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LeBron James' decision to agree to join the Los Angeles Lakers for a $ 154 million contract over four years was the quietest bombshell in the world. history of the NBA.
Any tweet:
No television special. No "as told to" letter of advertisement. Just a tweet. That's all. It is thus that everyone has learned that the best living player would join the Lakers, tilt even more the balance of conference powers to the West and influence just about every other major transaction yet. coming this summer
. all business in its delivery, an appropriate tone for what feels like a movement "Let's be serious". The length of James' agreement is perhaps the most surprising element of all, since he had recently avoided any engagement of more than two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers . There is a chance that James has learned from the way he handled things in Cleveland; it would have to be assumed that the less well established ring hunters and talents will now be more willing to join James in Los Angeles because they know that he will not be able to bolt next summer? s & rsquo; He is not satisfied.
Perhaps James also recognizes own basketball mortality. One year transactions are actually bets that a player makes on himself. They trust a level of sustained excellence. At age 33, is James less certain that he will remain dominant enough to keep the approach year after year?
Whatever it is, if James wants help with the Lakers, the length of his contract makes it much easier to get
Los Angeles did not lost time getting reinforcements, according to Yahoo Sports Shams Charania:
This is a phenomenal deal, below market for (ahem, Klutch client) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope-one who gives James the most dynamic wing with which he plays from the beginning Dwyane Wade . The question now is: who else is coming?
If noted LeBron's addition and Lance Stephenson's addition of Grade-A, first reported by Charania is an indication, everyone and everything is at stake.
Kawhi Leonard is the biggest fish available now that Paul George is engaged in Oklahoma City Thunder for at least the next three years, and DeMarcus Cousins is still a candidate to impregnate the Lakers cap space … Albert Nahmad @ AlbertNahmad
The Lakers, with a maximum age of $ 153 million from LeBron James (player option included), can currently create up to $ 13.4 million from capitalization, including the Julius Randle ceiling socket. The removal of Randle's warning adds $ 11.6 million. Stretching Luol Deng adds $ 9.8 million. Deng Trading adds $ 17.2 million.
The quick decision of KCP may suggest that there are other moves in the room. Does this mean that a Leonard trade is in the bag? Does Cousins sign a lucrative transaction one year in advance?
Adrian Wojnarowski @ wojespn
Sources: As commercial negotiations unfold, Kawhi Leonard remains unchanged: he wants to become Laker. https://t.co/0wZGf5MrNt
To really maximize the list around James, some current Lakers have to be moved, which … awkwaaaaard. The arrival of LeBron sent waves of jubilation throughout the organization. Those who express it most strongly, such as Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, could be parts in any case that will eventually bring Leonard on board.
In light of this, they might want to rein in the reactions with these reactions:
Lonzo Ball [19659005] @ ZO2_
You really thought that he was going to let the biggest city in the world … #TheKingIsHere ?
The rest of the West must now re-evaluate its offseason. The Houston Rockets lost Trevor Ariza to the Suns on a one-year, $ 15 million, Charania contract. Suffice it to say that this is not a good time for contenders to lose upscale defensive wings in the West. Rockets tend to have backup plans for their backup plans, so maybe they will not be taken without a replacement. But Ariza's departure leaves a hole big enough for James to bulldoze in a playoff series.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs lost more weight in their relationship with Leonard, whose threat to join the Lakers in 2019 is now zero percent bluffing. He knows James will be there when he's free, so San Antonio's motivation to trade his best player is intensifying now.
The Golden State Warriors were quietly winning the off-season. They watched the Rockets lose Ariza, saw Paul George not agree to sign with LA before James and then get Kevin Durant to accept a contract that could save them up to 29.1 million dollars, according to Danny The Athletic Leroux
Although the arrival of James in the West does not necessarily change the way we evaluate the offseason of Golden State, it must be assumed that the Dubs will use their taxpayer MLE now. Durant's decision seemed destined to push the warriors towards more expense. With James in Los Angeles, this would look like malpractice if Golden State did not use all the resources available to improve it.
You can not be complacent when the only guy fighting you in the final has just joined your conference.
In analyzing what James' presence meant for the West, it is important to note also the destruction of his absence in the East. The lower conference just lost the guy who represented him in the final for eight consecutive years. The talent gap, absurdly vast to begin with, is now a gulf that you can not see with the naked eye, as observed by Dan Feldman of NBC Sports:
Dan Feldman @ DanFeldmanNBA
Everyone who made an All-NBA first team in the last four years now plays in the Western Conference
The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics can work with less urgency now, building for the future and knowing that they have about half a decade of conference finals face off. That's if the Toronto Raptors do not undergo some kind of revigoration now that the bully who took them for years is gone.
The Cavs should probably look to move Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith and all that is not nailed. It took a monumental effort from James (and a complete review of the mid-season list) to get this defensively inept group to the finals. With the remaining lineup, the playoffs look to be long – even in the lower East.
The only true plot surrounding a Cavs team returned to post-LeBron purgatory is whether owner Dan Gilbert will resume his infamous comic strip. letter of 2010. Hoping that he opts for the frisky benguiat. It is underestimated as a funny font involuntarily.
The timing (July 1, a few hours in free will) and the way (a simple press release) show that this movement is different for James. There is a sense of nonsense – and perhaps even a little finality in the wake of a four-year commitment. He is in on the Lakers. So now, when he began to seem to be heading for a disappointing offseason, James' team is an instant contestant – that will certainly improve as money dries around of the league and quality veterans must choose between exceptions and
Suddenly, the MLE and the Lakers bench end places look better than anyone else
Big Picture (ger ), one can even begin to wonder where James will ultimately be in the Laker tradition. Should we put space aside for a statue outside the Staples Center? What about the intractable crowd of "Kobe's better"? When they have to treat James join their team, will all their heads explode? Or just most of them?
These are problems for another time. For the moment, James joining the Lakers means one of the NBA's brand franchises – maybe the marquee franchise – is more relevant than it does the # 39, has been for years. This is the movement that the Lakers exceptionalism was designed to achieve, but the most important thing to remember here is that the organization did it without wagering on the dangerous belief that it was special. Instead, he carved a lot of ceiling space, worked with return channels (no, you said "falsification", not me), added young talents, took Magic Johnson on board to win rallies in the biggest free agent game since Shaquille O 'Neal.
The Lakers are back at 100%. This guy knew it for a long time
Stats of Basketball Reference Clean glass or NBA.com unless otherwise noted
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