Sir Charles is and will ALWAYS be correct. Lebron doesn't and want to compete

[larryjohn]

Gotta agree with @tlance on this one. Lebron is 32, assuming he has no significant injuries, Lebron probably has a good 3 years left playing at the same or very close to the same level he's at right now. Then, unless Father Time decides to really make him pay for playing at really high level until he's 35, he probably has another 2-3 years as a solid contributor on a contending team.
On top of that, not unlike Kobe in his final years, Lebron will also continue to be a huge draw in his final seasons. When you combine the opportunity to contend for a title with the money to be made just because he's on the team, Lebron would be worth every penny of a 5 year max deal.
I don't even like Lebron and if I found out the Lakers had a chance to sign him and didn't...I'd be pissed.

Big difference ... Lebron will take a backseat over time to younger players and help to mentor them on the right way to play. Kobe just said give me the ball and get out of the way -- this is still my team -- I don't care if I'm only shooting 35%.

 

[SU Nittany Tide]

This is a really dumb argument by Barkley.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Big difference ... Lebron will take a backseat over time to younger players and help to mentor them on the right way to play.

Will he, Miss Cleo?

 

[larryjohn]

Will he, Miss Cleo?

He has already done that with Kyie.

Can you imagine Lebron's farewell tour at age 37 where he has to shoot it more than anyone else on a bad team ? Where he shoots it up to 50 times / game ? (neither can I)

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

He has already done that with Kyie.

Can you imagine Lebron's farewell tour at age 37 where he has to shoot it more than anyone else on a bad team ? Where he shoots it up to 50 times / game ? (neither can I)

That's because only very few NBA greats know when their last game is for sure. You can't "go off on one" when you're in the playoffs.

Kobe's last game was meaningless on a team that wasn't playing playoff ball - why not jack up 50 shots?

Plus, I very much doubt lebron would be able to score 60 at age 37 anyway no matter how many shots he took.

 

[tlance]

Okay fair enough. Maybe I'm just too damn cheap, because I wouldn't paid LeBron (33 in December) 30 million for 5 years.

Sure. If the argument is that no player is worth 30 million, I won't argue with that. But, LeBron is literally worth more than every other player in the league right now. With guys like Mike Conley getting full max deals, it is hard for me to imagine a scenario where a long term deal for LBJ would be viewed as a bad contract.

He is worth far more than the max now, so if he isn't on the back end of the deal, the signing team still wins.

Besides, I doubt LeBron would be willing to commit anywhere for 5 years with his next deal. He loses all his leverage that way.

 

[tlance]

That's because only very few NBA greats know when their last game is for sure. You can't "go off on one" when you're in the playoffs.

Kobe's last game was meaningless on a team that wasn't playing playoff ball - why not jack up 50 shots?

Plus, I very much doubt lebron would be able to score 60 at age 37 anyway no matter how many shots he took.

Would he be able too?

Probably. Thing is that he would never think to attempt it. That isn't how he is wired.

 

[trojanfan12]

Big difference ... Lebron will take a backseat over time to younger players and help to mentor them on the right way to play. Kobe just said give me the ball and get out of the way -- this is still my team -- I don't care if I'm only shooting 35%.

A.) We don't know how Lebron will react since at this time in his career, he hasn't been asked to take a back seat to anyone. Given that he is good at distributing the ball and trying to help make his teammates better, we can assume that's how he'd react, but we don't know until he's in the position to have to take a back seat. Right now, he's the Alpha on any team he's on, it's easy to play like he does when it's a choice. It's not like he doesn't have an ego. So, we will see how he reacts when he no longer has a choice. Being the acknowledged best player in the game isn't an easy mantle to give up.

B.) To be fair, assuming Lebron stays with the Cavs, he will likely have better, more experienced teammates to defer to than Kobe had. It's easier to defer to established all stars than to rookies and castoffs. Also, Kobe actually did quite a bit of mentoring the young guys. They've pretty much all commented on it.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Would he be able too?

Probably. Thing is that he would never think to attempt it. That isn't how he is wired.

If lebron KNEW when his last game was, of course he would. Especially with his ego.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

I have a feeling Magic would do that in a second.

I would and furthermore pissed, a lot of people about 5 or 6 years ago because i said I would trade Kobe straight up for Lebron

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Saying that Lebron is a "good" player is pretty funny.

It just irritates the hell, out of the LeBron kids to no end in when I don't bow down down to LeBron and worship him as my saviour

 

[The Oldtimer]

Sure. If the argument is that no player is worth 30 million, I won't argue with that. But, LeBron is literally worth more than every other player in the league right now. With guys like Mike Conley getting full max deals, it is hard for me to imagine a scenario where a long term deal for LBJ would be viewed as a bad contract.

He is worth far more than the max now, so if he isn't on the back end of the deal, the signing team still wins.

Besides, I doubt LeBron would be willing to commit anywhere for 5 years with his next deal. He loses all his leverage that way.

Fair enough, but I would rather paid Russell Westbrook the big bucks for a 5 years contract.

 

[The Oldtimer]

Big difference ... Lebron will take a backseat over time to younger players and help to mentor them on the right way to play. Kobe just said give me the ball and get out of the way -- this is still my team -- I don't care if I'm only shooting 35%.

That's probably because Kobe already had 5 rings and the Lakers weren't all that good in his final years.

 

[flyerhawk]

It just irritates the hell, out of the LeBron kids to no end in when I don't bow down down to LeBron and worship him as my saviour

I'm pretty far from a LJ fan. But I can recognize a Hall of Famer when I see one.

Not sure why you would need to bow down to him or consider him a savior. But to each their own I guess.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

I'm pretty far from a LJ fan. But I can recognize a Hall of Famer when I see one.

Not sure why you would need to bow down to him or consider him a savior. But to each their own I guess.

I never said he wasn't a hall of famer though, so I don't know where you got that from.

 

[flyerhawk]

I never said he wasn't a hall of famer though, so I don't know where you got that from.

I responded to this comment from you "Lebron is a good player and one of the top players in the NBA as of right now though."

Pretty clear example of damning with faint praise. Unless you consider most Hall of Famers to be simply good players.

 

[tlance]

Fair enough, but I would rather paid Russell Westbrook the big bucks for a 5 years contract.

He is younger, so I get that, but Russ is not winning any rings unless he changes his style.
.
I think the Lakers may just end up getting Russ in time, but netting LBJ + a couple trades could make them instant contenders. Russ may have a longer window, but he doesn't have the same impact.

Of course this is purely hypothetical because LBJ is not going to LA, but he is the one player in the NBA who could instantly turn around almost any franchise if they were to sign him in free agency.

 

[The Oldtimer]

He is younger, so I get that, but Russ is not winning any rings unless he changes his style.
.
I think the Lakers may just end up getting Russ in time, but netting LBJ + a couple trades could make them instant contenders. Russ may have a longer window, but he doesn't have the same impact.

Of course this is purely hypothetical because LBJ is not going to LA, but he is the one player in the NBA who could instantly turn around almost any franchise if they were to sign him in free agency.

Yes I know that Westbrook is younger. IMO this year Westbrook is the best player in the NBA. If I were to offer a 5 year contract to any player in the NBA, it would be Russell Westbrook. The Lakers have to think about the future and IMO, LeBron should not be included. Why should Westbrook change his style? He is the leader in PPG, third in APG and is the leader in triple doubles.

 

[tlance]

Yes I know that Westbrook is younger. IMO this year Westbrook is the best player in the NBA. If I were to offer a 5 year contract to any player in the NBA, it would be Russell Westbrook. The Lakers have to think about the future and IMO, LeBron should not be included. Why should Westbrook change his style? He is the leader in PPG, third in APG and is the leader in triple doubles.

Because hero ball does not win titles. Westbrook is a great talent, but there is a reason he never won with KD despite having the most talented squad in the NBA multiple times. Russ' numbers are great, but he is inefficient because he tries to do so much.

If LeBron were traded for Russ, I guarantee OKC would be better and Cleveland would be much worse (probably not the best in the East, maybe not even top 2).

 

[The Oldtimer]

Because hero ball does not win titles. Westbrook is a great talent, but there is a reason he never won with KD despite having the most talented squad in the NBA multiple times. Russ' numbers are great, but he is inefficient because he tries to do so much.

If LeBron were traded for Russ, I guarantee OKC would be better and Cleveland would be much worse (probably not the best in the East, maybe not even top 2).

Fair enough, I can respect your opinion.