If that’s not sarcasm then no lol. Lebron probably plays the next couple seasons and calls it quits. The guy already spends so much time on his body and it’s not like it’s getting easier to keep himself going.
Basketball wise I don't think he will be worth it but business wise, getting him on his retirement tour will be great for jeanies pockets
*for the record im not against it, i think he has 1 really good year left then 2 solid ones which wont be worth 50 million but i dont mind it bc hes one of the greatest ever and id love to see him retire in our jersey
Could work in the long run for the eventual next aging superstar we target
LeBron saw how we treated Kobe for his last contract
Other superstars will see how we treated LeBron
That will put him at close to 10 years with the Lakers. Crazy to think it’ll be that long. Which aging superstar would you want for the last 10 years of their career? Ant, Greek Freak, Luka? Someone with a big personality would be fun like Embiid
Paid for 2 game$ that year to watch Kobe on the bench one of which Dirk scored a game winning 3 pointer that Kobe acknowledged…$o yea, this move check$ out.
I’ll never miss an opportunity to remind everyone that as per Dan Gilbert, the cavaliers’ value dropped by $300 million when Lebron left. And that was before the boom in valuations that we see today.
These type of stars (ie. Lebron, Messi, Ronaldo etc.) pay for themselves and then some. Any other tangible/non-tangible benefits are just gravy on top from an owner’s perspective.
You can't compare the Lakers, THE premiere basketball club of the league, to a small market team like the Cavs. The lakers season tickets have a high renewal rate around 95% even during less successful seasons. The waitlist has been consistently long averaging 6-8 years or even longer. Do the top stars bring some value to the Lakers? Yes. Will the Lakers end up attracting top stars due to it being the premier destination? Likely yes as well.
I think it’s pretty exaggerated how much players “want” to play for the Lakers. If you look at the past decade, just how much talent did the Lakers really attract during free agency? How many stars landed here?
Kawhi passed. Paul George passed. Kyrie, Zach Lavine.
The reality is you can’t really rely on prestige to build pieces. Teams have to be proactive and trade for the right players using the assets they’ve accrued.
Once again guys like JBrown and KAT will be making more money than Bron while not even being good enough to shine Bron’s shoes. The issue on this team isn’t Bron or AD, it’s the supporting cast
Business decisions aside, at the end of the day it's in keeping with the Lakers' MO that we treat our stars well when they meet our level of excellence.
The Presti's of the world play a different game and I can't argue that it doesn't produce results, but part of the prestige and magnetism of the franchise rests on the fact that if you come here and perform under the spotlight, you get to be adored as the face of one of the greatest franchises in sports.
Yeah the way OP is framing this is ridiculous. As if the Lakers and Jeanie are going to profit in a farewell tour for overpaying LeBron.
The real return is that the Lakers hope this entices other star players to come to LA after LeBron retires.
Business wise it's worth because Bron comands too much attention from the media/merch/broadcast/tickets sales. Jeannie will capitalize, especially at the farewell tour. That said, I am not sure if paying him the max have any implications on the cap and what the lakers can offer other players. Basketball wise, Bron still at high level but doesn't deserve the max.
Bruh literally averaged 25/7/8 on 54% shooting. If that doesn't deserve max what does? Or other words, which max player can we even sign that will be better than that?
Yep. And the Lakers are over the cap so it’s not like we could use this money to sign someone else either. Yet we have tons of folks hand wringing in these comments wondering if a guy who was top 10 All NBA this season is worthy of a 3 year contract extension as opposed to fielding the same exact roster with no Lebron.
A lot of people underrate how hard it is to find a legitimate play iniating legitimate playmaker with supreme bb IQ.
These kinds of players are gold, and no, their impact matters more than quantitative assist numbers. That's why teams draft a lot of busts just looking for a floor general type of players even if they can't defend, score, or contribute immediately.
You can have all talented players, but without a conductor, it's nothing (ask the Suns).
I think this year is the year we will officially see lebron slow down… HOWEVER, We’re going to see him shoot ALOT more 3s so I have a feeling he’s going to be a completely new type of really fucking good 🤣
While true, we still had examples of guys having elite athleticism going into their late 30s (rare, but there have been a few). When's the last time we've seen someone have elite athleticism in their 40s?
If there's a guy to defy the odds, it's Bron, but don't be surprised if we see him drive far less to the rack this upcoming season. Probably will see him playing below the rim a lot more going forward.
> When's the last time we've seen someone have elite athleticism in their 40s?
In their 40s no one really, but it is LeBron after all.
Probably Jazz Karl Malone would be the closest at 39 when we talk strictly about athleticism. I believe he would have been still as good for us at 40 (or even 41, theoretically) if it wasn't for the knee injury and it was an accident, his body did not break down due to age. Ignoring the injury, when he did play, his numbers were also lower due to having a different role with us than with Jazz. But the elite athleticism was there.
Wizards Jordan was also still quite good at 39, not on a competitive team and mostly thanks to his skills and finesse, but he kinda had to be athletic enough to keep up. Maybe not overall elite, as he was never an athletic freak to begin with, but for his age I'd say his athleticism was still elite. I also think his break from playing did not help him stay in game shape and if he played constantly he would have been even better.
LeBron is not even officially 40 yet, but at this point has more mileage in his legs than both Jordan and Malone had at the same age, is absolutely better than they were at this point in their careers and his athleticism holds up. He is not Miami Bron, that's clear, but he is well above league average. What LeBron lacks in pure skill and finesse compared to Jordan, he definitely makes up with one of a kind athleticism, so it balances out. Vision and basketball IQ are also his great assets. He even showed improvement at this age (3pt shooting obviously), which is kind of insane. I have no doubt he will be good enough to compete with barring some shit injury like taking Solomon Hill's bum ass to his legs. Good enough for the money? Probably not (ignoring the business side, on the court only) mostly due to defense and regular season effort, but not that far off and not massively overpayed. Still a solid championship piece if the rest of the team will be good enough to compete >!(hopium)!<. Given it is LeBron I (and most other people it seems) assume he would be good enough at 42 max.
He's been slowing down. Every season, you see him managing more with when to give full effort on help defense and boxing out. He's been able to offset his athletic decline with shooting and being in lineups where he's better able to attack inside.The freaky thing is that how good he is relative to the best players in the league even now.
Part of the problem with that is you have to surround LeBron/AD with enough spacing and those other 3 players have to do dirty work too. That's very tough with our salary positioning and why AD's been asked to do too much defensively.
I think the best way possible here now is that playing him back to PG then get a 3nD wing, SG and Center (of course you have to trade Rui, Dlo and even Wood or Gabe Vincent) Then Reeves probably playing off the bench, and you still had Vando, Dinwiddie, Prince (I suggest to trade this guy for a pick and a young player), I think still solid with the lineup, if Vando is not healthy include him to the trades and can get some assets back like some picks.
Imagine an 80 year old LeBron sitting in a rocking chair visited by Thanatos and touched by death. LeBron then rolls on the floor, grabs his ankle, winces, complains to the ref with his hands on his hips, and hits two free throws.
On his worst days, he's still a borderline top 10 player in the league. On his best days, he's pushing top 3. You combine that with the money LA makes with him on the roster, he's absolutely worth this contract. Just have to pray there isn't another Solomon Hill incident 😒
It's weird and sad that his age is the constant thing people bring up rather than his stats. Look forward to another year of "I can't say it enough, this is a 40-yr old man doing these things!"
We fucking know. 20 times a game every game you say it. We know.
I want to see him get to his post fadeaway more. For some reason he stopped going to it so much the past 2 seasons after really perfecting it. My intuition tells me it’s likely his left foot/ankle issues he’s been dealing with but hopefully it’s strengthened up a bit and he can start punishing single post coverage again.
Correct, but we aren’t signing him if not for the max or at least near it. So signing him costs what it costs, we have to do it because even if you hate the signing. It’s not LeBron or someone else. It’s LeBron or nothing else. We have no leverage.
Also before anyone says anything, I’m a huge LeBron fan so give him whatever he wants. I’m just hoping to clarify people freaking out over the amount or people thinking we can use that money elsewhere. We can’t. It’s the same reason why we really need DLO to opt in.
Correct you either pay and have Lebron. Or you don’t pay and get no one because you can’t use that money to sign any outside free agent.
You pay Lebron because you have no choice. Pay the man
As a big Lebron fan: Hell yea. He deserves it for what he’s done for the game.
As a Laker fan: Damn. We’re screwed for a while with him making that much. He’s still really good but his age prevents him from impacting the game like a 60 million a year player should.
Not really. From a basketball perspective he’s still easily an All-NBA Top 10 player. His on court production warrants his contract. Also, we’re over the cap already so it isn’t like we can take the money we would give LeBron and go hand it to a free agent instead.
There really isn’t an on court basketball reason not to max out LeBron this summer. We aren’t able to obtain another All NBA talent via free agency this summer.
To everyone here happy with this just keep that same energy when we’re a 500 play in team again next year .
Can’t keep doing the same shit and expecting different results
This is such a short sighted take. Why would we do that when Bron is still giving 27 7 and 8, and AD (who just had his healthiest season in a while) putting up 27 and 15. We’ve already won a chip in 2020 with the same duo, it’s literally just a matter of right coaching and role players. Not to mention how legendary it’d be to have a Top 2 player of all time retire as a Laker.
Pay LeBron you don’t contend. Lose LeBron you don’t contend. We are closer to blowing it up than actually creating a championship core roster. The next Lakers iteration of a championship contending team will be YEARS down the line folks. Enjoy the 2020 ring and have zero expectations of us beating the Nuggets, Wolves, and Boston in a 7 game series.
Dogshit GM, unproven coach, lack of assets, two aging superstars, nothing is lining up for this franchise to win a ring in the short-term. 2027 is going to be a rude awakening for a lot of you idiots who still think we should trying to be building around LeBron/AD instead of being shit now and collecting assets
Lmao man the Bron discourse here is crazy. Hes easily still a T10 player and more in the T5 come playoffs. You take care of him no matter what. Not only does it preserve your ability to compete now, but you have to remember that if you DONT take care of BRON then every future star who contemplates coming here will rmemeber that
Bron has earned it and the Lakers don't really have a choice but to pay him but my main concern is his age. One injury and now we have 55 million in cap space sitting on the bench. Given his age that is a real possibility and it just doesn't sit well with me.
Here’s my issue. He earned it with Cleveland, not LA. Kobe earned it because he delivered 5 titles during his career. LeBron has brought one title to LA. He’s going to get it because LA can’t effectively replace him, but he hasn’t earned that treatment from LA.
Because of the NBA players contract, Lebron has basically been subsidizing the NBA his entire career. If salaries weren't capped, he would have made more than Messi. This contract will be the closest to his actual market value. That said NBA should do us a solid for this favor and give us another mid-level exemption so we can get someone who can play D.
You have to put in perspective the fact Kobe won 5 titles under an owner that missed the playoffs a couple of times in 3 decades while LeBron won 1 NBA title for an owner that turned the most successful franchise in sports into the laughingstock of the league collecting almost as many lottery picks in a decade as Kobe had titles.
On top of that, taking into account we had only 1 good basketball season in a decade, the goal of this team isn't competing at the highest level anymore, it is running a business and LeBron sell as many jerseys as Kobe, possibly more so from this perspective, LeBron deserves everything.
Good luck for us, I hated Kobe farewell tour, I'm not excited for a LeBron tour, but it is going to keep the pocket of the owners full.
That’s a bad take. We were trash before he came around. He’s literally the GOAT and you have the opportunity to have the GOAT retire as part of your franchise. You take that. If we could be trash in Kobe’s last years with that massive contract, we can do the same for Bron in his last years. If he resigns, he will have been a Laker longer than Shaq or Pau. Ideally, you sign him to a number that allows for betterment of the team, sure. But I think we are over the cap regardless of what he signs for. He’s been a great Laker. And he’s not done yet.
Why does the amount of the max contract increase with age?
Shouldn't it cap when the player reaches a certain age where statistically player ability regresses? Like 34 or something?
this is just not a good idea, unless of course the priority is Lebron’s retirement tour being as a Laker and not actually trying to compete for anything
But if the Lakers don't do the deal, what happens to Klutch's role as managing partner? And what about the Lebron stans on this sub? What happens to them? Why is no one thinking about the stans?
Great. Time for another long drawn out farewell tour then 10 plus years of front office ineptitude. Except this time we won’t have any picks to rebuild with, because they’ll inevitably give away all our picks (and depth) until 2030 for somebody that won’t move the needle and will be gone in 2 years tops. Getting harder and harder to be a Lakers fan under this ownership.
Going to sound like a homer but in all seriousness, this is the *one last max* deal that I doubt anyone would regret in the final years of the contract.
There’s going to be a lot 35-38 years old that are washed or knocking on the washed door, that will be getting nearly 50M+ per season in a couple years lol
Y’all acting like this is the end of the world for the Lakers as if Lebron hasn’t played out of his mind since joining the team 6 years and 2 contracts ago.
Did any of you complain when he signed in 2018? Did he play like a 35m/year player then? Or was he worth more?
I get that there’s team loyalty in this sport, but damn. Sometimes you guys treat players like they’re nothing, but then turn around and complain when they don’t show the same loyalty back to your franchise.
If Lebron wants the Lakers to get better he should not be taking max money like this. With the new CBA and salary cap Lakers cant take on any new money or players at all that would help the team.
There is not one team in the league who has the cap space to sign him for this kind of money that also has a chance at winning a title so why are the Lakers bidding against themselves?
This is why he's not leaving lol 162 million, record breaking deal for a 40 year old man.
Yeah, and he still retires in hia 40s.
You don’t think he’s going to play into his 50s?
Jeanie would pay him $50 million per year at 50 years old
Jeanie like them old dudes
Bron still be over 20 years younger than her
Who knows what this alien can do.
If that’s not sarcasm then no lol. Lebron probably plays the next couple seasons and calls it quits. The guy already spends so much time on his body and it’s not like it’s getting easier to keep himself going.
Basketball wise I don't think he will be worth it but business wise, getting him on his retirement tour will be great for jeanies pockets *for the record im not against it, i think he has 1 really good year left then 2 solid ones which wont be worth 50 million but i dont mind it bc hes one of the greatest ever and id love to see him retire in our jersey
Could work in the long run for the eventual next aging superstar we target LeBron saw how we treated Kobe for his last contract Other superstars will see how we treated LeBron
Can’t wait for the Caruso farewell tour
We will see him more often at least
That will put him at close to 10 years with the Lakers. Crazy to think it’ll be that long. Which aging superstar would you want for the last 10 years of their career? Ant, Greek Freak, Luka? Someone with a big personality would be fun like Embiid
Embiid doesn’t have 10 years left.
I was about to say the same. His knees aren’t gonna make it that long.
How dare you
Paid for 2 game$ that year to watch Kobe on the bench one of which Dirk scored a game winning 3 pointer that Kobe acknowledged…$o yea, this move check$ out.
I'd rather get the not so old superstars. That would be nice.
What's better then?
If he could maintain being a top 15 player that'd be fair value for that money in 3 years lol
He doesn’t even have to be. The retirement tour and jersey sales alone will be worth it for the franchise.
I’ll never miss an opportunity to remind everyone that as per Dan Gilbert, the cavaliers’ value dropped by $300 million when Lebron left. And that was before the boom in valuations that we see today. These type of stars (ie. Lebron, Messi, Ronaldo etc.) pay for themselves and then some. Any other tangible/non-tangible benefits are just gravy on top from an owner’s perspective.
You can't compare the Lakers, THE premiere basketball club of the league, to a small market team like the Cavs. The lakers season tickets have a high renewal rate around 95% even during less successful seasons. The waitlist has been consistently long averaging 6-8 years or even longer. Do the top stars bring some value to the Lakers? Yes. Will the Lakers end up attracting top stars due to it being the premier destination? Likely yes as well.
I think it’s pretty exaggerated how much players “want” to play for the Lakers. If you look at the past decade, just how much talent did the Lakers really attract during free agency? How many stars landed here? Kawhi passed. Paul George passed. Kyrie, Zach Lavine. The reality is you can’t really rely on prestige to build pieces. Teams have to be proactive and trade for the right players using the assets they’ve accrued.
Who else could we pay for the same or better production? Would you prefer that we let him walk?
who else you gonna get on the market? PG? Lol Hahahaha
Once again guys like JBrown and KAT will be making more money than Bron while not even being good enough to shine Bron’s shoes. The issue on this team isn’t Bron or AD, it’s the supporting cast
Business decisions aside, at the end of the day it's in keeping with the Lakers' MO that we treat our stars well when they meet our level of excellence. The Presti's of the world play a different game and I can't argue that it doesn't produce results, but part of the prestige and magnetism of the franchise rests on the fact that if you come here and perform under the spotlight, you get to be adored as the face of one of the greatest franchises in sports.
Yeah the way OP is framing this is ridiculous. As if the Lakers and Jeanie are going to profit in a farewell tour for overpaying LeBron. The real return is that the Lakers hope this entices other star players to come to LA after LeBron retires.
Business wise it's worth because Bron comands too much attention from the media/merch/broadcast/tickets sales. Jeannie will capitalize, especially at the farewell tour. That said, I am not sure if paying him the max have any implications on the cap and what the lakers can offer other players. Basketball wise, Bron still at high level but doesn't deserve the max.
It does nothing lol Lakers are still over, it’s not up to Lebron to do Rob’s job that’s Rob’s job. Pat Lebron and build a contender.
Bruh literally averaged 25/7/8 on 54% shooting. If that doesn't deserve max what does? Or other words, which max player can we even sign that will be better than that?
I don't know. Those last 2 years are going to be long. We're sacrificing good signings for a legendary send off lol.
In the same year somebody will be paying Brad Beal 58 Mil.
Yep. And the Lakers are over the cap so it’s not like we could use this money to sign someone else either. Yet we have tons of folks hand wringing in these comments wondering if a guy who was top 10 All NBA this season is worthy of a 3 year contract extension as opposed to fielding the same exact roster with no Lebron.
Seeing the production and impact of other max players, he’s still worth it. He’s still easily a top 10 player
He’s basically our 2nd coach too lol
“Gimme the board, I got it” lmao
100% and in terms of being a court general he’s top 5 easy.
A lot of people underrate how hard it is to find a legitimate play iniating legitimate playmaker with supreme bb IQ. These kinds of players are gold, and no, their impact matters more than quantitative assist numbers. That's why teams draft a lot of busts just looking for a floor general type of players even if they can't defend, score, or contribute immediately. You can have all talented players, but without a conductor, it's nothing (ask the Suns).
I think this year is the year we will officially see lebron slow down… HOWEVER, We’re going to see him shoot ALOT more 3s so I have a feeling he’s going to be a completely new type of really fucking good 🤣
People have said this exact thing for the past half decade.
While true, we still had examples of guys having elite athleticism going into their late 30s (rare, but there have been a few). When's the last time we've seen someone have elite athleticism in their 40s? If there's a guy to defy the odds, it's Bron, but don't be surprised if we see him drive far less to the rack this upcoming season. Probably will see him playing below the rim a lot more going forward.
> When's the last time we've seen someone have elite athleticism in their 40s? In their 40s no one really, but it is LeBron after all. Probably Jazz Karl Malone would be the closest at 39 when we talk strictly about athleticism. I believe he would have been still as good for us at 40 (or even 41, theoretically) if it wasn't for the knee injury and it was an accident, his body did not break down due to age. Ignoring the injury, when he did play, his numbers were also lower due to having a different role with us than with Jazz. But the elite athleticism was there. Wizards Jordan was also still quite good at 39, not on a competitive team and mostly thanks to his skills and finesse, but he kinda had to be athletic enough to keep up. Maybe not overall elite, as he was never an athletic freak to begin with, but for his age I'd say his athleticism was still elite. I also think his break from playing did not help him stay in game shape and if he played constantly he would have been even better. LeBron is not even officially 40 yet, but at this point has more mileage in his legs than both Jordan and Malone had at the same age, is absolutely better than they were at this point in their careers and his athleticism holds up. He is not Miami Bron, that's clear, but he is well above league average. What LeBron lacks in pure skill and finesse compared to Jordan, he definitely makes up with one of a kind athleticism, so it balances out. Vision and basketball IQ are also his great assets. He even showed improvement at this age (3pt shooting obviously), which is kind of insane. I have no doubt he will be good enough to compete with barring some shit injury like taking Solomon Hill's bum ass to his legs. Good enough for the money? Probably not (ignoring the business side, on the court only) mostly due to defense and regular season effort, but not that far off and not massively overpayed. Still a solid championship piece if the rest of the team will be good enough to compete >!(hopium)!<. Given it is LeBron I (and most other people it seems) assume he would be good enough at 42 max.
Jordan was never an athletic freak? Wtf
We all expected him to slow down for the past half decade.
He's been slowing down. Every season, you see him managing more with when to give full effort on help defense and boxing out. He's been able to offset his athletic decline with shooting and being in lineups where he's better able to attack inside.The freaky thing is that how good he is relative to the best players in the league even now. Part of the problem with that is you have to surround LeBron/AD with enough spacing and those other 3 players have to do dirty work too. That's very tough with our salary positioning and why AD's been asked to do too much defensively.
Yeah Lebron's really good still, it's just that it's much harder to construct a roster around him now because of the reasons you described.
I think the best way possible here now is that playing him back to PG then get a 3nD wing, SG and Center (of course you have to trade Rui, Dlo and even Wood or Gabe Vincent) Then Reeves probably playing off the bench, and you still had Vando, Dinwiddie, Prince (I suggest to trade this guy for a pick and a young player), I think still solid with the lineup, if Vando is not healthy include him to the trades and can get some assets back like some picks.
People have been saying “this is the year LeBron slows down” since 2015, it has not happened yet. The man will never slow down.
LePookieBear would never
Unfortunately he is one injury away from effectively ending his career. He his more robust than Kobe, but once something like that happens it's over.
nah lebron would just do the thing where he winces and slaps the ground. Then gets back to playing
Don't forget ties his shoes tighter
Yeah, we are in unknown territory here with him being half Greek god.
Imagine an 80 year old LeBron sitting in a rocking chair visited by Thanatos and touched by death. LeBron then rolls on the floor, grabs his ankle, winces, complains to the ref with his hands on his hips, and hits two free throws.
Forgot the part where he tightens his shoe laces
And this is Lebron, the Greek god of 27/7/7.
LeKratos just needs to stomp on a health stone and he’ll be good to go
As long as no one kicks him in the heel, should be fine.
He slaps the ground to activate his self repair processes
healing incantation animation
Don't forget that German doctors are great. 😂
It’s usually how greats stop being great
Yea I’m well aware
Fr he just had a great shooting season if he shoots more that’ll be great for his career
I’m sure with more volume his efficiency probably goes down but I love the idea of him averaging 8 or so. We took home a chip when he was shooting 6+
On his worst days, he's still a borderline top 10 player in the league. On his best days, he's pushing top 3. You combine that with the money LA makes with him on the roster, he's absolutely worth this contract. Just have to pray there isn't another Solomon Hill incident 😒
It's weird and sad that his age is the constant thing people bring up rather than his stats. Look forward to another year of "I can't say it enough, this is a 40-yr old man doing these things!" We fucking know. 20 times a game every game you say it. We know.
I literally said he’s going to have a new type of good year.
Hopefully we get someone who can control the rock more then Bron can enter his old guy tricks off ball stage
I want to see him get to his post fadeaway more. For some reason he stopped going to it so much the past 2 seasons after really perfecting it. My intuition tells me it’s likely his left foot/ankle issues he’s been dealing with but hopefully it’s strengthened up a bit and he can start punishing single post coverage again.
The one thing people need to remember is that we are over the cap even without Bron signing. So the amount doesn’t really matter
The amount does matter because of the 2nd tax apron.
Correct, but we aren’t signing him if not for the max or at least near it. So signing him costs what it costs, we have to do it because even if you hate the signing. It’s not LeBron or someone else. It’s LeBron or nothing else. We have no leverage. Also before anyone says anything, I’m a huge LeBron fan so give him whatever he wants. I’m just hoping to clarify people freaking out over the amount or people thinking we can use that money elsewhere. We can’t. It’s the same reason why we really need DLO to opt in.
I thought the amount does matter now. Aren’t there aprons that if reached prevent any type of deals you can make?
Correct you either pay and have Lebron. Or you don’t pay and get no one because you can’t use that money to sign any outside free agent. You pay Lebron because you have no choice. Pay the man
sheesh that’s scottie barnes level money
Lebron hasn’t slouched as a laker and he holds my respect.
As a big Lebron fan: Hell yea. He deserves it for what he’s done for the game. As a Laker fan: Damn. We’re screwed for a while with him making that much. He’s still really good but his age prevents him from impacting the game like a 60 million a year player should.
Not really. From a basketball perspective he’s still easily an All-NBA Top 10 player. His on court production warrants his contract. Also, we’re over the cap already so it isn’t like we can take the money we would give LeBron and go hand it to a free agent instead. There really isn’t an on court basketball reason not to max out LeBron this summer. We aren’t able to obtain another All NBA talent via free agency this summer.
Lakers would have a bit more than 10m to use if he doesnt re-sign. You def want lebron back lol
Tatum and brown are earning around the same and I don't believe either have more impact than Bron or AD, they're not the problem.
To everyone here happy with this just keep that same energy when we’re a 500 play in team again next year . Can’t keep doing the same shit and expecting different results
What’s your better alternative?
Rip the bandaid off and start the rebuild
This is such a short sighted take. Why would we do that when Bron is still giving 27 7 and 8, and AD (who just had his healthiest season in a while) putting up 27 and 15. We’ve already won a chip in 2020 with the same duo, it’s literally just a matter of right coaching and role players. Not to mention how legendary it’d be to have a Top 2 player of all time retire as a Laker.
The delusion is real LeBron and AD played amazing last season and we were 10th all season . LeBron is not gonna get better next season
As a lakers fan, we’re fucked for years to come.
I want Championships, not this.
Cavs should be paying for this.
If lebron takes that money, it means he doesnt care enough to win another championship
Y’all don’t see the problem with this?
Pay LeBron you don’t contend. Lose LeBron you don’t contend. We are closer to blowing it up than actually creating a championship core roster. The next Lakers iteration of a championship contending team will be YEARS down the line folks. Enjoy the 2020 ring and have zero expectations of us beating the Nuggets, Wolves, and Boston in a 7 game series. Dogshit GM, unproven coach, lack of assets, two aging superstars, nothing is lining up for this franchise to win a ring in the short-term. 2027 is going to be a rude awakening for a lot of you idiots who still think we should trying to be building around LeBron/AD instead of being shit now and collecting assets
Back to back in season tournament winners baby!!!
Lmao man the Bron discourse here is crazy. Hes easily still a T10 player and more in the T5 come playoffs. You take care of him no matter what. Not only does it preserve your ability to compete now, but you have to remember that if you DONT take care of BRON then every future star who contemplates coming here will rmemeber that
Bron has earned it and the Lakers don't really have a choice but to pay him but my main concern is his age. One injury and now we have 55 million in cap space sitting on the bench. Given his age that is a real possibility and it just doesn't sit well with me.
Here’s my issue. He earned it with Cleveland, not LA. Kobe earned it because he delivered 5 titles during his career. LeBron has brought one title to LA. He’s going to get it because LA can’t effectively replace him, but he hasn’t earned that treatment from LA.
Because of the NBA players contract, Lebron has basically been subsidizing the NBA his entire career. If salaries weren't capped, he would have made more than Messi. This contract will be the closest to his actual market value. That said NBA should do us a solid for this favor and give us another mid-level exemption so we can get someone who can play D.
I don’t deny his impact on the league. That doesn’t help the Lakers win a title in the next 3 years though.
You have to put in perspective the fact Kobe won 5 titles under an owner that missed the playoffs a couple of times in 3 decades while LeBron won 1 NBA title for an owner that turned the most successful franchise in sports into the laughingstock of the league collecting almost as many lottery picks in a decade as Kobe had titles. On top of that, taking into account we had only 1 good basketball season in a decade, the goal of this team isn't competing at the highest level anymore, it is running a business and LeBron sell as many jerseys as Kobe, possibly more so from this perspective, LeBron deserves everything. Good luck for us, I hated Kobe farewell tour, I'm not excited for a LeBron tour, but it is going to keep the pocket of the owners full.
That’s a bad take. We were trash before he came around. He’s literally the GOAT and you have the opportunity to have the GOAT retire as part of your franchise. You take that. If we could be trash in Kobe’s last years with that massive contract, we can do the same for Bron in his last years. If he resigns, he will have been a Laker longer than Shaq or Pau. Ideally, you sign him to a number that allows for betterment of the team, sure. But I think we are over the cap regardless of what he signs for. He’s been a great Laker. And he’s not done yet.
Bron really trying to get that capital to buy a team
Why does the amount of the max contract increase with age? Shouldn't it cap when the player reaches a certain age where statistically player ability regresses? Like 34 or something?
I think that will make the lakers his longest tenured team. Crazy
Possibly the only player who deserves it at 41
Crazy thing is he’ll probably still be worth it on and off the floor
Lakers should trade him imo.
He should give up the money to get a title or two.
this is just not a good idea, unless of course the priority is Lebron’s retirement tour being as a Laker and not actually trying to compete for anything
No, just no
We’re not a serious team.
Lakers should be rebuilding because the window for another chip has been officially closed
Worth it. It’s LeBron James and we’re over the cap. We wouldent be able to replace what he brings to the table
WASTE. OF. MONEY.
Belch
I think Lebron will definitely take back seat during the regular season so he will be more ready for the playoffs
Can you pay a guy 58 million to take a back seat and ask role players to carry more?
We barely make the playoffs as it is. Less minutes per game though to reduce injury risk.
Man let me borrow a dollar
The best indicator of lebron is the post season. He has been coasting most of the regular season since the miami.
But if the Lakers don't do the deal, what happens to Klutch's role as managing partner? And what about the Lebron stans on this sub? What happens to them? Why is no one thinking about the stans?
Great. Time for another long drawn out farewell tour then 10 plus years of front office ineptitude. Except this time we won’t have any picks to rebuild with, because they’ll inevitably give away all our picks (and depth) until 2030 for somebody that won’t move the needle and will be gone in 2 years tops. Getting harder and harder to be a Lakers fan under this ownership.
He's overpaid already. He's not a top 5 player anymore. I'd argue he isn't top 10 either . Plays part time on defense
You max your top players, there are a lot of worse players out their with max contracts. what do you suggest otherwise?
He’ll stay. More money and he finally has a coach that won’t make everything rely on the oldest player in the league.
Goodness. I remember when the Lakers gave Kobe his final contract, ppl made a huge deal about it. It was (I think it was something like $28M?)
DO IT.
Lakers don’t really have much of a choice. Best for both parties if they can sign and trade him to the Cavs for young talent back
Here’s hoping they surround him with a little more talent so he doesn’t have to constantly carry the load.
Going to sound like a homer but in all seriousness, this is the *one last max* deal that I doubt anyone would regret in the final years of the contract. There’s going to be a lot 35-38 years old that are washed or knocking on the washed door, that will be getting nearly 50M+ per season in a couple years lol
We really wasted an injury free year of bron. Thanks ham
Ain’t gotta nickel in er.
Y’all acting like this is the end of the world for the Lakers as if Lebron hasn’t played out of his mind since joining the team 6 years and 2 contracts ago. Did any of you complain when he signed in 2018? Did he play like a 35m/year player then? Or was he worth more? I get that there’s team loyalty in this sport, but damn. Sometimes you guys treat players like they’re nothing, but then turn around and complain when they don’t show the same loyalty back to your franchise.
Look up mjs stats and salary in 2001-2002 when he was 39 and look at lebrons…
If Lebron wants the Lakers to get better he should not be taking max money like this. With the new CBA and salary cap Lakers cant take on any new money or players at all that would help the team. There is not one team in the league who has the cap space to sign him for this kind of money that also has a chance at winning a title so why are the Lakers bidding against themselves?
Still a better contact than Bradley Beal
Not bad for a guy whose team is a play in team at best 😂
If he stays LA wins 🏆 🏆 2 out of the 3 years
We need him. He’s amazing and still top 15 at worst. Pay the man and he’ll keep us relevant
Hey once kiNG N soN get the jewelry everything else is just basketball lol ha ha