net though they are starting over in some ways and I expect them to compete this year, rehabbing their assets, and aiming to build for ‘20-’21.

Eastern Conference — LeBron’s move makes the east wide wide open. Boston Celtics are the heavy favorites with Philadelphia Sixers a strong contender. The rest of the teams are a piece (or two) behind but it’s open for the Milwaukee’s and Toronto’s to make a run. Net Net — the disparity in conferences just widened further.

Houston Rockets — They had their opportunity, LeBron’s move (and Trevor Ariza’s departure) likely means they’re falling back to a #3 or #4 seed with further regression due to the age of their roster and star players.

San Antonio Spurs — An under the radar loser in this are the Spurs. Their potential all time great young star, Leonard, has help firm he only wants to play with the Lakers and will be an unrestricted free agent next season. They have NO leverage to get a fair market deal and LeBron’s actions (3+ year deal) means he likely is open to developing the young talent this year and waiting a year for Leonard to come w/o sacrificing assets. Spurs now face a lose-lose situation.

Golden State Warriors — Near term this has little impact other than to make their in-state division rival more competitive. In ‘19-’20 with the addition of another star such as Leonard and continued maturation of their young talent, they would be a major threat to their NBA reign and impediment to their dynastic run.

Oklahoma City / Other Western Conference Teams — If LeBron can maintain a high level of performance and the Lakers talent develops, the rest of the west (sans Golden State) now faces the rise of another western conference super power. For heavy tax payer teams such as OKC (facing a $80M+ tax bill for ‘18-’19 alone), this will be a tough pill to swallow.