The Los Angeles Lakers have landed the ultimate coup and signed LeBron James. Why did the King choose Tinseltown? What does the deal mean for the Lakers, how does it go on in Cleveland and is the East still to be taken seriously at all? SPOX sheds light on the most important questions – including Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins.
First of all: The signature of LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers is no surprise, Tinseltown had been the king’s favourite for over a year. What was surprising was that LeBron is the first superstar to join the Lakeshow.
After all, in recent days it had been rumored that James insisted that his new employer had to have at least one star already engaged to win his favor. This has proved to be wrong: Paul George stays in OKC, Kawhi Leonard is (still) in San Antonio, DeMarcus cousins takes his time.
Sure, the Lakers will still be very good next season. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee, more Free Agent signings have already been bagged and, as you know, the squad is full of talent in all positions. And LeBron has proven to the Cavaliers that he can make a Contender out of almost any team – but the West is much stronger than the East.
Cavs-owner Dan Gilbert wrote in his farewell statement that LeBron is first and foremost a family man. Lee Jenkins (Sports Illustrated), one of the greatest James insiders, went in the same direction in his analysis: “For the first time in his career, he writes, the (immediate) sporting impact played a subordinate role in LeBron’s decision.
James was primarily concerned with the family and, of course, the Los Angeles location with all its business opportunities. He owns a house there, has connections, the wife feels comfortable, the children go to school there. All this has been used in the past as evidence to write James to L.A. Now it turned out to be right.
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The financial aspects had to fit, of course, thanks to the Lakers duo Magic Johnson (President) and Rob Pelinka (General Manager). All their moves over the last year and a half have been designed to create enough cap space for two maximum contracts in the summer of 2018 and’19.
One of them now belongs to LeBron, who signed for four years and 154 million dollars. The fourth year includes a player option. His average salary is 38.5 million dollars, and in the last year of his contract – unless he waives – he would be entitled to over 40 million dollars as a 37-year-old.
In sports he trusts the expertise of Hall of Famer Johnson. James believes that together with Pelinka he can build a team that will play for titles in the future – he no longer had that trust with the Cavs. James’ relationship with Magic is also said to have played a leading role beyond that. He believes that he can still learn a lot from him, as a person and as a businessman. Relations with Gilbert in Cleveland and Pat Riley in Miami were considered purely professional – at best.
There is no statement from LeBron (does anyone remember “The Decision” 2010?). While the deal was announced by his agency, he was on a plane with his wife on holiday in Europe.
Page 1: Why did LeBron choose the Lakers?
Page 2: What does the coup mean for the Los Angeles Lakers?
Page 3: What happens next for the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Page 4: What are the effects of the move on the league?
Page 5: Can Leonard and cousins come too?