J-Speaks: LBJ Agrees To Take His Talents to L.A.

Since the close of the 2017-18 NBA campaign, which ended with the Golden State Warriors winning their second straight title and their third in the last four seasons is where would four-time league MVP and two-time Finals MVP LeBron James continue his basketball career? Would he stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers or would he take as he said eight years back to then ESPN take his talents elsewhere. We got an inkling of that when a private jet took him and his family to Los Angeles, CA over the weekend and just hours later in a very quiet way made the third big decision of his career. 

On Sunday, just 48 hours after opting out of the $35.6 million player option with the Cavaliers agreed to a four-year $153.3 million deal to take his talents to Hollywood and join the 16-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, with the fourth year of that deal according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst being a player option. 

James joins one of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) most storied franchises and switches from the Eastern Conference which he has dominated in leading the Cavs to four straight NBA Finals appearances representing the Eastern Conference and eight straight overall Finals personally going back to his time with the Miami Heat starting in 2010. 

This marks the second time in the eventual Hall of Fame career of “King James” that he said goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage basketball prodigy out of Akron, OH 15 years ago and will have to be content with the fact that they won just one Larry O’Brien trophy in the 11 years he dawned the colors of the Wine and Gold.

In a recent post on his Instagram page, @kingjames, the NBA’s LBJ thanked Cavs’ nation for all the love and support in his second stint by saying, “Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible four seasons. This will always be home.” 

Unlike the prior two times James entered free agency, he made his choice of where he wanted to continue playing basketball quickly, making his decision less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened and quietly with his management agency, Klutch Sports Group making the announcement with the Lakers in a simple and short press release. 

According to ESPN, James’ agent Rich Paul called Hall of Famer and Lakers President and five-time champion with the “Purple and Gold” Earvin “Magic” Johnson just minutes before he tweeted out his decision. 

Paul then called Cavs GM Koby Altman moments later to inform them of James decision that he was westbound.

It is in star contrast to 2010 when a very bad 30-minute television special to make his announcement to then ESPN’s Jim Gray about him departing from the Cavs to join the Miami Heat backfired and put a major dent to his reputation and led to a scathing letter being written by Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert to fans of the team that they will win a title before James. 

The difference between this departure and the first time LBJ left is that he leaves having delivered on his promise of bringing a title to “The Land,” which he did with the help of the game-winning three-pointer by now Celtics All-Star guard Kyrie Irving in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals at the Warriors, which also included a critical block of 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala’s fast break layup attempts late in the fourth quarter, in what many called the signature moment of the 2016 Finals. 

“LeBron, you came home and delivered the ultimate goal,” Gilbert said in a statement over the weekend. “Nothing but appreciation and gratitude for everything you put into every moment you spent in a Cavalier uniform. We look forward to the retirement of the famous #23 Cavs jersey one day down the line.” 

There will always be a portion of Cavaliers’ fans disappointed that James left for the second time and the fact that he did not give the Cavs a long-term commitment. 

Following a family vacation, James spoke to Altman before Paul did moments after free agency opened 48 hours ago, but that call was mainly out of courtesy than an opportunity for his now former team to make one final pitch to convince him to re-sign. 

James has no plans according to a story from NBA.com on making anymore comments about his move and there will be no welcoming press conference or celebration in L.A., a person very familiar with his plan said to “The Associated Press.” The next public appearance James plans to make is on July 30 in Akron when a public school started by his family foundation opens its doors. 

In just 24 hours after the start of free agency, the games biggest star is on his way to Hollywood to lead a young Laker team-run by a Hall of Famer and Laker legend and the former agent of one of the greatest Lakers of this generation in Rob Pelinka-which has not made the playoffs since 2013 and has been overmatched as it has tried to rebuild itself back into a playoff perennial let alone a title contender again. 

The addition of James instantly brings back credibility to an organization that is used to being at the top of NBA headlines. 

For James personally, he joins a conference that consists of his archnemesis in the Warriors, who swept him and now his former team the Cavaliers in this year’s NBA Finals and that he is still motivated and is very much in what he said in his final press conference after Game 4 loss versus the Warriors last month “championship mode.” 

To bring some perspective about the deal James just agreed to with the Lakers, he will become once the NBA’s moratorium period of free agency concludes in the coming days to sign the largest deal in total value in franchise history. 

That deal will also be the largest contract in terms of years that he signed since a six-year deal he signed when he joined the Heat eight years ago. 

James will also become the first player all-time to be the postseason leader in scoring, a 34.0 average in the 2018 postseason and switch teams the following season. Only Hall of Famer, six-time league MVP and 19-time All-Star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 30.0 scoring average in the 1974-75 season was higher than the 27.5 points per game that James averaged this past season to debut for the Lakers to start the next season. 

What attracted James to the “City of Angels,” perhaps over Philadelphia and a couple of other places is the Lakers rich legacy and it was not along after his announcement to join the Lakers that five-time champion, 2009 and 2010 Finals MVP Kobe Bryant, who played all his 20 NBA seasons with the “Purple and Gold” reached out to him. 

“It’s a good day,” the ‘Black Mamba’ said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on the afternoon edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN. 

He added, “I had a gut feeling that he was leaning this direction but it’s always different when it’s actually final and executed and I was really happy for Rob. Rob’s my guy, man. So, I was extremely, extremely happy for him. Happy for ‘Magic.’ Extremely happy for Jeanie [Buss] and for us Laker fans everywhere, man. It’s a really, really big day.”

James and Bryant were Olympic teammates in 2008, leading the U.S.A. team to Gold that summer and have been perceived rivals. On Sunday, they became linked like never before and for a guy that is on his way to becoming a billionaire with his other business ventures in television and the worldwide web just to start with, there is no one better to learn how to be one of greatest entrepreneurs and social activist on the planet than Mr. Johnson, whose made a fortune investing in companies like Starbucks and Bryant, a recent Academy Award winner. 

Being in the most massive movie and television market in the world will also provide James, who owns two homes in Southern California a grander platform for as mentioned his philanthropic endeavors and social activism. 

Going back to his first job basketball, James made the decision to join the Lakers in large part because the Cavaliers roster was exposed during the 2018 Finals and he saw that it was very unlikely that it could improve enough to win a fourth title for him. 

In his last season with the Cavs, James gave the fans something to remember. He played in all 82 games for the first time in his career and by his sheer will guided a Cavs team that went through several transformations this season past the No. 5 Seeded Indiana Pacers in the opening round in seven games; swept the No. 1 Seeded Toronto Raptors 4-0; and defeated the gritty and youthful Boston Celtics 4-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Unfortunately, a major blunder by Cavs’ sharp shooter JR Smith in the final seconds of Game 1 cost the Cavs and they were swept 4-0, dropping James’ mark to 3-6 in The Finals-a record that is very often used when he is compared to the great Michael Jordan. 

With the Lakers now, James will be playing in the Western Conference for the first time and just down the Pacific Coast Highway from the back-to-back champion Warriors, who he will likely see four times during the regular season.

The team had hoped to land another big fish to join James like free agent swingman Paul George, who agreed to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

There is hope that the Lakers can work out a deal to acquire All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard from the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs after a rough season where he played in just nine games and spoke out about seeking a trade out of the “Alamo City.” 

In the hours since James agreed to come to Hollywood, the Lakers have agreed to deals one-year deals, re-signing shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope worth $12 million; point guard Rajon Rondo at $9 million; shooting guard Lance Stephenson at $4.5 million and center JaVale McGee, who helped the previously mentioned Warriors to two straight titles at $2.4 million. 

The eye-opening signing of these four is Rondo because the Lakers have Lonzo Ball, the No. 2 overall pick in June 2017, who James told “Magic” Johnson that he liked Ball and that he’s excited to play with him. Ball is also regarded as a guy with a high basketball I.Q. 

If anything, the signing of Rondo means that the team is in win now mode, which is something James wanted and Ball has basically gone being the so-called “face-of-the-franchise” to having to compete with one of the most competitive players in the league. 

In the words of Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, “Talk about change from your rookie.” 

This could also be a major change for James because in his time with the Cavs, he thrived offensively when he had the floor spaced with knockdown shooters all over the hardwood, especially from three-point range. 

The upside with the additions of Stephenson and Rondo is they can handle the ball and initiate the offense, which is something James has done for the majority of his career. 

“They’re signing a bunch of guys to one-year deals. So, just because their Lakers here in July doesn’t mean they’re going to be Lakers in February, and just because this team that we’re looking at today doesn’t mean it’s going to be the team in October in fairness,” Brian Windhorst said on Monday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump.”  

“But once salary cap space is gone, it’s gone. You can’t get it back and so, it’s interesting to me that they’re making these moves in this order and we’ll see. They’re definitely how I would say three to four more moves to come here.”

On Sunday LeBron James for the second time in his career decided to leave the comfy confides of Ohio to take on the challenge of winning a championship in a city where it is the standard. He decided to go to a city to play for one of the most storied franchises in not just the NBA, but all of sports. In being a true historian of the game, James will be going to a place to where he has looked up to the rafters of the Staples Center and seen 16 banners and the retired jersey numbers of some of the best players to ever lace up their kicks for the “Purple and Gold” in Bryant, who has his No. 8 and No. 24 in the rafters, “Magic” Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, the NBA logo, his former teammate Shaquille O’Neal, James Worthy, and many others. 

While James will have all the pressure in the world to deliver a title to Los Angeles and the supposed ghost of the legends to live up to, he will also have a plethora of resources in these individuals to go to for advice on basketball and whatever he needs to get answers for. 

Bryant especially wants to be that former Laker if James needs something he wants to lend that helping hand because as one of the most competitive players to ever play, he wants to see the Lakers win more titles.

“He’s part of the family, and so like whatever he needs I got him,” Bryant said to Nichols. “When I came here, ‘Magic’ did the same thing for me. Kareem did the same thing for me and all these other guys.” 

“It’s part of a community now and so, whatever he needs on my end I’m there for him, and his family and it’s all love. I’m really, really excited.”

He added, “I want to see us do better… We want to see this organization continue to grow and win more championships and have more parades. That’s really important. These last few years have been really, really tough. So, I can’t wait.”

For five straight seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers have missed the postseason, the longest drought in franchise history, going back to their days as the Minneapolis Lakers. The edition of James has brought something that the Lakers have not given their fans in recent years, hope. The hope that they will be back in the conversation of being a playoff perennial again. The hope that they will become an eventual championship contender and eventual earn their 17^th NBA title and maybe more. Those are the expectations that come with James becoming a Laker and the expectations that the likes of Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and incoming rookies Moritz Wagner and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk will be seeing first hand and embracing, if they are still with the team at the end of this upcoming season. 

“For him it’s just business as usual. Come to work and work hard every single day,” Bryant said to Nichols. “I’m real excited for our young players because they get a chance to watch him work up close. I think that speeds up their learning curve because its one thing to be told this is what you need to do. It’s another thing to see a guy actually do it and now you can follow that lead.” 

“I think it’s important for Bron to just be himself and continue to do what he’s been doing.”

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 7/1/18 www.nba.com story “LeBron James Agrees to Four-Year, $154-Million Contract with Los Angeles Lakers;” 7/1/18 10 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “Free Agent Fever,” with Casey Stern, David Griffin, David Aldridge, Billy King, Sekou Smith, Mike Fratello and Charles Barkley; 7/2/18 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” presented by Kia on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Brian Windhorst, Ramona Shelburne and Paul Pierce; www.espn.com/nba/statistics; https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/abdulka01/html; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Los_Angeles_Lakers_seasons.