I'm sure everybody's been anticipating to hear my reaction to the Lakers' free agency moves since the beginning of July since the man on the front page of this post signed in the Purple and Gold. If anybody's speculating, I'm not in denial or salty about LeBron signing with the Lakers. There are a lot of times where I am wrong about moves that should and shouldn't happen. Everybody has an opinion. It's all subjective. Ultimately, I'm all what's best for the Lakers. Let's get that straight. Secondly, I've been busy with life outside of the blog. I just made a big job transition this month. So that was a milestone for me. I had a LeBron-to-the-Lakers hype video in mind to spice up the news (thanks Paul George), but I've already missed my expected deadline and I've decided to bypass it for an annual hype video similar to my Raiders hype videos which I also have planned before the season starts. So, no more big surprises and I'll just cut to the chase on the Lakers' 2018 free agency.
LeBron Goes Hollywood
This is the big fish that the Lakers reeled in for a 4-year, $154 million deal. Although, the seeds were already planted that LeBron is going LA-bound because of his son and his business ventures in the entertainment capital. There's nothing wrong with getting arguably the best player in the league on the team. Almost every team wants a LeBron James on their roster. There were cases for LeBron to go to Houston and Philadelphia. The Rockets put the Warriors on the brink and the 76ers made a huge leap this past season, but there are issues. 1) The Rockets have more priority players with their limited cap. 2) The 76ers' front office is a huge mess with the Bryan Colangelo incident with the Twitter accounts. 3) The Lakers have all the cap space in the world, they have a promising young core, a robust front office-head coach relationship, and it's LA (of course). My only issue as I noted in my Season in Review post, we don't know how much LeBron has left in the tank and if a lineup of Bron and Zo can work because of their passive nature. LeBron has a lot of mileage with the 8 straight finals appearances and getting pancaked year-after-year by the super stacked Golden State Warriors. Let's face it, the Cavs during this year's finals were pathetic from head to toe. And Cleveland's favorite son might be gone for good because of that. LeBron did state he wants to play more off ball and in the post and the Lakers give him that opportunity with Lonzo Ball being the floor general. He'll help free up LeBron to roam free and take over games. Not to mention, Lonzo is the kind of playmaker LeBron James covets. He'll also have shooters around him with Kuzma, Ingram, KCP (re-signed), Hart, Svi, and Wagner all capable of shooting the 3-ball. Don't let the numbers fool you. Vice versa, LeBron gives Lonzo more opportunity for open shots even with the awkward shooting form.
Even though LeBron is the superstar that the Lakers need, most fans aren't receptive of his addition. We're talking about vandalized murals and such, which is really sad and childish. As a fan myself, I grew up hating LeBron because of the intense battles in the past decade going up against Kobe Bryant when the media hyped them up as the 1A and 1B of the NBA. That's all in the past now. The legacy Kobe left behind with the Lakers will never be tarnished. But, we gotta let go and embrace the change. If we can move forward from West and Wilt to Magic and Kareem. And from Magic to Kareem to Kobe and Shaq, we certainly can move forward to the LeBron James-era. We can't move forward if we continue to look backwards. So, I welcome LeBron with open arms.
At least with LeBron out of the picture, the East just got a lot more interesting. Either that or, they just got weaker and the West becomes even more of a super conference.
Co-Starring: (Not Paul George and Kawhi Leonard)
The next set moves the Lakers followed through with following LeBron's signing were pretty interesting. The Lakers pick up Lance Stephenson to a 1-year $3.5 million deal. They pry away JaVale McGee from Golden State. They picked up Rajon Rondo to a 1-year, $9 million deal. And just recently, they added Michael Beasley to a 1-year $3.5 million deal. Lance Stephenson joining LeBron was amusing. But here in Laker land, we're used to sworn enemies becoming best friends. Think Kobe and Artest and later, Matt Barnes. With Randle going to New Orleans, the Lakers needed a tough guy on their squad. They needed a pest and Lance Stephenson certainly fills that mold. It still feels weird that he's on the same team as LeBron considering the playoff battles they had against each other in recent memory. Now would be a good time to cue the "Why Can't We Be Friends" song. The Lakers tried so many times to recruit Rajon Rondo and they succeeded this time around. Let's face it, the flow of the Laker offense wasn't that good when Lonzo was off the court. The ball movement was stagnant at best. That's not gonna fly with Rondo on board. His addition will keep the ball movement of the Lakers' offense flowing when Lonzo needs to take a breather. JaVale McGee was expendable for the Warriors with the emergence of Jordan Bell and the addition of DeMarcus Cousins (how). But, McGee will bring some size, shot blocking, and rim protection. Not to mention, he can roll out to the hoop in screen and roll situations. Beasley's signing is interesting. His biggest issue is inconsistency. When he's on, he's on. When he's off, he's off. Nonetheless, this bolster's the Lakers' depth.
The biggest takeaway from these signings is that they are all bargain, risk-reward deals. The Lakers could've easily used their remaining cap space to max out another player, but they're saving that for the incoming 2019 draft class headlined by Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson. This is smart usage of the cap from the Lakers. They have the superstar they want and they have a great balance of young talent and quality veterans. They can land another superstar next year without forking over any of their young talent.
Paul George - LA Public Enemy #1
On another note, how about the swerve Paul George made on his 3-part My Journey mini series? Yeah, that's obviously a slap in the face to Laker fans of pulling that stunt just to re-sign with the Thunder. I had a cool hype video ready once PG to the Lakers was 100% guaranteed with two songs from Ice Cube. And then that got shot down. Now you know why I didn't make a LeBron hype video because I invested in that project that was a waste of time. It's double standard that PG stated in the previous offseason that the Lakers shouldn't trade for him and he'll join the following offseason. Now, he's all "oh, if they wanted me they should've traded for me." When Paul George goes to Staples Center in that first matchup with OKC this upcoming season, he won't be showered with love. He'll be showered with a lot of boos and manure chants.
The Kawhi Leonard Temptation
The Lakers did a nice job of not biting for Kawhi Leonard. The Spurs were asking for a lot of assets just for Leonard and they tried to pull a fast one from Magic and Pelinka. Nope! Like I said, they can wait until next year to get Leonard by giving up nothing. That is unless he pulls a PG and stays in Toronto.
Other Notes
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope re-signed to another 1-year deal for $6 million less than what he made last year at $18 million for one year. KCP was a decent compliment to Lonzo Ball in the backcourt. It made sense since he and LeBron shared the same agent. Though, I'd say he's on a short leash with Josh Hart and Svi Mykhailiuk knocking on the door. They were awesome in the Summer League.
Isaiah Thomas departed to Denver on a one-year deal. I mean honestly, did we expect I.T. and LeBron on the same team again? It didn't work the first time. I.T. did show out when he came to the Lakers.
Brook Lopez left for the Milwaukee Bucks. I was hoping that he would be brought back to some degree since they struck out on Cousins. But, the Lakers drafted Mo Wagner to fill in that stretch five role. At least Bro-Lo can thank Magic and Rob for getting him out of Brooklyn Nets basketball purgatory last year.
Julius Randle goes to the Pelicans on a 2-year $18 million contract. He was at first a restricted free agent and then the Lakers renounced his rights. Expectation for Randle was a max deal, but in reality there were some questions on whether or not he was worth a max deal. Randle did show out this past season, bullying players in his way inside the paint. The guy is a double-double machine, but it was clear with the way the Lakers were assembling this roster, he was not coming back. He'll fill in DeMarcus Cousins' void, but it's going to be interesting how he meshes with Anthony Davis in New Orleans. A.D.'s ability to shoot should free up Randle in the post. Other than that, Randle's game is limited. Again, admitting I was wrong.
