You can't see this at home, but I'm shaking my head in disapproval.
LeBron is 40. I can't stress this enough. I COULD WRITE IT IN ALL CAPS, I COULD WRITE IT IN ALL BOLD. He ain't winnin' anything as the leader of the Lakers. Not at 40.
Now last year, I argued, that he had a chance to win another championship.... if he packed his bags and joined the talented, but aged, Golden State Warriors.
But ironically, LeBron chirped "Los Angeles is my home." Then he strongarmed the Lakers into drafting the overrated Bronny. LeBron is furious and calling me a liar? So you want me to believe that the Lakers' scouting department thought Bronny James, a bench player on the USC Trojans, coming off a heart attack with no remarkable physical features, was the best player on the NBA Draft board when their turn came up?
Umm, okay.
Then, yesterday, the Dallas Mavericks decided that they were not going to extend Luka Doncic to a supermax deal and traded him to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. (And other spare parts.) Why was the trade so shocking? From 2020:
Now since the year 2020, Cuban has since sold his majority share in the Dallas Mavericks, so the person who pulled the trigger on the trade was GM Nico Harrison.
According to Cuban, he didn't know the trade was coming.
According to LeBron, he didn't know the trade was coming.
According to Kyrie Irving, he didn't know the trade was coming.
According to Luka, he didn't ask for a trade.
According to Anthony Davis, he didn't ask for a trade.
According to GM Nico Harrison, he was the spark behind the trade. He justified the trade in this way: "Defense wins championships."
Umm, okay.
So in a player's league, a GM that no one has ever heard of, put the NBA on its ear? The last team that won a Championship that was based around its defensive center? Sorry old-timers, that was 20 years ago when Tim Duncan anchored a talented San Antonio Spurs team. Davis + Kyrie aren't the 2005 Spurs.
Someone is lying.
Then I remembered that I follow Mark Cuban on Bluesky:
The vocal Mark Cuban has no social media comment? (Within 12 hours of the trade.)
Again, everyone asks what my beef is with the NBA. The NBA is not about basketball, it is about drama.
Currently, the Lakers are in 4th. The addition of Luka will probably push them to...6th. (Yeah, I know that's the wrong way.)
Currently, the Mavericks are in 8th. The addition of Davis will probably push them to...7th.
Who will win the NBA Championship? If I had to bet money, I'd say that the NBA Finals would be the Thunder vs the Celtics. And what will everyone be talking about? The Davis/Doncic Trade.
LeBron and the L.A. Lakers don't have enough depth to make a deep run in the playoffs. You argue they still have a "Big 2." Brass tacks? They traded an injured all-star for an injured (and overweight) all-star.
The Big 3 in Dallas? Thompson, Davis, and Irving. There's a chance all three could be injured for the playoffs. They would have been favorites to win an NBA ring...in 2019.
Whose opinion do I trust the most? Probably Brian Windhorst:
“If I am Luka, this is the ultimate rebuke. This is the ultimate insult. There’s no way that anybody is turning down $350 million. So what they’re basically saying is ‘We don’t think you’re worth the money.’ It’s SHOCKING.”
So the trade wasn't about LeBron?
It wasn't about winning Championships?
It was about not paying Luca Doncic a Supermax Deal.
What did the Lakers get? Potential cap space in 2027? Look for LeBron to hang on with the Lakers until they draft Bryce James and allow him to be in the league for a year. Look for Doncic to move on at the end of his current deal. Then the Lakers will have that crazy cap space to lure young stars from the Thunder....or the Cavs.
And the drama cycle will begin again.
Comments