Лэйкерс болон Леброн Жэймс хоорондын гэрээ хэлэлцээрийн цонх нээлттэй байгаа ч алдартай тоглогчийн ирээдүйн талаар тодорхой шийдвэр гараагүй байна.
Леброн Жэймс өрсөлдөх хүсэл эрмэлзэл дүүрэн байгаа тул NBA-д 24 дэх улирлаа үргэлжлүүлэн тоглох магадлал өндөр байна гэж шинжээчид үзэж байна. Хэдийгээр түүнийг Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс багт нэгдэж, Стэфэн Көрритэй хамтран тоглох боломжтой гэх таамаг бооцооны зах зээлд өрнөж байгаа ч гэр бүлийн ая тухтай байдал болон амьдралын хэв маягийн хувьд Лэйкерс хэвээр үлдэх нь илүү бодитой хувилбар байж болох юм.
Лэйкерс багийн тоймч Дэн Войке болон Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс багийн тоймч Ник Фридэлл нарын үзэж буйгаар, Жэймс ирэх улиралд талбайд гарах нь тодорхой боловч баг солих эсэх нь түүний санхүүгийн нөхцөл болон амжилтын боломжоос ихээхэн шалтгаална. Хэрэв тэрээр багаа сольсон тохиолдолд шинэ багийн бүрэлдэхүүн болон тоглолтын арга барилд дасан зохицох шаардлагатай болно гэдгийг мэргэжилтнүүд онцолж байна.
Жэймс өдгөө 41 настай хэдий ч талбай дээрх ур чадвар, тоглолтыг удирдах чадвар нь үнэлэгдсээр байгаа юм. Гэсэн хэдий ч түүнийг багтаа элсүүлэх сонирхолтой багууд түүнийг гарааны тоглогч гэхээс илүүтэйгээр багийн гүнзгий бүрэлдэхүүний чухал хэсэг болгон ашиглах нь зүйтэй хэмээн шинжээчид дүгнэж байна.
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We probably need to talk about LeBron James.
James and the Lakers are in the middle of their exclusive negotiating window, but there still aren’t many clear answers about what comes next. He appears likely to play a 24th NBA season, yet questions remain about his future. Will he stay in Los Angeles? Or will he surprise the basketball world and team up with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors at the end of his legendary career? BetMGM’s current betting odds have the Warriors listed +300 if James leaves the Lakers, helping fuel speculation about a partnership with Curry.
With free agency approaching, Lakers writer Dan Woike and Warriors writer Nick Friedell got together to answer the biggest questions they are hearing around the NBA about James.
What will LeBron do?
Dave DuFour and Zenab Keita
How confident are you that he actually comes back for another year?
Woike: I’m more confident that he plays next season than not because I think the competitive fire is still burning. The thing about retirement is you need to be willing to never feel certain feelings again. For James, that means having the crowd in your hand in your home building and snuffing out an opponent’s hopes in their own arena. He felt that in the first round against the Houston Rockets. It also means giving up the chance to either play with or against your son at a stage in his career when he should be competing for regular minutes.
James loves golf — and maybe that’s a small factor in all of this — but I still think the thing he loves most in competition is the commitment to the work greatness requires. I’m not sure he’s ready to let that go.
Friedell: I thought when this season started that this was it for LeBron. But the more I watched him in the postseason, and the more you and I talked, the more I think he has at least one more season in the tank. I did find it noteworthy that when I stood in the Lakers’ locker room after they got swept by the Thunder, there was an NBA Entertainment crew on hand to monitor his moves just in case this was it. That’s not a common occurrence.
I think he’s coming back, but everybody in the league understands there’s still a chance he’s already played his last game. I also don’t believe, no matter what’s said, that he would walk without some kind of retirement tour. That would really shock me.
Do you really think he would leave LA?
Woike: I’m not so sure. I think whenever I’ve spoken to LeBron about his life outside of basketball, it’s always been focused on Los Angeles-centric things like watching his daughter play volleyball or heading out to play golf at his country club. Could he still get the kind of family time with Zhuri that he lost with his two older sons if he was playing somewhere else? Maybe not. But if he wants to play and he wants to do it on his terms, he might need to look outside of Los Angeles.
Friedell: I’ll believe it when I see it. I don’t think he leaves. By all accounts, it seems like he is comfortable in LA. The city offers him a variety of different options — especially as his interests outside of basketball expand. Plus, I’m with you. Is his family really ready to uproot one more time at this stage of his career? Moving is miserable for everybody, even when you have plenty of money to lessen the blow. What other team gives him a better chance to win while offering the same quality of life?
How much less money do you think he is willing to take?
Woike: If he’s playing for another team, he’s either doing it via sign-and-trade or via the midlevel exception at $15 million. The MLE is a wild pay cut and would certainly make James the best player ever to sign for an exception like this. Would he do it? I’m a little skeptical. Knowing how much work it takes for James to be mentally and physically prepared to play a single game, I’m not totally sure he could get there knowing he was playing for less than, say, Jakob Poeltl. The Lakers can work him into their cap space, but doing so would slow their ability to make other meaningful changes. It’s a tight spot.
Friedell: Where else would he realistically even go? We know about the Lakers. We’ve heard a little bit about a potential move back to Cleveland over the last year. And then there’s a team up in Northern California that seems to be waiting to see what happens.
LeBron James shoots over Steph Curry and Draymond Green during a game between the Lakers and Warriors. (Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports)
There’s been plenty of speculation about a Warriors year with Steph and Draymond. Do you think it’s possible?
Woike: I think the idea of playing with his friends and contemporaries would be appealing to him. He’s a generation older than most of today’s NBA players. Being around people his age whom he’s known, competed against and respected for more than a decade would have real appeal. And let’s not forget LeBron and Steph’s stirring gold-medal-winning experience in Paris. All of that is why he could consider it.
Friedell: Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy, Jr. said Wednesday that the hope is that his team gets younger over the summer, not older, but he did leave the door open for adding more veteran talent if the opportunity presents itself. Even if LeBron would enjoy playing with Steph and Draymond, why would he go to a team that doesn’t have a realistic chance to contend?
Steph can still turn it on, but I think that knee issue is going to continue to linger for the rest of his career. Draymond just isn’t the same player night to night that he used to be. Jimmy Butler is going to be out for a large chunk of next season while rehabbing an ACL injury. Same goes for Moses Moody who is rehabbing a ruptured patellar tendon injury.
Aside from the No. 11 pick in the draft, and the potential of a midlevel exception, the Warriors don’t have a lot of other options to improve the roster. The Warriors can be better next year, especially if they add LeBron, but their days as a title contender are over with this core.
LeBron is one of the greatest players of all time — but at this stage of his career, just how much better does he make a team?
Woike: He’s like the world’s most experienced handyman at this point —what problem on the court can’t he solve? The only problem is that he can’t do it 82 times anymore. I used to think that at this stage in his career, it was best to count on him to win you quarters or halves. Then he won the Lakers a playoff series. The biggest thing with LeBron is he can bend his skills to match almost any need.
Friedell: Any team that acquires LeBron would be getting one of the very best players of all time — but at age 41, James, understandably, needs to be on a team where he isn’t the main option (hello, Steph) and can also have enough depth to back him up on the nights he doesn’t play, or he doesn’t get it going.
The thing that would scare me, if you’re the Warriors, is the lack of shooting if LeBron, Draymond and Jimmy share the floor with Steph and whoever else Steve Kerr uses. Great players usually find a way to figure things out, but this version of LeBron can’t just use his otherworldly athleticism to get him out of trouble. Of course he can’t — he’s 41 years old.
Closing statement: Make the argument for the Lakers and make the argument for the Warriors.
Woike: The argument for the Warriors revolves around a national celebration of basketball. LeBron James and Stephen Curry co-headlining at this stage of their Hall-of-Fame careers would be a total spectacle, even if the team can’t compete at the top of the West. It would be a chance to finish his career alongside players who helped define an era of basketball.
Here’s the argument for the Lakers: it’s the situation he seems to want most. It’s in Los Angeles. The games will be meaningful. He has a better chance of winning. And he doesn’t have to introduce a fourth team onto his résumé. Ultimately, it comes down to the number he’s willing to stay for.
Friedell: Mr. Woike, the pitch to LeBron is simple if you’re the Warriors: Come to the Bay, play with Steph and Draymond. Make some new friends in Silicon Valley, continue to grow your business interests and live in beautiful Northern California. There is great wine and fantastic golf courses up in this area of the world. The Warriors would instantly become the most interesting team in the league, and LeBron and Steph would finally get a run in the spotlight together.
