How will LeBron look in purple and gold?

November 4th, 2009, 8:29 am · 20 Comments · posted by JANIS CARR, OCREGISTER.COM

LeBron James will leave Cleveland, spurn New York and sign with the Lakers in 2010.

Imagine the possibilities. Imagine the titles. Imagine the fun. Imagine all the people, living life in peace….

Sorry. Let’s not get carried away here, but veteran NBA writer Sam Smith’s idea does tickle the imagination.

Smith wrote recently that LeBron to the Lakers would work on many levels, starting with the need for the Lakers to transition from one superstar (Kobe Bryant) to another (LeBron). At 31, Kobe has maybe 3-4 years ahead of him; LeBron has the second-half of his career ahead of him.

The writer also points out that LeBron would haven’t any problem deferring to Kobe because of his unselfishness. Plus, Los Angeles is a great town to be a celebrity.

Of course, the Lakers would pay a price, namely a talented player (Andrew Bynum probably) or two (Lamar Odom possibily) in a sign-and-trade. Would it be worth it?

Smith: “Look, I believe James has no idea yet what he wants to do next summer. But I also believe the Lakers’ scenario makes the most sense for him if he wants a chance to be considered among the greatest winners of all-time. I believe that’s what he’s about now, and he accomplishes that only with the Lakers.”

Should the Lakers join the LeBron sweepstakes?

Yes, Kobe and LeBron would be unstoppable

No, LeBron would come at too high a price.

View Results

Share this post:

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Categories

J-Dizzle says:

November 4, 2009 at 8:46 am

Love it love it Janis. I see ya got my email :D

urdoo says:

November 4, 2009 at 9:00 am

Dare to dream. But if it means giving up Bynum and Odom, then what? You don’t have a balanced team to win it all. Plus, both players dominate the ball too much.

November 4, 2009 at 9:16 am

Actually Urdoo, LeBron dominates the ball in the system he’s in because he’s the star. He doesn’t look shot first though and would fit PERFECTLY in the triangle. On top of that, if you give up say Bynum and Odom you’d still have

Gasol
James
Artest
Kobe
Fish

Mbenga
Powell
Vujacic
Farmar
Brown
Morrison
Walton

Though being as its the offseason at that point, some of the bench players would obviously change. Read the linked article in full, trust me when I say, it would work.

deezy76 says:

November 4, 2009 at 9:55 am

I doubt seriously that Cleveland would sign and trade Lebron to any other team. It would probably take a Bynum/Pau offer for them to even consider trading him to L.A. And Lebron may be a jerk sometimes, but at least he’s a loyal jerk. I don’t think he’ll go anywhere.

But just for the record, he’d fit perfectly into the triangle.

November 4, 2009 at 10:04 am

If LeBron told Cleveland “Trade me or I’m leaving and you’ll get nothing in return”, you really think Cleveland wouldn’t take on say Andrew Bynum and maybe Odom or Artest as well as another young bit player and some picks? I think that would probably be the best package Cleveland would get from any team.

deezy76 says:

November 4, 2009 at 10:39 am

I just can’t see him doing that (demanding a trade to L.A.) I think if he left, it would be on his own…going to either NY or Miami. But I think more than anything, he’ll likely end up staying in Cleveland. Don’t get me wrong though…I agree with Sam Smith that it would work for L.A. I just don’t think it would actually happen though.
- J-Dizzle says:
  
  November 4, 2009 at 11:04 am
  
  I can see him doing it if he really really wanted to win a championship and if Kobe and the Lakers courted him. He doesn’t even have to do it in a manner that would come off as mean spirited. He could simply say he’s unhappy in Cleveland, he wants to expand his roots and as a gesture he’d be willing to be signed and traded to the Lakers so the Cavs could at least get something really nice in return rather then being high and dry. There are nice ways to go about it but ultimately LeBron still has to think about what he wants and with what’s been discussed, Los Angeles, not New York is the ideal fit for him. Championships, endorsements, Hollywood and money. It’s all here.
  - J-Dizzle says:
    
    November 4, 2009 at 11:14 am
    
    I just had a scary thought… the MV Puppets commercial that Nike ran. Imagine that with both of them in Laker uni’s hittin the playoffs!

Donald says:

November 4, 2009 at 10:16 am

I like it. I’ve been saying LeBron would be a nice “changing of the guard” with Kobe in his final few years. Sam Smith is right. If LeBron wants to win titles and become one if not the greatest players ever, he needs to wear purple and gold. However, the main issue at hand right now is to get another quality guard to back up D-Fish. Unfortunately, Farmar is not what he’s supposed to be.

November 4, 2009 at 10:33 am

No argument on Farmar. But of course that’s not what this here is about. This is more a fantasy scope into the future… in everything else we talk about the now everyday.

AzFatty says:

November 4, 2009 at 11:51 am

Lebron will go to the Lakers if………

He wants to and if……..

Cleveland is willing to take some Lakers players and if…….

The Lakers are willing to give up either Gasol or Bynum and Artest or LO.

I agree, Lebrons bargaining chip is he leaves for the Knicks or the Brooklyn Bombers, and the Cav get nothing. But Cleveland may want the cap space if they are losing him for sure.

Odds of it happening? Quite low, I would think, but never say never. West moved the pieces incredibly to get Shaq and Kobe in the same year.

If James comes, my worry would be, what would Earl the Pearl Bloom due with a dominating Lakers team that never loses a game. It would drive him totally crazy.

J-Dizzle says:

November 4, 2009 at 12:22 pm

If Cleveland lost out on LeBron, ya really think they wouldn’t want to capitalize on a future potential All Star in Andrew Bynum? A current All-Star in Pau Gasol if it came to it? It’s always said that if you’re going to lose a high caliber player, to try to always get something of caliber in return. Bynum would be a strong young piece to build around with Mo Williams. He’d give them a credible inside force that could pick on everyone short of Dwight Howard there in the East. Plus he’s 22!

For LeBron though, I’m very sure the Lakers wouldn’t mind giving up Bynum and/or Gasol as well as any others if necessary to get LeBron.

Bynum doesn't stink says:

November 4, 2009 at 12:12 pm

Would it work? Can LA make the trade yesterday. You just slide Pau to C and Ron to PF and have Lebron at SF, Kobe at the 2 and Derek at the 1. Why wouldn’t it work. Drew has a great future ahead of him, but Lebron is Lebron. The two best players in the game today on one team along with Pau and Ron? Yes, it would work.

J-Dizzle says:

November 4, 2009 at 12:30 pm

LOL Yesterday would be nice. This would be more of a sign and trade offseason thing.

thechampishere says:

November 4, 2009 at 12:24 pm

LeBron for Odom and Bynum and the Lakers get to keep Gasol!!

Sounds like a steal to me!!

Never in any sport has the 2 best players in their sport partnered up. Plus they still have a dominant low post presence in Gasol. Everyone else around them are interchangeable role-fillers.

November 4, 2009 at 12:51 pm

You could also do Odom and Gasol for LeBron and have a 22 y/o piece in Bynum with a 24 y/o LeBron… 2 guys you can completely build around for the future. I like either scenario but ideally I prefer one that not only wins now but also keeps the Lakers contending for the next 8-10 years.

November 4, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Everybody calm down and let’s just get Pau healthy before y’all ship him or anybody else off to Cleveland. Wow…

J-Dizzle says:

November 4, 2009 at 3:20 pm

LOL hey this is an offseason possibility and a little bit of a fantasy thought. It’s fun to speculate these things during the season. I’m enjoying it!

Jeffs Aho says:

November 4, 2009 at 5:41 pm

Sigh. If only koME opted out.

If only……..

November 4, 2009 at 6:53 pm

It’s a good thing that KoME doesn’t play for the Lakers and that we have Kobe. Kobe and LeBron. Besides Jeffs, even if he opted out, the Lakers wouldn’t have the cap room anyway. The Lakers can only get LeBron via sign and trade. LeBron’s unselfish team based play with Kobe’s ability to take over games and that killer instinct would be unstoppable.

Orange County Register