THE MACHINE
night owl
If this goddamn racist's 2m contract causes Lakers to not be able to sign Kawhitop post, those who have an account can see it before he deletes it.Need to trade his ass for a 2nd rounder asap
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A King and an Empire: The Official GOAT franchise Boss Angeles Lakers 2018-19 season
- Thread starter 2Quik4UHoes
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THE MACHINE
night owl
I wonder if Brogdon is on the radar. Got that Kawhi demeanor and is 50/40/90 with elite defense.
Someone's throwing $20+ million at him.
areohbee824
Superstar
Really like the idea of bringing Patrick Beverley here
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Dwight Howard
Superstar
We fukked up. Its beyond obvious to me that BI is gonna be a superstar in this league. On the bright side, my job comes with league pass so I'll watch every N.O game but damn.
Oram: After Lakers deliver for LeBron James, it is his turn...
Oram: After Lakers deliver for LeBron James, it is his turn to return the favor
By Bill Oram Jun 17, 2019
8
Pressure, whether LeBron James believes in it or not, never loosens its grip on the Los Angeles Lakers. It shifts focus and changes form, but it never truly goes away. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka escaped the white-hot glare of that scrutiny over the weekend with the trade for Anthony Davis.
While that pair is temporarily absolved of past missteps, the pressure simply moves on to its next target.
That would be LeBron James.
Pelinka did the only thing he could do with the clock ticking on LeBron’s prime. He listened to David Griffin’s list of demands for Davis, then, with Buss’ blessing, filled the order. Yes, it meant gutting the current roster and crippling the organization’s ability to grow through the draft, but the presence of James made those painful decisions absolutely necessary.
The Lakers delivered for LeBron. Now it’s his turn.
In Year One with the Lakers, James opened himself up to criticism by acting disengaged from the group with poor body language and pregame wine strolls. His role in the Lakers’ midseason pursuit of Davis was widely seen as eroding the young team’s mental state and sinking the team’s dwindling playoff hopes. Perhaps, LeBron’s palpable frustration was justified. The Lakers surrounded James with an eclectic and inexperienced supporting cast.
That excuse is gone.
In a vacuum, the Lakers gave up way too much for Davis. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart, plus the three first-round picks, is objectively too much for any single player. That’s almost half an active roster! The Lakers never would have dreamed of trading such a collection of assets for Davis if they did not already have LeBron in place. But since the Lakers signed James last summer, the calculus has changed. It wasn’t enough to simply try to build a winner someday; the Lakers needed to do it while still maximizing LeBron’s window.
It is lost on no one that James will turn 35 in December and is coming off a season in which he played a career-low 55 games.
By sacrificing almost all of their young core and their ability to replenish it, the Lakers have fully honored the decision LeBron made when he turned heel on Cleveland a second time and headed west.
Pelinka isn’t totally off the hook yet. He must still populate a roster around James, whether that means luring a third star or breaking up the Lakers’ remaining salary-cap room — projected around $28 million if Davis waives his trade kicker. The suddenly rejuvenated Lakers general manager should have a more impressive pool of candidates to choose from than last summer’s bargain bin haul that yielded players like Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley.
Whatever the rest of the roster looks like over the next few seasons, with Davis at his side, the expectation is that James will find a way to win the Lakers their 17th NBA championship.
The Lakers have bowed to his every wish since arriving, including parting with the coach his camp did not care for and going all-in to acquire his preferred second star.
Trades in the NBA tend to be viewed much differently years later than in the immediate glow of their completion. The moves the Lakers made in the summer of 2012 to add Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, the last time the Lakers went all-in for a championship, were celebrated as giving the Lakers the West Coast counterweight to James’ Big 3 in Miami. Instead, that team barely made the playoffs, and the Nash trade forced the Lakers to tank year after year to avoid giving up a lottery pick.
With Davis just 26, history is unlikely to follow that same script.
In fact, if things somehow go sideways and the Lakers fall short of expectations with James and Davis — to say nothing of what happens if the Pelicans thrive with all those former Lakers – it will not be the weekend blockbuster that will be viewed as the critical error. It will be the deal the Lakers made with the devil on July 1, 2018, when they agreed to get into the LeBron James business at all.
Sounds like a scenario James would rather avoid. With The Brow aboard, he has to prove it was worth it.
Top photo of LeBron James: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images
By Bill Oram Jun 17, 2019
Pressure, whether LeBron James believes in it or not, never loosens its grip on the Los Angeles Lakers. It shifts focus and changes form, but it never truly goes away. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka escaped the white-hot glare of that scrutiny over the weekend with the trade for Anthony Davis.
While that pair is temporarily absolved of past missteps, the pressure simply moves on to its next target.
That would be LeBron James.
Pelinka did the only thing he could do with the clock ticking on LeBron’s prime. He listened to David Griffin’s list of demands for Davis, then, with Buss’ blessing, filled the order. Yes, it meant gutting the current roster and crippling the organization’s ability to grow through the draft, but the presence of James made those painful decisions absolutely necessary.
The Lakers delivered for LeBron. Now it’s his turn.
In Year One with the Lakers, James opened himself up to criticism by acting disengaged from the group with poor body language and pregame wine strolls. His role in the Lakers’ midseason pursuit of Davis was widely seen as eroding the young team’s mental state and sinking the team’s dwindling playoff hopes. Perhaps, LeBron’s palpable frustration was justified. The Lakers surrounded James with an eclectic and inexperienced supporting cast.
That excuse is gone.
In a vacuum, the Lakers gave up way too much for Davis. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart, plus the three first-round picks, is objectively too much for any single player. That’s almost half an active roster! The Lakers never would have dreamed of trading such a collection of assets for Davis if they did not already have LeBron in place. But since the Lakers signed James last summer, the calculus has changed. It wasn’t enough to simply try to build a winner someday; the Lakers needed to do it while still maximizing LeBron’s window.
It is lost on no one that James will turn 35 in December and is coming off a season in which he played a career-low 55 games.
By sacrificing almost all of their young core and their ability to replenish it, the Lakers have fully honored the decision LeBron made when he turned heel on Cleveland a second time and headed west.
Pelinka isn’t totally off the hook yet. He must still populate a roster around James, whether that means luring a third star or breaking up the Lakers’ remaining salary-cap room — projected around $28 million if Davis waives his trade kicker. The suddenly rejuvenated Lakers general manager should have a more impressive pool of candidates to choose from than last summer’s bargain bin haul that yielded players like Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley.
Whatever the rest of the roster looks like over the next few seasons, with Davis at his side, the expectation is that James will find a way to win the Lakers their 17th NBA championship.
The Lakers have bowed to his every wish since arriving, including parting with the coach his camp did not care for and going all-in to acquire his preferred second star.
Trades in the NBA tend to be viewed much differently years later than in the immediate glow of their completion. The moves the Lakers made in the summer of 2012 to add Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, the last time the Lakers went all-in for a championship, were celebrated as giving the Lakers the West Coast counterweight to James’ Big 3 in Miami. Instead, that team barely made the playoffs, and the Nash trade forced the Lakers to tank year after year to avoid giving up a lottery pick.
With Davis just 26, history is unlikely to follow that same script.
In fact, if things somehow go sideways and the Lakers fall short of expectations with James and Davis — to say nothing of what happens if the Pelicans thrive with all those former Lakers – it will not be the weekend blockbuster that will be viewed as the critical error. It will be the deal the Lakers made with the devil on July 1, 2018, when they agreed to get into the LeBron James business at all.
Sounds like a scenario James would rather avoid. With The Brow aboard, he has to prove it was worth it.
Top photo of LeBron James: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images
I had never heard of Oram before he got to The Athletic but his recent articles have made me a fan.
Lakerman0834
Veteran
We fukked up. Its beyond obvious to me that BI is gonna be a superstar in this league. On the bright side, my job comes with league pass so I'll watch every N.O game but damn.
People raving about siakam and he’s around 3 years older. BIngonna be a star and zo will be an elite defender. I’d we don’t win a title this will be one of the worst trades we’ve ever done.
Oram: After Lakers deliver for LeBron James, it is his turn...
Oram: After Lakers deliver for LeBron James, it is his turn to return the favor
By Bill Oram Jun 17, 20198
Pressure, whether LeBron James believes in it or not, never loosens its grip on the Los Angeles Lakers. It shifts focus and changes form, but it never truly goes away. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka escaped the white-hot glare of that scrutiny over the weekend with the trade for Anthony Davis.
While that pair is temporarily absolved of past missteps, the pressure simply moves on to its next target.
That would be LeBron James.
Pelinka did the only thing he could do with the clock ticking on LeBron’s prime. He listened to David Griffin’s list of demands for Davis, then, with Buss’ blessing, filled the order. Yes, it meant gutting the current roster and crippling the organization’s ability to grow through the draft, but the presence of James made those painful decisions absolutely necessary.
The Lakers delivered for LeBron. Now it’s his turn.
In Year One with the Lakers, James opened himself up to criticism by acting disengaged from the group with poor body language and pregame wine strolls. His role in the Lakers’ midseason pursuit of Davis was widely seen as eroding the young team’s mental state and sinking the team’s dwindling playoff hopes. Perhaps, LeBron’s palpable frustration was justified. The Lakers surrounded James with an eclectic and inexperienced supporting cast.
That excuse is gone.
In a vacuum, the Lakers gave up way too much for Davis. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart, plus the three first-round picks, is objectively too much for any single player. That’s almost half an active roster! The Lakers never would have dreamed of trading such a collection of assets for Davis if they did not already have LeBron in place. But since the Lakers signed James last summer, the calculus has changed. It wasn’t enough to simply try to build a winner someday; the Lakers needed to do it while still maximizing LeBron’s window.
It is lost on no one that James will turn 35 in December and is coming off a season in which he played a career-low 55 games.
By sacrificing almost all of their young core and their ability to replenish it, the Lakers have fully honored the decision LeBron made when he turned heel on Cleveland a second time and headed west.
Pelinka isn’t totally off the hook yet. He must still populate a roster around James, whether that means luring a third star or breaking up the Lakers’ remaining salary-cap room — projected around $28 million if Davis waives his trade kicker. The suddenly rejuvenated Lakers general manager should have a more impressive pool of candidates to choose from than last summer’s bargain bin haul that yielded players like Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley.
Whatever the rest of the roster looks like over the next few seasons, with Davis at his side, the expectation is that James will find a way to win the Lakers their 17th NBA championship.
The Lakers have bowed to his every wish since arriving, including parting with the coach his camp did not care for and going all-in to acquire his preferred second star.
Trades in the NBA tend to be viewed much differently years later than in the immediate glow of their completion. The moves the Lakers made in the summer of 2012 to add Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, the last time the Lakers went all-in for a championship, were celebrated as giving the Lakers the West Coast counterweight to James’ Big 3 in Miami. Instead, that team barely made the playoffs, and the Nash trade forced the Lakers to tank year after year to avoid giving up a lottery pick.
With Davis just 26, history is unlikely to follow that same script.
In fact, if things somehow go sideways and the Lakers fall short of expectations with James and Davis — to say nothing of what happens if the Pelicans thrive with all those former Lakers – it will not be the weekend blockbuster that will be viewed as the critical error. It will be the deal the Lakers made with the devil on July 1, 2018, when they agreed to get into the LeBron James business at all.
Sounds like a scenario James would rather avoid. With The Brow aboard, he has to prove it was worth it.
Top photo of LeBron James: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images
I had never heard of Oram before he got to The Athletic but his recent articles have made me a fan.
The Lakers hadn't built anything......
Flex Luger
Job Is Finished
Ship this mayo eating piece of shyt out
Ship this mayo eating piece of shyt out
Handle that shyt LeGM, ain’t none of us want this cac bum anyway.
Flex Luger
Job Is Finished
Woj just said on Get Up that's it's not even a certain that Kawhi will take a meeting with the Lakers 
shyt must've changed quickly because yesterday Chris Carter said he would meet with the Lakers
shyt must've changed quickly because yesterday Chris Carter said he would meet with the Lakers
Woj just said on Get Up that's it's not even a certain that Kawhi will take a meeting with the Lakers
shyt must've changed quickly because yesterday Chris Carter said he would meet with the Lakers
Washedj also swore up and down the Lakers had no assets to trade for AD and it was the Celtics that’d get him.
fukk what Washedj has to say....
johnedwarduado
Banned
Wow so many undercover racists, even moe wagner? wow
LandlordBrasii
PRESIDENT OF LWO!
Kyrie it is thenWoj just said on Get Up that's it's not even a certain that Kawhi will take a meeting with the Lakers
shyt must've changed quickly because yesterday Chris Carter said he would meet with the Lakers
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
True and if they end up like Wiggins, Jabari, Fultz and etc top Draft picks that are bust or never panned out.
This will be one of the best trades ever
Kobe knows talent and Kobe himself said to get rid of them.... time for Laker Nation to get on board.
