LeBron James at 40. Another D-Lo Trade and the Mike Brown Firing With Kirk Goldsberry.|Group Chat

[@alifrombenhill3374]

I think nobody but true haters would object to Bron doing load management this year even tho he wont. Bron has always played and never did load management so i feel he deserves it at 40.

[@Mskedu47]

He’s played 70 or more games once on the lakers and came over in his prime

[@alifrombenhill3374]

@Mskedu47 smh. He was 34. That is not your prime in any sport. Also he has been hurt on the Lakers cause he isn't in his prime. The games started catching up with him.

[@slobberkissintl3548]

You can do load management while you are actively checked in to the game. Even Wilt Chamberlain did this? Supposedly, if Wilt got 4 fouls he wouldn't come out, he'd just stop playing defense. This is how he played 48.5mpg one year

[@nicolasstaudt5714]

At least the Kings tried with DeRozan. They're the Kings. They're options are limited.

[@patricio0322]

Welcome to the recurring cycle of losing LeBron teams - “we need a playmaker” -> “we need 3&D” - rinse and repeat. The lakers improve on the trade but it won’t be enough - this team is doomed unless someone like Shake or Vincent really outplay their expected roles

[@thehoboman]

it's the worst part of sports media, i can't be the only one who is annoyed by it and it could be part of the reason the NBA tv ratings are down..

[@malikshuler2221]

Doomed is a little strong. I don’t think they are headed to the finals but this will be a decent playoff team if anything.

[@blinggzillatv]

Stop with this nonsense. You hear the same complaints because they don’t get solved every year. They’ve needed the same stuff for the last 3-4 years now. When is Rob Pelinka going to be called out for ruining a champion roster and failing to rebuild?

[@patricio0322]

@ Rob Pelinka has to play the politics game in LA, and he’s stuck in an impossible scenario. Let me paint a picture for you: you’re Pelinka, and you have a reputation in the city already for being a decorated agent - most notably for Kobe, the most beloved sports figure in modern Los Angeles history. The organization has zero basketball brains at the top - Jeanie Buss is not a genius. She, along with her brothers and Mitch Kupchak, were/are husk of the actual genius and hard work of the late Jerry Buss. She’s a businesswoman and has always made business decisions. Kobe’s terrible extension? As much as LA fans turned their heads and ignored that, was intelligent from a money standpoint because it ensured a sold out stadium every night, and continued jersey sales every year. Now she’s been pulling the same thing since 2017 with LeBron - she just wants to make sure the seats are filled in a competitive LA landscape, and now there’s another roster spot taken up by LeBron’s kid who’s also a huge jersey seller. What flexibility do you have if your most expensive player over the last 7 years is absolutely untradable (as much as I am a Lebron critic, we all know that at least half of the Laker fanbase would mutiny over such a thing) and is only getting older, slower, and less motivated on defense? And is inherently tied to a 4yr project on a late 2nd round pick? What do you do, tell Lebron to take less money? Impossible, because per Jeanie, “The Lakers will always take care of their stars because that’s who we are”. Even if it means it killing our cap. Because that’s what we did for Kobe. And not only that, LeBron’s just known to have his finger in the pie when it comes to organization decisions. It’s been the case since he left for Miami to form the team he wanted, when he went back to Cleveland, and now when he moved to LA. He strongly pushed for the Westbrook trade and we ended up losing all of our championship pieces the offseason after winning the bubble chip. KCP, Caruso, Kuzma, all gone and Westbrook in. It’s a cycle because there’s just no room in the cap to fill all of LeBron’s needs, especially at his age. You can have SOME playmaking (DLo) but you’re giving up defense. Or you can trade that for 3&D (DFS) and you’re giving up the playmaking. What other contract is both tradable, desirable to other teams, and whose departure won’t gut the team? Moving Reaves would kill the Lakers and I can guarantee you there isn’t anyone we could get back (even with attaching the 3 1sts) that would replace Reaves and add additional talent on top of that. If you move Rui you’re also losing a spot up shooter with athleticism. And it doesn’t help that LeBron makes this very clear in the media whenever he has the chance to. Which of the other 29 teams, do you think, would be willing to play ball at the trade table with the Lakers and make it easy to get LeBron what he wants? The answer is 0. His meddling diminishes whatever little leverage the Lakers have in any talks. But okay. Let’s say you do that. You’d really hemorrhage the Lakers’ future for a 40yo LeBron who only signs 1+1s and have never seemed to have the Lakers organization in its best interest? If you’re Pelinka, you can only move those first round picks unless you know for SURE you can at least reach the WCFs with whatever you’re getting back. Otherwise, you’ll be fired anyway and made a pariah once the post-Lebron years actually come and you have nothing to show for it along with no picks to rebuild. And that simply isn’t going to happen. Just take a look at what the Clippers risked for Kawhi/PG and the worst case scenario that unfolded before our eyes over the years. Gave up SGA + a million picks for one WCF appearance and lost PG in free agency. Left with a middling team with no future in mind as Kawhi and Harden regress further. Pelinka must look at that and shiver, because that could be him, and WILL be him if he moves those firsts

[@albertt7784]

Pelinka must be one of the worst GMs in the league, he's consistently under performed. This latest trade is probably one of his better moves. He lost Caruso for nothing. Lost KCP, Kuzma, etc for Westbrook who everyone knew wasn't going to fit. It's clear to everyone that to win a chip, you need enough two way players not a bunch of one way players.

[@sharonb.9128]

Please! Either this guy is a 🤡 or he’s gassing his audience. “I take +/- SERIOUSLY!” This is why coaches, scouts and GM’s don’t value it as much as KZbin Bros: +/- Limitations: • +/- does not always correlate directly with individual performance. For example, a great player on a struggling team might have a negative +/- simply due to their team’s overall deficiencies. • It can sometimes overvalue players who are part of dominant lineups or devalue those in weaker rotations.” LeBron is CURRENTLY, this year, top 5% of PPG. top 1% of assist leaders. top 8% among rebounders.

[@15awesomehighfive]

Cam Johnson would be interesting in Orlando IF the Magic don't have to overpay for him. He's big and, most importantly, he can shoot, something the Magic sorely need. But I guess national media doesn't like talking about the gutsiest team in the NBA.

[@DrPhill96]

The Magic can’t even stay healthy, why would the media talk about a young and unhealthy team? Maybe in two years, the attention will be there. OKC and Cleveland had to earn it too.

[@TheDribblePodcast-wh2up]

Love the Portland Seadogs rep!

[@Mskedu47]

As long as Lebron remains a focal point of the league they will lose double digit viewership every year. The nba needs to move on

[@Mac2Mon]

LeBron can win 16 games in the playoffs. That is for sure. He needs the rest of his team to get him to the playoffs It was fun to watch Goldsberry come on so strong & then back track the whole podcast

[@brotherless]

Nah. LeBron is empty calories at this point. LA beat Utah by 4 points a few days ago and LeBron had a triple double, yet was -1 for the game. Absurd. He doesn't even pretend to play defense and that dooms the Lakers to another first round exit, and that assumes they get through the play-in. Lakers are shallow and an illusion propagated by ESPN.

[@JinianRex]

portland seadogs hat!

[@jeffbolton622]

The Lakers definitely improved with this move…. If they play up to their maximum potential and gel, I can see them making the WCF. If LeBron can get rest in the playoffs and turn back the clock for a few weeks you never know…

[@slobberkissintl3548]

Would we ever say a former Finals MVP is a good stats/bad team guy? I'm not accusing LeBron per se, I'm just wondering how the collective eye test works..

[@MJ-on2xr]

cant listen to wos ever since he lobbied for cancelling league pass

[@bartier861]

Lebron

[@toledoatkins]

Mf talking bout plus and minus 😂😂😂😂

[@SynthTerror]

'Ain't no party like a Diddy party" - LeBalco James

[@thehoboman]

Add timestamps so I can skip the LeBron fellating..

[@DrPhill96]

Or skip it all.

[@silewis9396]

Yeah.. you get nothing

[@franconero515]

You sound like a virgin.

[@robertriteman3227]

Someone needs to tell the Ringer and these three Talking Heads that there are 29 other teams in the league and that 26 of them are not located in California . Even if a person is a Laker obsessed fan 'these three guys never bring an Added Value

[@patrickhanlon2325]

It's a bad trade right? Smith isn't making them a contender and they've lost 3 picks. Not the worst trade by any means but more bad than good

[@thomascrowniii1693]

They lost 3 second round picks that don't start until 2027. There's nothing bad about this trade for the Lakers. They shed an inconsistent offensive player who plays no defense and his salary for a wing who can defend 3's and small ball 4's who's playing on a team friendly contract.

[@patrickhanlon2325]

@thomascrowniii1693 3 picks they'll want if Bron and AD are still their 2 best players in 2027. Making their future rebuild even harder whilst still having no hope of a title this season

[@thomascrowniii1693]

Lebron won't be playing in '27. They got value for a player whose only value is that he's on an expiring contract. They got more flexibility under the cap and now have enough money under the second apron to sign someone to a mid-level exception. There's nothing bad about this trade for the Lakers. There are 27 teams in the league who have no hope of winning a title this season, so the Lakers aren't alone in that regard.

[@patrickhanlon2325]

@thomascrowniii1693 I'm not saying it's a horrendous trade, it's like. 4/10 slightly bad.

[@17jehovah]

@@patrickhanlon2325im not even a lakers fan and i can tell u they don’t miss those picks