Why the Lakers Will Most Likely Just Run it Back With LeBron Next Year | The Ryen Russillo Podcast

After the Lakers lost in five games to the Nuggets in round 1 of this year’s postseason and reports have started to pour out of LA, Ryen Russillo explains why you should most likely ignore the noise and assume LeBron will be back with the Lakers next year.
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[@Sircharlesnate111]

Do you think Ryen finishes his take, turns of the camera, and goes, “hell yeah. Killed it”

[@papasmurd2013]

Actally made me laugh out loud. hilarious

[@jonosay854]

As he stares at his self in the mirror with his Short Shorts

[@ReeceReece32]

Lmao. Every time.

[@Henry-kv7zl]

Probably deep sigh, massage the bridge of his nose, get up to get a glass of water, stare out the window for a slightly unusual period of time, snap out of it, forget to get the water, sit on the couch and check emails.... Shall i continue

[@greg_mo]

He should

[@dimitrijetucovic1307]

ESPN is in SHAMBLES right now 😂

[@withalittlehelpfrom3]

I saw them airing an MJ debate. It’s like “Really? You can’t talk about Ant of SGA?!”

[@dimitrijetucovic1307]

​@@withalittlehelpfrom3It's why i've been following Grantland/Ringer for 10 years.

[@David-iv6je]

ESPn is such trash. I refuse to ever listen to any of their talking heads. It's like a scripted reality TV show.

[@jhank0cean]

@@withalittlehelpfrom3 Lmao all they've been doing all week is talking about ANT being the next Kobe/MJ

[@youngnebula187]

​@@David-iv6jeTim has great content though

[@quiggs111]

30 % usage rate at his age.. while playing zero defense.. sounds great lol. hes menace!

[@MrBoss5150]

Yes, please....Run it back. Stale hot dog water is always better a year later and while the Lakers will be getting older, the rest of the league is just getting.......BETTER.

[@misinfluence]

No one other than the Nuggets were beating LA sorry to burst your bubble

[@MrBoss5150]

@@misinfluence MIN would have whooped the Lakers behind. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[@brianbadonde9251]

​@@misinfluencelol the Lakers tried their hardest this series, don't forget they barely made the playoffs with Lebozo and Adisney fully healthy 😂

[@lil_truth]

Nuggets the Akatsuki of the NBA, if Lebron wants to sniff a finals again he gotta go East.

[@misinfluence]

Rarely are NBA windows as long as they seem. Bucks seemed to have a massive window and now it seems gone.

[@brianbadonde9251]

​@@misinfluenceBucks made a dumb trade that's why

[@javi.gaitan]

Is Luka doncic naruto? The child of prophecy

[@akshyadulal1455]

Nuggets are literally Pain lol😂

[@EJD339]

The man is 39 years old and he can act like a passive aggressive teenager. He seems like a good dude in his personal life but I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to be his teammate with how cryptic he can be.

[@carltonrudolph]

Omg I been saying this for forever

[@silewis9396]

You take the smooth with the rough. Your popularity can go up massively so that it gets your more money and you can get some of the most open looks you ever had in your career

[@ineedsaltplease620]

He never knew how to conduct himself as an important person, It's always been there this unease with it that results in the acting out

[@jacktheleper4468]

This is my exact sentiment. thank you

[@joeylizarraga8277]

Yeah Bron is the problem. Insanity. AD fragility with awful decisions from Pelinka/Buss kept this project from winning 2-3 chips. But hey they got 1.

[@dougmaclennan8654]

LeBron on defense is the issue. He stands around and falls asleep.

[@blaketindle4703]

Lakers really about to go all-in on forty year old LeBron and his son who’s not even a good college player!😂

[@quiggs111]

The fact that the lakers are letting Lebron try and play out his fantasies on there dime is embarrassing.

[@jmilkie44]

??????????????????????

[@WhatIsNumberOne]

You don't think it's about coaching? Did you watch the series? If you had Ham coach the Nuggets and Malone coach the Lakers, the Lakers likely sweep the series and worst case they are the ones that win in 5 and don't need 2 last second shots to do it. That series was all about coaching. The Nuggets made adjustments and the Lakers would move away from everything they did right early in games. Ham is the worst coach in the league and Malone is one of the best. I would argue Malone is worth +2 points over an average coach and Ham -2 points. Switch the two and you take away four points from the Nuggets and add 8 to the Lakers. Game 1 would be Nuggets 110-107. Game 2 Lakers 102-97. Game 3 Lakers 109-108. Game 4 Lakers 123-104. Game 5 Lakers 110-104. I don't think those would be remotely unlikely scores if the coaches switched teams. Even if the Lakers just got an average coach, the Lakers are probably up 3 to 2 right now. The Lakers were missing 2 rotation pieces. Nuggets were healthy. I don't see that the Nuggets are head and shoulders better than LA. They are better coached and they were healthier. If you close the coaching gap and the luck is either neutral or actually favors LA for once, I think LA can beat Denver.

[@silewis9396]

Can we get the Baron Davis interview from this pod onto KZbin? He's so much fun would be good to see him

[@David-iv6je]

I was very disappointed that LeBron stalked straight off the court without shaking hands. AD at least is a class act and stayed to shake hands. And KD also shook hands after getting swept by the Wolves. But not LeBron.

[@David-iv6je]

More on AD. Last year Jokic hit two preposterous 3s over AD in the WCF. Both times AD smiled and shook his head. Now, the dick swingers will say that means AD doesn't have killer instinct. But the fact is AD played excellently: he's an almost impossible problem for teams to solve. But can also lose gracefully.

[@willclose2311]

Probably mad about a no call on Taurean Prince (despite a huge free throw disparity in LA’s favor)

[@shorewall]

LeBron is going out sad.

[@jamesmiller5331]

Lebron is a diva full stop

[@shaftlamer]

the moment when Vietnamese channels realize people hate espn, and post espn clips on their channel and still have 1,5 million subs

[@Cmonkey752]

Kinda seems like a lazy take to say okc would’ve beaten them for sure while saying how Denver is a bad matchup. Okc would’ve been outmatched by the size

[@heygringo7]

While Russillo's technical knowledge of the NBA and its intricacies is no doubt vast, it also has the soporific effect of lulling one to sleep, especially when combined with the monotonous bass in his voice.

[@EdeDizon]

Homie, LAL smacked OKC this season.

[@tyroberts6896]

fair

[@austintorres7675]

Just realized you look like Bubba Ray Dudley

[@michaelcollins3384]

I know the hot scuttlebutt in the screets right now is KD back to OKC. But I would SOOOO much rather see LeBron come to Oklahoma, play 20 mins a night, they burn a 2nd rounder on his kid just for shits and gigs, and rings all around.

[@razkable]

Kareem was special this late in years..just saying...

[@davidbradford9631]

No he was not lol

[@virgiljoshua3091]

Denver won 4-1 🙂🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 Very good to see Denver playing against Minnesota.

[@GPrice-mg8mi]

Lakers are one of the oldest teams in the West. You can’t run this back

[@bfoz]

Dude did you not see LeBron's post game interview? He was pretty mum on anything about his future with the Lakers. Doesn't sound like he is staying.

[@CleverAccountName303]

He just likes the drama. Last year, he mentioned the possibility of retiring. 😂

[@abzda1700]

@@CleverAccountName303oh a 40 year old thought about retiring oh he must be lying

[@abzda1700]

@@CleverAccountName303your goat literally retired twice

[@CleverAccountName303]

@@abzda1700 he didn't think about, he just didn't like it when no one was paying attention to him

[@abzda1700]

@@CleverAccountName303 nobody cares about the nuggets they swept lebron and the very next season guess who the most watched player in the nba was not jokic or Murray guess who had the second most shirt sales behind Steph no jokic

[@razkable]

Not saying he isn't big time but having tatum as the only future hall of famer superstar leading his team in the east playoffs in round 2 really sucks...no one in the east that is healthy knows how to win a title as the main guy...not having a jokic cury giannis bron kawhi even embiid mvp type player is annoying....tatum isn't that...

[@camiloramirez3828]

So basically the take is whatever they do is the same because Denver is better?

[@MrR9999]

I would never be surprised if LeBron chose an easier path in the East.

[@edgardoMurnia]

Because Pelinka and Buss are clueless. They shouldve said NO to LeBron for the Russ trade (probably they liked it too). They shouldve said YES to LeBron about Ty Lue And why stay with LeBron and AD but not go ALL IN? What's the point of having a 40 years old declining star if you aren't going for the championship? What a bunch of idiots

[@KingoftheSouth78]

I agree! That Russ trade did the Lakers in! I just don’t understand what Lebron saw in Russ game & thought that would work. I honestly think he realized about 20-30 games in that season it was a mistake lol

[@edgardoMurnia]

@@KingoftheSouth78 I would never understand it

[@ethermac9015]

Man I would’ve DEF picked lakers over OKC

[@brianhurley8617]

“Lucky for us” “it’s just basketball” 🙄

[@Graysondodgeofficial]

Lighting McQueen once said “it’s just an empty cup”

[@iwannatalktosampson5852]

Bron gotta opt out & leave in free agency . No path for Lakers contending without hitting a homerun draft pick which is unlikely with recent Lakers draft history. D lo about to walk for nothing they can probably replace him but even then they aren't on the level of denver,minnesota, okc,Dallas & Memphis with a healthy ja probably better . The west is loaded if Bron wants to contend gonna have to go elsewhere

[@user-hu2ed8oe8m]

If bron even used a little energy to box out on some plays the story might be different. Always sitting there counting on others to do the dirty work

[@sbrown923]

I mean if they let him keep juicing. He can play another 3 years.

[@sheldonong7648]

Love it how the media think that every teams’ main goal is winning a championship. It about making money. And unfortunately, Lebron + Bronny storyline will print a lot of money 😂

[@brianbadonde9251]

Winning a championship leads to more money though. More companies will want to sponsor the Champs and you get more ticket sales, higher ticket prices, and more merchandise/jersey sales.

[@thenightowls2804]

No, but we criticize their moves as if that's their goal.

[@mjwbulich]

​@@brianbadonde9251This is the Lakers not the Hornets. They pack the house no matter what. Even in those horrible years between Kobe and LeBron their attendance was great. The luxury boxes are full. They sell the most jerseys of any team year after year. I don't think most people understand how big they are in Los Angeles. The Lakers own this town. Dodgers are a distance second and every other sports team is an afterthought. The Lakers don't need to win. They don't need LeBron. The fans aren't going anywhere.

[@shaftlamer]

how about you stop sniffing lebums jock and be a professional about how he plays?

[@hobochangba7638]

I’m from the future and have come to tell you all that KD gets traded to the Lakers

[@blaketindle4703]

They’d still choke in the playoffs. Wouldn’t even make the conference finals lol

[@Edd-zd5wb]

It would be awesome if he kept the same tone with the losers he loves like KD and CP3. But no, he puts hid gloves on with them and then hes brutal with Harden and Russ (etc) Just like a little teenage girl.

[@AlessandroZane]

Ryen!👈🏻👈🏻👈🏻 You’re NOT picking them against OKC????? Now I know you don’t know basketball that much kid!

[@jackjackthompson5771]

Ryan celebrating his own takes 🙄🙄🙄🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Kodreanu23]

Why does Lebron wants 50 mil per year? He has enough already. He better cuts his paycheck so LAL can acquire more good players

[@cybersub4693]

They can aquire more good players and pay LeBron by spending more and paying the tax. Players don't need to take the cuts the owners need to invest more to win. Period

[@razkable]

102 mill over 2 years is fine...anymore is insane...years or money

[@datruth9078]

Why do the Lakers charge is much as they do for tickets? If they feel like he is not worth it they won’t pay him

[@Kodreanu23]

@@cybersub4693 at one point it gets too expensive. Lebron is billionaire. He doesn't need 50 mil per year if he really wants more titles.

[@Desnond]

Dudes just lost in 5 abs now we glazing already lmao “oh he’s 39” lol

[@gagescheiderer1173]

Comes with the territory when you're one of the few players ever to have any sort of expectations at age 39. It's really just him, Malone and Kareem. Malone and Kareem were no where near age 39 Lebron production wise though.

[@17NateJohnson]

If Lebron needs massive help to win, would another chip count in the Jordan debate?

[@shorewall]

There is nothing he can do. His window is closed. Same for KD. Their legacy is set in stone. They can only hurt their legacies now by their actions.

[@assibarulpan2853]

Weren't Pippen and Rodman a massive help?

[@misinfluence]

@@shorewallYou’re extremely dumb if you believe this

[@17NateJohnson]

@@assibarulpan2853 Dwayne Wade and Bosh??? Come on ... Kyrie and K Love? that's not the point. Just pointing out that at this stage Lebron isn't leading teams the way he did before (and MJ did in his time). Now, he needs MORE help than he (or MJ) needed in their primes. For instance, if he's not MVP of the Finals, then does it help much in the GOAT discussion? Just thinking aloud.

[@mjwbulich]

​​@@shorewall LeBron hater here. Another ring helps his legacy as long as he's a starter making a real contribution. It's debatable wheter Kareem was even the third best player on those '87 and '88 championship teams. No one nitpicks those rings. Another ring has him tied with Kobe and Magic and one up on Steph. That matters. As far as the Jordan debate goes that's been a dead issue for a long time as far as I'm considered. You can't lose three out of four to Steph while you're in your prime and call yourself the GOAT.

[@razkable]

Not healthy kawhi mavs still lose game at home down big clips have no chance at the finals without him healthy maybe not even vs okc zion out suns swept lakers lose in 5 down 0-3...the west isn't as tough as people claim if a young okc team makes it to round 3 without going 7 which theybwould not do vs. the clips...t wolves are good but the west has had a better 1st and 3rd seed..mavs look weak...nuggets look vulnerable with the bench kcp being meh gordon not being able to shoot and the big 3 being bad on d...the east sucks due to injuries to butler embiid giannis dame now porzingis jarrett but people over hype this year's west...we have had better

[@ThePenitentSquirrel]

I have said it once and I will say it again, Lebron is in the Muhammed Ali vs. Larry Holmes era of his career. Where his greatness can't get him to where he wants/needs to go (and he is not alone). Lebron if he wants to get back to championship should opt out go and play robin to Embiid and play a year with his son (because I think Daryl Morey is dumb enough to actually draft his son). But, just like Ali, doing so would be a huge blow to his ego so he will probable stay in Lala land and get the crap kicked out of him next year.

[@Kodreanu23]

His ego can't let him not be the top guy. Plus, he is not that good off ball

[@misinfluence]

@@Kodreanu23He was only an all nba 3rd team player off ball, he sucks wow

[@ThePenitentSquirrel]

@@Kodreanu23 yeah, I said as much in the last line. Although I hadn't consider the Off Ball aspect which your probable right, mainly because he was a PG 18 years out of the 21 years it would be a significant change.

[@virgiljoshua3091]

Lebron should just retire.

[@cityboychad]

Why? Lebron makes the Lakers a lot of money.

[@SharpwithanE]

For the algo

[@NickMachado]

He should just retire

[@wc6046]

Do most guys retire when they're averaging 26 8 and 7?

[@dimitrijetucovic1307]

@@wc6046 So he should retire when he averages 15 points? What's left to prove? He won't win a ring anymore.

[@Bobbleheads56]

@@wc6046most dudes didn’t chug experimental roids in a no-defense-allowed league either 😂 doesn’t mean hes gonna win ever again

[@wc6046]

@@Bobbleheads56 Where did I say that he would win another championship?

[@thomascrowniii1693]

​​@Bobbleheads56 Where's your proof he did roids? Oh, that's right, you have none. Haters never prosper..but they do lead empty lives.

[@razkable]

I would give bron 2 years 110 mill...

[@SomeChink]

if that happens, the rest of the roster is gonna be sorry

[@blaketindle4703]

That’s two more first round exits.

[@datruth9078]

@@blaketindle4703so what

[@marsspacex6065]

Lebrun is 40 next year. He is done. Why are people still delusional thinking he is going to do something in the playoffs.

[@DrAwesome43]

Lebron should go to the Celtics on a minimum contract. No I'm not crazy. Reasons not to go: 1 - "People would call him a frontrunner." But people already call him that, doesn't hurt his legacy. Lebron has won enough, doesn't need to prove anything. 2 - "He would lose money on the contract." He would lose ~$30M after taxes, which is a lot, but he is already a billionaire and he has potential to expand his brand value by more than that, including the years after he retires. Reasons to go: 1 - "Best chance to win more championships." Boston would be incredibly stacked, and would give Lebron a real chance at 5 or 6+ rings. 2 - "Chance to become bigger than basketball." Lebron is above the rivalries, can go where he wants. Winning rings with 4 different teams, including both LAL and BOS, would give him a unique legacy that transcends petty grievances or single cities, a true basketball savant and lover of the game. None of his former teams can hate him, since he won rings for them. 3 - "Great teammates." Boston has young, team-first superstars who are willing passers and can share the ball or carry the load as needed when Lebron finally declines. It would be a ridiculous plot twist and unexpected final chapter in his career that people would never stop talking about, a huge media frenzy. I don't see the downside, but the upside is big.

[@razkable]

Reggie didn't play 21 years

[@tiagonunes8764]

First

[@Edd-zd5wb]

Remember this guy CLOWNED the Wolves for trading for Gobert. So yeah

[@daviday87]

To be fair, Gobert had just come off of multiple awful playoffs. We later learned he wasn’t 100% and spent most of last season getting healthy, but without knowing that it was pretty easy to call the haul Utah managed to get absolutely bonkers (both the trades for Gobert & Mitchell). I give credit to pundits like him for acknowledging they were way off with the Gobert trade - he and Simmons have gone on the record repeatedly apologizing for how bad that take was given this year’s success.

[@Edd-zd5wb]

@@daviday87 Not really. Im not saying the Wolves didnt overpay. They did. They clowned the move too. And the bad playoffs wirh the Wolves was AFTER of course. The "bad playoffs" with the Jazz were obviously cause of the rest of Jazz players, incapable of stop anybody ever and him having to protect the rim and then rotate to the corner which is impossible

[@daviday87]

@@Edd-zd5wb we pretty much agree, but the bad playoffs with the Jazz at the time put a pretty nasty stain on Gobert's reputation of defensive dominance, because it kept becoming an issue in the playoffs without it popping up much in the regular seasons. It's easy to say now that it was mostly the fault of his surrounding cast, but at the time the prevaling sentiment was Gobert wasn't as dominant in the playoffs / when it mattered as his DPOY awards suggested, so it didn't surprise me when pundits slammed the trade. To be fair, a lot of luck clicked at the right time for the Wolves to take off the way they have this year so it was a lot of IFs for them to predict any of this when the trade happened. (Awesome coaching, Ant's gigantic leap, Gobert getting healthy, the team not imploding after last year's scuffles, KAT finally recognizing it's Ant's team, Conley's veteran leadership, generally everyone buying in, etc).

[@Edd-zd5wb]

@@daviday87 Nah. It was pretty easy to see how awful Jazz players were guarding the perimeter. Gobert hate bias wasnt new.

[@Kevin.valdes7]

They can land Trey young and Zack Lavine

[@deanwalker7216]

Laker fan here. Game 2 was a disaster but they are a half or full piece short. Roll guys were iffy in the series. Go “whoever is playing Boston”. I’m probably out watching most of it. The NBA must hate when the best club ever (in LA) gets bounced.

[@christopherwilliams2351]

I know the guy bitches a lot, but I really don't understand why so many of you hate LeBron so much. He was not the Lakers biggest problem this year. He's gonna be on an All-NBA team. The Nuggets are simply a better team and Jokic the best player in the world.

[@mjwbulich]

He's easy to hate and we love kicking guys when they're down. You're absolutely right though. He had a good year and so did AD. The Lakers just don't have the talent.

[@christopherwilliams2351]

Yeah but a lot of this seems personal. There’s very little critique of his play and more of his character which I don’t get

[@bubbagump9662]

If LeBron wants to win another ring why wouldn’t he just sign a 1 yr 35M deal with OKC? They have 22M in cap space right now & can create another 20M by trading Giddey, Kenrich, & Dieng for picks…… They have a lottery pick already & can bring in a vet on a minimum contract to round out the roster SGA Dort JDub LeBron Chet Cason Wiggins Joe Jaylin Williams Lottery pick Vet

[@lukep757]

Absolutely no way OKC does that. Undermines SGA and their coaching staff for an old Lebron. An old Lebron playing no defense, hogging the ball, not moving at all when he doesn't have the ball and blaming everyone else for his mistakes. No thanks.

[@shorewall]

LeBron is a coach killer, team cancer.

[@davidramos4317]

@@lukep757 because you win an NBA title

[@lukep757]

@davidramos4317 lol that was a good one

[@abzda1700]

@@shorewallcoach killer what makes ty lue a good coach if it wasn’t for lebron spo would be the biggest choker in nba history. Oh and Vogul just got swept

[@coreyhiggins6890]

Led both teams in blocks and steals...and 4th quarter points...how does this guy get paid to say Bs

[@Kevin.valdes7]

Trae and embid or Giannis

[@Kevin.valdes7]

You mean why Lebron is going to run it back with the lakers

[@Thisisjohn2184]

What Lebron wants, what Lebron needs, whatever helps Lebron chase that ring.