A Title Contender is Not Giving LeBron $50 Million

We got a lot to get into on the show.

I know it feels like to people that we talk about the Lakers all the time, but the Lakers are proving yet again to continue to be worthy of talking about.

The Lakers, who have lost just 2 games since February 28th, strong grip right now on the 3rd seed in the Western Conference, just beat Cleveland on Tuesday.

I was at that game.

In Los Angeles.

Now, we're recording this before the Thursday night game against Oklahoma City.

So a lot can happen in that game that will change the discussion.

But so far, Evan, this Lakers team, the surge that they're on, peaking at the right time.

I want to read you some of the numbers that they had in the month of March.

They have the 6th-best offensive rating.

In March, they're 10th in the NBA in defensive rating.

Like I said, I was at that Cleveland game.

The Cavs, they're a good team.

They were playing good basketball, and they got whooped by the Lakers, whooped from start to finish.

Um, I guess the question I would ask you at this stage of the season as we're a couple of weeks away from the start of the playoffs.

Like, what do you see as the ceiling for this Lakers team?

Are they a good team that's on a great run?

Are they capable of being a great team, able to win a championship?

Where do you kind of put the Lakers right now?

Man, they're a good team on a great run.

It's just the situation much equivalent to, you know, the, the, the MVP race.

It's the wild, wild west.

There's so many good teams out there, you know what I mean?

And I think one thing that's going to occur is They have to be committed to to fully winning.

The past couple of years, I feel like if they took a shining mouth on game one or game two, I felt like the, the run kind of seemed a little bit shaky from the heads of the, the head of the snake.

You know what I mean?

When LeBron took that L in Denver, it was kind of like, oh, now I don't know if I want to keep playing.

Like, do you know what I mean?

And, and, and it's kind of like, yo, you gotta buckle in because these teams are so good and so tight that like, even though you're a good team on a great run, it just might not be enough.

You know, and I think uh when it comes down to it, It's all about how great Luca can step up and be in that playoff run and how good, you know, the, the big three is going to be and uh their supporting cast and it's Man, to say to make a run, I like Denver making a run.

I like, you know what I mean, OKC making a run .

I like Spurs, it's, it's, it's.

It's tough to even say they're very, very good.

It's just there's a couple of teams that are very, very great.

Like, if, if LA ran into Denver, I don't know if LA beats Denver.

They're starting to get healthy as well, you know what I mean?

So I, I, I, it's, it's a good team making a great run, but it it's, it's just a year, it's too tough.

Maybe the past couple of years they could kind of light a fire, but it's that wild , wild west is loaded.

Yeah, uh, and I am fascinated to see how these upcoming games with Oklahoma City play out.

Those two games, one on Thursday and the next one on Tuesday in, in Los Angeles, those are going to be real barometers for where the Lakers are at .

Uh, they've played and beaten some good teams during this stretch, including Cleveland, but now, They get a chance to test themselves against a great team, uh, the former champs.

And look, Luca has had tremendous success against Oklahoma City individually in recent years.

Can that team put it together?

But I, I wanna kind of unpack like what I've seen from them.

Um, and, and just looking specifically at that Cleveland game.

Like the way that LeBron James has embraced this new role is both remarkable and absolutely instrumental to what this team is doing.

I was watching him for most of his minutes on Tuesday night, and he began a lot of possessions kind of running towards the corner and Allowing other guys to operate, whether it's Reeves or Lukadanic at the top.

A lot of times, he's the screensetter , rolling to the basket, popping out, like, more than I've ever seen him operate as a screensetter, at least in recent years, uh, maybe his entire career.

Like he is doing.

All of the little things that you need to do if you are the 3rd option of the team.

He's allowing Luca to be Luca, allowing Reeves to be Reeves, and he has picked up a lot of, a lot of the stuff in between.

And that has been just a huge part.

Of, of what this team is doing.

And Luca has been on just a generational tear.

I mean, I, I've taken some flak for not putting him inside my top 3 or 4 of the last couple of weeks, but he is moving up the rankings for MVP.

He is climbing those rankings by putting on the kind of offense.

performances that make you just sit up and be like, wow, like, that was incredible.

40 points here, 10 assists there, like, he's a point guard, he's a shooting guard, he's a scorer, he's a playmaker.

He's doing a little bit of everything for this team on the offensive end of the floor.

So those are all reasons that make me believe that this Lakers team can beat anybody.

It defensively is where I, I have some questions.

Um, I mentioned the numbers.

They've been a very good defensive team in March, but ET, they play a lot of zone.

Like they play the 4th-most zone of any team in the NBA.

And when I talk to scouts who I sit next to or I see at games, like that comes up a lot.

Like, can you be a zone defensive team, a largely zone defensive team.

And succeed in the playoffs because it's one thing to throw your zone at a team that hasn't been preparing for it all that much, you know, Cleveland, they played a lot of zone against Cleveland.

Cleveland was coming off a back to back.

How much prep could they have really done going into that game?

But you get into a seven-game series with a smart team, they're gonna find ways to poke holes in that zone.

And the Lakers, when they come off it, they don't have a lot of high-level.

You know, individual defenders, LeBron, Reeves, Luca, not high-level defenders anymore.

DeAndre Ayton has been on a great run too.

He's, he's a huge reason why this team has succeeded.

Can he keep being a, a defensive weapon?

So, my concerns with this team are exclusively defensively.

I think they've figured out the offensive part.

LeBron's embraced his role.

Eyton has embraced.

His role.

Luke and Reeves are playing great basketball.

It's just in the playoffs, uh, can you play this kind of junkie zone as much as they're playing and succeed?

History says probably not.

History says that these zone-heavy teams are not going to have success, but, you know, maybe the Lakers can figure out a way to make it work.

What do you think?

I, I don't think so.

Like, you brought up a great point, like, and that's what these coaches are for.

It's not like they caught them on a, a 5 game like road trip where it's like, oh, they threw a zone at us.

It's like teams are prepared for the playoffs.

When you hit the playoffs, you're overly scouted, you know, everything they're about to do and you're, you're prepared to play a team for 9 days straight.

And I just feel like coaches in the NBA are too good, but players like a zone, like that's like so elementary.

It's like to NBA players, that's that's uh I, I'm so worried that like, that's going to have to combat and hide it where there's some good Western Conference teams, they're gonna get torn apart .

And I feel like if that breaks down, now you have to go man to man, a lot of your energy is going to be exerted on the defensive end where I feel as though it might get taken away from the offensive end.

Unless, I mean, Lukecas averaging 34, so he can score at the best of them.

I think LeBron's IQ is pretty good, but I just That West is too crazy, coaches are too good and you can't rely, you can't rely on the zone.

The zone is too, too wild and, and, and it's, it's window dressing.

You, you, that.

That's damn near like pressing, man.

Like, you know what I mean?

Like it's, you, you gotta really get in half court, get, it's either two things you gotta do, make sure your transition defense is unbelievable, and then you really got to put your balls to the ground and lock in on half court and be on the string.

Like being in a lazy 2-3 zone, 3-2 matchup zone where guys are shooting 28 29 ft out, you run into the Suns, they might tear your ass up.

You know what I mean?

Mm.

Yeah, um The, the teams that the, the, the teams at the top, like Miami plays the most zone in the NBA by a country mile, and Miami is starting to get cooked.

You saw them play against Boston last night.

Like their defense is starting to really get, get jammed.

Denver plays a lot of zone, and look, Denver's a recent champion, so there's some success there.

If I remember right, like the Dallas Mavericks back in 2011 with Dirk and them, they played, seemed like they played a decent amount of zone with, with that team.

So there are examples of it being successful, but I think that the zone right now.

Good.

And I just think it's different personnel.

Like it's different personalities.

Like those two teams you're talking about wasn't in Hollywood, you know what I mean?

I'm not trying to say they're prima donnas, but like, I mean, Denver Nuggets have done it in a blue-collar type of way.

In 2011, the Mavericks going up against the Heat did it in a blue-collar scrappy type of way.

I don't know if that person, we, we just got DeAndre Ayden buying in and being like the 4th or 5th option.

He didn't realize that up until a few days ago.

You know what I mean?

I, I, I don't, I'm not even trying to diss that team, you just gotta be scrappy and it has to be your nature.

They're clicking on all cylinders.

I just think if, if they buy in , that, that would be great at this time, but like, I mean that's your identity, that's your foundation, that's your core.

When somebody hits you in the mouth, are you gonna stick with it?

Yeah, um, I, I think it's, it's definitely gonna be challenging for them to be a zone-heavy team in the playoffs.

They've gone back and forth with it over the last couple of months, but watching that Cleveland game, there was just a lot of zone being played in that game, and it was successful.

Cleveland wasn't really ready for it, but will it work in a second-round series with the San Antonio Spurs?

Will it work in a conference finals against Oklahoma City?

That's why I'm anxious to see.

how these Thunder games play out, how much zone they play, how effective their defense is going to be.

Look, everyone's kind of locked in on the Luca Shea, you know, matchup, so to speak, and I am too.

I want to see it, but I also want to see how this Laker defense matches up with an elite offense like, like in Oklahoma City.

Um, on, on LeBron James.

ESPN ran a story this week that was speculating on the future of the Bronxs.

We are only a couple of months away from a potential huge decision.

By LeBron James on what he's gonna do next year.

And ESPN laid out the usual suspects that are in the LeBron chase.

The Lakers, of course, are there, Cleveland is there, Golden State, is there ESPN through, uh, Denver in the mix.

That would be interesting.

I know Denver's had interest in LeBron in the past, so keep an eye on that.

Uh , but what do you think?

Like, the, the way, you know, if you'd asked me three months ago, I would have said, No way do we see LeBron back in a Laker uniform.

Like they're clearly looking to build a team around Luka Dacic and Austin Reeves.

The numbers back then were awful for that three-man lineup, but now they've kind of turned it around.

They've figured things out.

Offensively, they're going into the playoffs with some momentum as you kind of assess the LeBron landscape right now as we record this in early April.

Like, what do you think is the, the best fit for him moving forward?

Boston Celtics, no, I'm just joking.

Uh, uh, let's think.

Well I don't know, I really do believe in that , but to be completely honest with you, I would like to see LeBron go up to the Golden State Warriors.

I think uh when it comes down to it, I think there'll be enough firepower.

I think, um, I, I would be a fan of seeing Steph and LeBron play together and seeing what that team could do.

I think that would be huge.

But, um, now that you bring up Denver, I wouldn't be mad at seeing LeBron in Denver.

Him playing with Jokic, him being able to play with a basketball mind like that.

I think to a certain extent with LeBron's, uh, age, you know, Denver kind of plays a slowdown pace because of how Jokic plays.

I think they would be able to play in a great system and, uh, With their IQ together, I feel like they would be able to, you know, beat teams up night in and night out.

Yeah, I, um, I, I, Denver years ago was hot in pursuit of LeBron James.

I remember writing this at the time that Denver was looking to acquire LeBron via trade.

Uh, that obviously went nowhere, but the Nuggets' interest in LeBron is long-standing.

It actually predates the current front office.

It was Tim Conley-led front office that was interested in LeBron at that time, but I'm sure if there was an ability to acquire a player like that, pair him alongside Nikola Jokic for a couple of years or at least one year, that would be interesting.

I, I just don't know if LeBron is looking to kind of, It's not the same thing like, but go out like Shaq.

Like, do you want to go out in a completely unfamiliar uniform with a franchise that you have no connection with?

And I know he's got no connection to Golden State, but you know, the Steph stuff almost makes a connection there.

Like the, the longtime Olympic team, not Olympic teammates I guess they only played together once, but like the longtime peers in basketball, him and Draymond battling for years, that can make some, make sense on some level.

I, I just think.

If it's not the Lakers, and maybe these playoffs will be revealing about how feasible it is to have LeBron play on a team with Reeves and Luca.

But if it's not the Lakers, to me, a return to the Cavs just makes so much sense because not only can he close the circle with one more trip back to Cleveland, but he can be an impact player.

On a contender.

I mean, look at what the Cavs are right now.

They're Donovan Mitchell, they're James Harden, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley.

They're clearly missing something.

Like maybe they can get out of the Eastern Conference, maybe, but they're clearly missing something to get to the championship level.

Is LeBron at nearly 42 years old at that point going to be that something?

I don't know, but he kind of fits in with what they need.

Like they need help at these wing positions.

You watch them play, they don't have a lot of high-level wing guys.

I know Dean Wade didn't play in that game against, uh, against the Lakers, but they could use somebody who can play minutes at the 3-4 spot.

Now, LeBron would have to take a massive pay cut.

Like massive pay cut.

The Cavs, they're in the 2nd apron right now.

Uh, it's going to be tough for them to get in a position where they can offer him anything more than the, the minimum.

So he didn't have to accept that his days of making real money on an NBA court are probably over.

But if he's willing to do that, I just keep looking at this Cleveland situation, like they need help at his particular position.

They compete in the Eastern Conference.

There's got to be a huge carrot for a player like LeBron, and the chance to lead the Cavaliers or at least compete for one more championship.

Like there's something poetic about that, isn't there?

Like there's something kind of, kind of story-esque about that.

No, that's definitely real.

Uh, you, you definitely broken that down amazing.

I will only add one thing to that.

Obviously, the ball is in his court.

So if he wants to do that, he'll have to be OK with not making real money.

That's 100%.

But I think another thing that occurs, they traded off DeAndre Hunter.

I think, uh, James Harden is unbelievable with the ball in his hands along with Donovan Mitchell.

But I think if he goes over to Cleveland, it would give him a little bit more opportunity to be able to handle the ball a little bit more as well and not be as much as a screener.

I think they would need him to playmate.

I think it would come down to him being like, hey, he's accepted his role in LA.

But I think if it came down to him believing that he could still handle the ball, still be able to make plays and still be on ball, I think it would be easier to get the ball out of James's hands and Donovan's hands, more so than it is Luca, who's averaging 35 points a night, 9 assists.

You know what I mean?

Shooting almost 40 from the 3.

So, when guys complain about like, hey, I'm not playing the same, it's like Luca is offensively making the best decisions with the ball every night.

And I think in Cleveland, allow him to be comfortable, come back, add to his legacy, and then further, just like step up and play a more familiar brand of basketball that won't turn him into a big man.

And then like you said, on the Eastern Conference, there's gonna be nights where I'm not saying he can take it easy, but he'll be able to take it easy.

You know what I mean?

It won't be as stressful as Seeing the Suns or the pesky, the Trail Blazers are gonna be so much better next year.

Like, you know what I'm saying?

It's gonna be a lot of good teams there.

And I think too, you know , Brown also likes to have a little bit more control and a little bit more respect, you know, the keen type treatment, and I think, uh, that will work a little bit better in Cleveland as opposed to, uh, sometimes a headache of uh getting whipped in line when he has something to say because he's always had something to say, it's always going the way he's wanted to, you know.

Yeah, and even.

Right now, LeBron is still a high-value NBA contract because he puts butts in seats.

He drives ratings.

He's worth every nickel of the 50 some odd million that the Lakers are paying him.

If he comes in next year with LA, with Cleveland, with somebody, um, He's gonna be the highest value contract in NBA history because he's still gonna put butts in the seats.

He's still gonna drive ratings and he's gonna do it at a cut rate.

And that's one of the questions I have about this whole decision-making process.

Like, can he accept being, being paid less than his market value?

Like, can he accept that, um, he is going to, like, if next year is his final year.

He's gonna make a pile of money on whatever documentary he decides to shoot, cause you know he's gonna do that.

Like, you know he's gonna chronicle every minute of every game, of every practice that he plays in.

And sell that bad boy to Amazon, sell it to Netflix, sell it to somebody for like $100 million.

It's just, it's gonna be worth that much, uh, in his final year in the NBA.

So, he's not gonna be hurt for money if he was, but can he accept being a lesser-paid player on a team that he is still driving a lot of revenue for?

That's one of the questions I have, but I like the fit in Cleveland, um, And I would make them the preferred destination, not the favorite necessarily because nobody really knows what LeBron's thinking right now, but I would make them the preferred destination for me, uh, with LeBron James.