What NBA experts and pundits are saying about LeBron James’s decision to join the Lakers
"The Eastern Conference has been unchained."
LeBron James, Los Angeles Laker.
It’s a strange thing to consider, but the Chosen One chose L.A., so that’s the reality every team in the league must deal with next season. The Lakers roster is far from set, and there are still well-sourced rumblings that Kawhi Leonard will join him there — if not this summer, then at the trade deadline or as a free agent this time next year.
Even if the Spurs star doesn’t immediately land in L.A., James’s decision to join the Lakers tilts the balance of power in the NBA even further towards the Western Conference. While his addition will be felt in the West, his absence will be dearly welcomed in the East. Analysts across the league’s landscape dissected the signing, examining what the move means for the Boston Celtics and Kyrie Irving, what business interests might have impacted James’s thinking, and whether James can win his fourth title in purple and gold.
Here’s what experts had to say about James’s decision:
Jackie MacMullan, ESPN.com
The Lakers at this exact moment are still pretenders when you whip out that Golden State measuring stick and size up their roster. But that could change in a hurry if a certain two-way star with a cranky quadriceps somehow extricates himself from one of the most revered teams in the league. No Kawhi, no title.
Remember, though, there are the Celtics and Sixers, who two seasons from now (maybe sooner) will have allowed all their young talent to marinate into a hungry collection of stars who will be gunning for the West. And need I remind you the Rockets were one hamstring away from the Finals? LeBron appears ageless, but even the greatest stars of all time eventually fall prey to two old, familiar foes: injury and age.
Justin Verrier, The Ringer
Let’s get this out of the way: Rivalries in 2018 are bullshit. Most of today’s NBA players grew up palling around with 75 percent of the league in AAU ball. The penalties for starting something on the court are too severe. And getting punched really sucks. The only team agro enough to even push the boundaries is the Wizards, and they do enough emotional damage to each other. But James’s move to L.A. gives us the best chance at a full-blown rivalry in years. Whatever tension between him and Kyrie Irving seemed to ease as soon as they realized they shared the same enemy: Dan Gilbert. But now they’re the faces of the two most successful franchises in the league, led by two players from the glory days in Magic and Danny Ainge. If there’s any hope of ever getting a clash beyond the forced funeral games in recent years, it’s this.
Chris Mannix, Yahoo Sports
Living in L.A. makes it easier to expand that empire. He will have regular access to some of the biggest power brokers in Hollywood — Seriously, you think anyone is turning down a meeting with James? — and with it the ability to grow his net worth considerably. Magic Johnson, his new boss, may be new to running an NBA team, but he’s an old hand at spinning a successful NBA career into an uber-successful post-playing one. James and Johnson reportedly met on Saturday night at James’s Brentwood mansion and discussed exactly that. James may be leaving $54 million on the table by not re-upping with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but L.A. will afford him the opportunity to make that up — and then some.
Finding his way to Houston, a 65-win team that had the Warriors on the ropes last season, would have been a basketball decision. The Sixers, a team with a pair of elite young franchise players already on board, would have been a basketball decision. Boston, Denver, Golden State … those would have been basketball decisions. The Lakers are about something else.
Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN
This is a seismic shift in the league. The best player in the NBA going from the East to the West. You look through history in L.A. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal — all from the East to the West, all found their way to L.A. LeBron tries now, three championships away from Michael Jordan, to go to the place where you are able to recruit the best players. This is such a bigger play for him than just basketball and winning. His entertainment company. Going to Hollywood. In a lot of ways this is the logical next step, maybe final step, for LeBron James.
Michael Lee, Yahoo Sports
Fans in Boston, Philadelphia and Toronto can celebrate James’s departure for opening up a clearer path to the NBA Finals. Franchises in Washington, Detroit, Indiana, Chicago and Atlanta, among others, can mourn that James didn’t make the decision before they were forced to try something different. James leaves knowing that from 2011-18, the West was represented by Dallas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Golden State while the East sent him. He leaves knowing that over that time he conquered 14 other teams — first in Miami, then Cleveland — and claimed ownership of half the league, providing those teams no hope of ever getting past him. He leaves knowing that whoever gets out of the East from here on out will be confronted with a question — Would you have been able to defeat James? — that could only be answered through speculation and talking-head debates.
Kevin O’Connor, The Ringer
James has changed basketball several times over in the ways he’s reshaped free agency. Over the past few years, he’s done so by signing short-term contracts that enabled him to retain year-to-year control over his destiny, and we’ve seen the influence in the decision-making of a number of stars since. LeBron’s move to the West tilts the NBA landscape like a seesaw. The Eastern Conference has been unchained. The Celtics and Sixers will have an easier path to the NBA Finals for years to come; Giannis Antetokounmpo could lead the Bucks to the promised land; the Raptors (and Dwane Casey), meanwhile, are thinking his decision came one year too late. And now the Western Conference is more loaded than ever. The cloud James hung over the Eastern Conference this decade will now be felt on every team in the West.
André Snellings, ESPN Fantasy
The league has the potential to be imbalanced in a way it hasn’t been since the Boston Celtics traded for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007. In the decade before that deal, the West ruled the NBA with an iron fist. With the Heat and the Cavs, James led the Eastern Conference champions for eight consecutive seasons, winning three titles and always giving his team a puncher’s chance. The East will need the Celtics to step up or the 76ers to grow up quickly to stay relevant in the championship conversation.
Rohan Nadkarni, Sports Illustrated
LeBron’s decision to (likely) form a new superteam of sorts in Los Angeles is a win for everyone. It’s a win for the NBA’s bottom line. It’s a win for a storied franchise looking to resurrect itself. And it’s a win for fans who want to see the Warriors eventually challenged at their highest level. In that case, James signing with the Lakers didn’t only make the most sense for him. It made the most sense for everyone.
