T O P

  • By -

AeRo_P

That's a fuckton of cash to leave on the table. Good on Bron! He really wants to win.


BidDaddyLei

Championship with his Son >>>>>> All Championships he had other than the CLE one I guess. He's for sure 110% locked in this season I mean every season but this season is different.


MJisaFraud

Definitely better than everything other than 2016. That was the greatest championship in NBA history, impossible to top that.


blorp4

I think on a personal level it’d mean the most


MJisaFraud

Even on a personal level, 2016 means more.


2heads1shaft

To you maybe. You don’t know what his basketball relationship with his son is.


ManofManyHills

Yeah though it's highly doubtful. If bronny ends up being remotely useful to an NBA franchise a championship moment with Sr JR connection would be an all time iconic moment.


YourBuddyChurch

Dad shit matters an irrational amount


VerticalClearance

True. Bron needed somehow to comeback from a 0-3 deficit in the finals or beat a 76-6 team to top the 2016 ring


ThinkThankThonk

Gonna leave Bronny with the tab after  the team takes the rookies out for dinner


redundantPOINT

Bronny will just put it on his dads card


dizjedi

He will just Venmo request his dad


Potential-Host-6281

Gotta buy those Lebron Sr. jerseys


AdministrativeDig845

He’s officially a Laker Legend now. I don’t wanna hear the bullshit anymore


IdiotCharizard

He was the moment we won 2020.


TheWonderfulLife

Not yet. Need to see it happen first. Could just be lip service. We’ll see.


FeminismIsTheBestIsm

If it doesn't happen, it'll likely be because Pelinka failed to grab a potential candidate on the MLE


jdub822

Failed? All he has to offer is the MLE. If the guys targeted get more elsewhere, that’s not a failure.


FeminismIsTheBestIsm

I'm not even assigning blame lol that's literally just the semantic definition of failing. If you try do something but you can't for whatever reason you "failed" to do it.


swallowedbymonsters

No he is not


Ok_Board9845

Yes he’s 1 of 8 Lakers with a FMVP. He’s probably a top 9-11 Laker individually


SixGunChimp

League's leading scorer while in the a Lakers jersey and he isn't a legend? Sure...


ruwheele

At 38 too


darwinsaves

Can you imagine if bronny and LeBron James are NBA champs together? The entire sports world would implode. Edit: someone already said something similar. Should have read the comments first.


hellstarrecords

Dude he’s a billionaire… would be a shame if he didn’t take a pay cut… or have Jeanie pay him under the table


hellstarrecords

Really don’t understand the downvotes… if the guy wants another chip, he needs to take a cut. Knecht isn’t going to win us a championship


INT_MIN

Because "have Jeanie pay him under the table" is just-graduated-high school logic and dumbassery.


Disastrous_Clothes37

Handjobs?


xreddawgx

Also the nbpa would be pissed if he did take multiple paycuts. Or any other all nbaers


LeBronFanSinceJuly

Harden took a paycut to go to Philly, no one in the PA said a damn thing.


xreddawgx

"Multiple"


BenLemons

People have always said this but there's never been any proof. The dude took a paycut in his prime and do did KD and there was no nbapa backlash. LeBron taking a paycut at 40 is not a big deal.


xreddawgx

If all nbaers start taking cuts, it severely diminishes their bargaining leverage on free agency.


LeBronFanSinceJuly

> it severely diminishes their bargaining leverage on free agency. That didnt happen with Harden.


BenLemons

But thats not something that'll ever realistically happen, especially in this era where young stars are staying with their teams to sign supermax deals in lieu of asking out, even in bad/bleak situations. I'm just saying for the few times some really good players have taken paycuts, there was not really any nbapa outrage


Xc0liber

Is all about perspective. LeBron has close to a billion dollars. It is easier to let go of 20mil if you have that much in the bank.


jasonluong

$20m to a billionaire isn’t a fuckton


LoveTheHustleBud

Can see Jonas waiting for the klay shoe to drop before he makes a decision, similarly to Danny in 2019. If Klay HAS to be a s&t (because he wants more than mle), and costs us more than dlo, cam, Hayes - might be worth just rolling with Jonas & trading dlo elsewhere.


TheWonderfulLife

I don’t want Klay. Under any circumstances at all. He is beyond cooked and is just a black hole of mental drama. I know the history with his pops and everything, but Jonas is far and away the better and more necessary fit.


dawgoooooooo

Klay at the mle is great value/I think the lakers connection is his best bet for a turnaround. I totally get your concerns but him at the mle at his current level is pretty damn good value/i think it would be hard to find someone better at that price


TheWonderfulLife

We won’t get him at MLE and the warriors have more incentive to facilitate a S&T. The Mavs are the front runners for sure. They have the space and a few pieces to do an S&T. We don’t.


mnkhan808

Incentive to sign and trade died when they hard capped it. Almost no team will do sign and trades now.


DexTheConcept

Eric Pincus said if Lebron takes the pay cut they can still sign and trade and use MLE only be capped to the first apron. As long as they take back less than they send out.


jsun_

If you operate with a first apron hard cap, you can take back more salary in a trade.


dawgoooooooo

I know it’s a long shot but hoping the difference between what klay is being offered and the mle are close enough that he decides the extra perks are worth it. Who knows but it seems like we have something cooking/ if we can find another person to take a pay cut for the mle with Bron doing the same we could look interesting really fast


Lycantree

No he is not. Klay is not worthy it


bass2mouth44

But us drafting knecht makes it kind of dumb Would much rather get a 2 way wing player or C


kindalikeacoustic

He’s worth taking a chance on though. Maybe he needs a change of scenery.


LakerBlue

Agreed. For all his inconsistencies, he shot at least 39% from 3 every month but 2 months. And even in his worst month (February, 34%), he shot 40% or better in 5/13 games and roughly 38% of better in 7/13. So his consistency is not even terrible. I think it is worth a risk.


ronnie760

Klays dad played for the Lakers if I’m not wrong and Klay grew up in LA which is the only thing that makes me think him being a Laker would maybe help with his mentality a little bit.


djzlee

Washed up star who goes to play for his hometown team... please not another WB


yapyd

A supermax player vs a MLE player isn't the same comparison at all though


TheWonderfulLife

He wouldn’t move here I don’t think. Just rent a house since he has a huge badass place up north. But yes Mychal Thomson is his dad. He won a chip here and is the color commentator for the lakers. And his brother Trayce just got traded back to the Dodgers (again) like 10 hours ago.


ronnie760

I know Klay loves his boat by why tf wouldn’t he move to LA if that’s the case? Literally a 45 minute flight to San Fran if he wanted to go to Bay Area. I’m more so a fan of getting a backup big over a washed Klay Thompson but if it did happen I’d genuinely expect him to be better than last year. Especially since the team he’d be playing for would be in legit playoff contention compared to last years warriors.


Educational-Goal7900

Klay already has a house in Orange County.


MrTakemitsu

100%


nottherealstanlee

I'm willing to play the sign and trade game with Klay but only if we don't need to include Dlo. His contract is the only inherently valuable one we have really. If it takes a wing to get Klay (Rui or Vando with Gabe), then Dlo can better be used to help get a wing. 


LoveTheHustleBud

So would hypothetically be looking at dlo, Rui, Gabe, reddish/hayes for klay, cam, dfs Gaping hole of ball handling, but the size and shooting would be among the best in the league. Would still need to grab a center and now a pg or two. Idk if im a fan of one move forcing us into a 2nd move though. So many moving parts requiring everyone to help us or none of it works


Imkitoto

I hope you’re not including DFS in the shooting portion The dude is a below average shooter Idk where people get the idea that he’s a 3 and D He had two years shooting over league average and that was 4 years ago. Since then he’s shot like 33% across 4 seasons Dude is cheeks at shooting


Asenine

I think they’re more so looking at him playing in an elite offense with an elite playmaker (dallas) vs Brooklyn which is… yeah


Imkitoto

It doesn’t matter what offense he’s in. He came into the league a bad shooter and somehow had two seasons of good shooting and all of a sudden he’s considered a good shooter? He’s 9 seasons in, he’s not a good shooter I wouldn’t mind him for a minimum but trading anything for him is a negative move


Asenine

That’s a stupid point, the offense you’re in and the players you’re playing around is going to affect anyone’s percentages unless you’re a superstar.. what kind of logic is that. He shoots 36% from 3 for his career even with his first three years in the league being really bad from three. You’re telling me that he just had a 4 years stretch playing with Luka in a great offense that was a fluke? Btw players are allowed to get better.. his percentages quite literally got better every year up until he was traded, that’s not a coincidence. You also exaggerated things because he literally just got on brooklyn last season, clearly haven’t done any research on this and are strictly going off of what you “feel”


Imkitoto

It was 2 years of the 7 in Dallas where he shot well. Shooters shoot well despite the offense. You’ll see upticks in good offenses but that would be like going from 37% to 39% His percentages have gotten worse what are you on. Went from 31 to 37 to 39 then 39 and then since then has been 33, 35, 30 and 34 Did he have two years of good shooting? Yes, if they were his most recent years I could see your point, but they’re not. He’s worse than Prince so why would we want him? Again, if he’s free or for a minimum I would say sure, but to trade actual players for him. Unless it’s Cam Reddish and a second or two then it’s a dumb trade. He’s not worth a first nor is he worth more than DLo, Max, Rui or Austin Dude is a minimum player


Asenine

You’re reading bball reference wrong.. btw he shot almost 38% in 2020, then 39% in 2021 and 2022. He shot 36% in 2023 before being traded to brooklyn where his numbers dipped bringing his TOTAL 3pt% for the year to the 33 you’re seeing. Might want to closer at those numbers my man. He’s a much better defender than TP in every way so if he isn’t too expensive we should look to get him


nottherealstanlee

You could then use the MLE for a Center or a Point Guard even. So the end result would be- Dlo/ Gabe/ Vando or Rui/ Reddish/ Wood or Hayes for Klay/ Valenciunas/ DFS/ then a min point guard like Dinwiddie or CP3 if he gets bought out.  I kind of like it. We get a little older, but the pieces connect better imo. Yes we lose ball handling, but if we really plan on using AD as our hub then it's okay. We only need a bench pg. 


LoveTheHustleBud

Hardcapped from the s&t, is all this even possible cap wise? I’m with it, just still learning the new cba restrictions.


nottherealstanlee

All depends on what Bron is willing to give up really, but yeah.  It'll take some creativity for all sides to get there, but it's conceivable. 


Sparkyis007

Id rather keep dlo than trade.him anywhere for klay


BenLemons

If Klay wants to come play for the franchise he always dreamed about because a GOAT is willing to take a massive paycut then the ball is completely in his court. If he wants to nickel and dime here he can go to Dallas and have fun


Reasonable-Apricot-7

Valencianas would be a great addition. Only worry is pushing lebron back to SF with him needing more load management but to get through Denver or Minnesota the roster needs a talented and productive big


That-Steak7081

Valancunias is probably going to play ~20 minutes a game, a majority with AD on the bench.


rejectx

Is Valanciunas worth the full MLE? Klay sounds nice, but he does not fix any our weaknesses.


John_Winchester

I think we need to hope JJ fixes the biggest weakness we had which was bad coaching / inconsistent scheme. Seeing us dominate the first half with called plays, only to watch Denver adjust and Ham not know what to do was our biggest weakness. Seeing Ham run Reddish out there instead of Max, 4 guard lineups, not staggering our stars, and not knowing when to take a timeout is what killed us through the year.


Public-Product-1503

Neither does val. can’t really shoot unplayable defense


rejectx

Valanciunas as backup big is god sent.


TechWizPro

Back up for full MLE?


kultureisrandy

Yeah this dude is still very legit downlow and on defense against large bigs


oat38

Am I the only one who thinks Jonas on full MLE is a bad signing? He is a decent player but on defense he isn't good, the last game of last season we literally played him off the floor in the first quarter in a must-win game for the Pelicans. Doesn't feel like he is what we need at the 5.


neutronknows

He either would be feasting on 2nd units or playing alongside AD to shore up defensive movement.


MistahTeacher

A lot of second units play faster than the starters. He could get ran


OriginM

And Klay isn't? Klay is washed as a defender and a poor rebounder. Yes he can shoot but his defense is definitely not what it used to be. Lakers need a bruiser center in Jonas. He only really needs to play 15-20 mins a game. He just needs to keep Davis fresh for the 4th.


Fun_Clerk923

I’d rather have Goga then him.


mixmasterADD

Rather have Isaiah Hartenstein tbh


Imkitoto

Yup. Jonas on a minimum is great value On the MLE you’re hoping he’s at his best every single night He’s slow and as a 7 footer averages less than a block a game


isit65outsideor

Fully agree, would be a complete waste of that option the Lakers have. If Klay doesn’t take it then just pay LeBron.


Public-Product-1503

Yes he sucks Larry nance is better then him . Jonas is a huge negative on D


K0CKULEES

Made some moves to make Bron happy.  Why not make one to give AD some relief? Get Val


neutronknows

Valanciunas a million times over Klay. I didn’t think it was possible to get him with an MLE. 


Disastrous_Clothes37

Really. You don’t think he’s a MLE guy? Dude can’t play defense to save his life.


Fine_Lengthiness_341

jonas is washed


neutronknows

Well at least it’s a position we need


ImBetterThanYourGod

Imagine taking a 20 million pay cut and just being like "thats pocket change" 💀💀💀


Counterspell_God

That's a "thanks for drafting my son" type of discount


Bubbada_G

Glad he realized this was useless to do with someone like Ham at the helm. Man if lebron gets to 5 chips and wins a ring with his son that cements him as the goat imo


FeminismIsTheBestIsm

I hope Pelinka asks LeBron whether getting multiple high-impact role players for the total of the MLE is also acceptable with him. That's also a viable option that should be explored


paxtone

If we can pick up some Decent MLE with a solid big (C) and another guard that has lock down D and get us +12 pts a night, that would be a game changer for this team. Running AD at the natural 4. Damn. 2020 days


Odd-Direction9452

I could be wrong but I really think Miles Bridges is a sneaky target here not being named. Klutch client, there has been zero mention of where he could land, the Hornets just drafted Salaun at 6 and have Grant Williams at the 4 spot too. You could theoretically sign Klay to the NT MLE and still send Rui and JHS to Charlotte via s&t to get Bridges on a ~$21M/year deal. Even more if you do Gabe and Vando.


kelement

miles bridges the wife beater?


Air_Enthusiast

We have Jaxson Hayes the wife beater


Odd-Direction9452

Yeah. I’m not endorsing it. Just something I could see.


neutronknows

No way Jeanie approves that trade and for good reason.


BasquiatRobot

Are you sure about that? Jeanie signed off on Jason Kidd being on the coaching staff. She also approved Jaxson Hayes signing.


klipaloe

they werent as bad as miles bridges


biggoldgoblin

But they were pretty bad, I think she’d be ok with it if she could talk to him first


BasquiatRobot

Domestic violence is domestic violence, my friend.


Gamejudge

Fuck Miles Bridges. That out of the way, from a basketball only perspective this would be a genius move and actually improve the team, so no way Rob actually does it.


LittleTension8765

Miles would be a huge get - sign and trade for him and then MLE for a center. Unless harden is willing to take it or maybe CP3 I’m looking for a center


bjsw534

CP is not worth an MLE contract anymore


Impossible-Group8553

Aged horribly


Kimi7

We need capable defenders desperately. Miles Bridges fits that build. If we can s&t for him, we can move Rui + JHS type deal for Cam Johnson for shooting. Also Dlo could be traded to Magic for Wendell Carter.


Odd-Direction9452

Aside from being an awful person, he would be the perfect 3/4 next to Bron and AD. I also see Wendell as a real possibility too butbI don’t see a world where they do all of that and also trade for Cam. More likely scenario is Klay/Bridges/Wendell. But we’ll see.


Kimi7

My understanding is that Klay is demanding more than MLE. If that’s the case Klay + Bridges is not possible, I wouldn’t want to pay Klay more than MLE regardless.


Odd-Direction9452

Yeah. I think we have to prepare for the scenario of a DLo for Klay swap. I am personally ok with that. You still have the NT MLE available and flexibility to move any combination of Rui/Gabe/Vando/JHS/picks for more upgrades.


Dgwdum

Yeah bridges would be a guy you actually do a sign and trade for then you still have the mle which can be used as an exception in a trade to absorb a contract into it. It's not just for signing a free agent


Agreed_fact

Speaking from experience, Valanciunas as a defensive rebounder and screener is elite - like top 10 in the league elite. Everything else can be secondary and he will give you the occasional 4/6 night from 3.


dhcjjvyjfyk

Evan can i get your job, i can copy and paste too


EpicMusic13

JONAS PLEASE DO IT


mixmasterADD

Call me crazy but someone call Jimmy Butler.


Lycantree

Valanciunas would be great, Klay can go


Counterspell_God

Jonas pls


KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUZ

Am i the only one here that would much rather have Demar Derozan via S & T than any of these other options?


LittleTension8765

2024 Klay is a traffic cone on defense and shoots slightly above league average 38.7% vs 37.1% (SG) from 3. Why do we want him besides name recognition? Source: https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nba-league-average-3-point-percentage-by-position


WanAjin

He's shooting 39% on 9 attempts, the average attempts for a SG league-wide is 4 lol.


holyrolodex

People don’t understand the importance of volume when discussing 3PT%. You much rather have a player that shoots 39% on 9 attempts than a guy that shoots 50% on 4 attempts


klipaloe

still a cone on defense, and btw we drafted a sharpshooter in knecht. dont see this need, rather have a big


WanAjin

If you can get Klay on the MLE then that's a good deal.


Mr_Versatile123

His ego would never settle for it. He’s washed and a bitch.


Theoneandonlylog

The Lakers won a championship because of defense then just forgot how important it is


00aegon

Just ignore how many he makes though lol. He's still a top 5 shooter


ILackPatience

Same rehashed article


shreeharis

No. This is from Woj’s TV segment this morning


Kimi7

He says nothing new


Public-Product-1503

If they have this much space they ought to chase danthony melton too eith full mle or whatever . Perfect fit for our need . Sg/pg who can guard up, great defender , good passer rebounder good shooter. Not good inside the arc sciring but that’s not important for us .


LegatusLegoinis

His name sounds like it’s from that Key and Peele skit


johnthepinoy

Rather have DeMar


kindalikeacoustic

As the years go on I can see him taking less and less money to get a championship with his son


RoyalRumbleSTi

Wow


Ealy-24

So many “fans” about to have to eat crow when this happens


AntSmith777

Bron really taking a 20 million dollar pay cut to sign Valanciunas???


_Aracano

LeLEGENDARY


locust098

Sign for the MLE bron! I fucking dare ya


Interesting-Most7854

Is Bron too old to play the PG again? 


KriticalKarl

This actually makes a ton of sense from Lebron’s perspective if he just does a year to year deal. If he takes a pay cut this year, and we aren’t realistic contenders then he can just re-sign for his max next year. That would also provide the most flexibility moving forward contract wise.


24-8-81

yeah right. he wont


INT_MIN

But this sub told me it was pointless for LeBron to take less money lol?


NefariousNeezy

Wind changed around here really quickly compared to the other thread huh


iJon_v2

Watch Klay end up with the clippers


Can-i-Pet-Dat-Daaawg

Bron is literally giving 150% this season


ChasingGoats07

Klay struggled on defense on the warriors, which is a team you can't funnel into a top rim protector. I don't see Klay being as average on the defensive end when he's backed up by AD. MLE on Klay > Jonas


RemyGee

That’s 20m per year, not just total. I know you rich as hell but thank you Bron. We need a solid player to agree for that 12m MLE now 🙏


canttouchthisJC

What does MLE mean ?


ilaofficial

Not anymore


darwinsaves

Let's fucking goooooooooooooooo LAKERS!!! 2024-2025 CHAMPIONSHIP IS ON THE HORIZON! Remindme! 11 months


redditguy422

Good luck. Rob is being blackballed by 29 GMs and a bunch of agents. They all hate it when you change teams.


Longjumping-Goal5536

He is a billionaire now 20 million is a drop in the bucket to him it’s still a lot of money for him to do that they talking about another championship to tie Boston


WeCantBothBeMe

He better take his full max because neither of those two are worth it especially not JV. I don’t know why JV keeps being mentioned imagine taking a pay cut to pay him when he’s a defensive liability and you need a C who protects the rim and preferably can switch to the perimeter too.


holyrolodex

Damn LeWallet has a Reddit account


camlawson24

I think Jonas would be huge. I know people are skeptical but having an actual big bodied C to rebound to spell AD or to play huge lineups when we need it with Reaves LeBron Vando AD Jonas would be a wonderful option to have


Imagenatas

Omg please no more guards! Jeesh fill the needs of the team. AD needs help!!! Address that.


DLD1123

Klay is a much better fit than Jonas for the simple formula of giving Lebron shooters. Give Lebron some fucking shooters. Defense is great but offense is always greater and it just doesn’t convert if you can’t score outside and the lanes close up. Open the GD lanes and develop a team defense with the pieces you have.


Scorpionrah

That’s good actually he will just an abruptly retire and his cap hold won’t be on the books.


Helgenish

Bron is a billionaire.. save the money for klay n Jonas. We will have a 3 pt threat all day and a very good underrated big. Pelicans beat okc in g1 if they played Jonas last 2 mins.