The sports world still feels tremors from the tectonic NBA shift of LeBron James taking his epic talents to the Los Angeles Lakers.
There really isn't a bad take on the move. Those who argue he should have remained in Cleveland had a point. He went to four consecutive NBA Finals with the Cavaliers. Likewise, playing for Philadelphia — a younger, more gifted team — would have been logical. Almost any Eastern Conference club would have doubled as a thorn-free funnel to the NBA Finals. It's been nine years since a club sans King James represented the east.
Perhaps LeBron's worst move was the one he made. He doesn't need cash or cachet that used to be uniquely Hollywood. With social media condensing the world with every new app, your brand can find roots in every town with an NBA team.
And out of his primary suitors from the west, Los Angeles has the softest roster in a rather rugged conference. Indeed, Sports Illustrated has already made the case for LeBron backing out of his Lakers deal and jamming the reboot button on his free agency. Based on the Lakers' subsequent moves since they bagged LeBron — with Rajon Rondo being their big, secondary splash — he might care to listen.
Most important, yet least discussed, is what this means for LeBron's legacy. Frankly, all he can do is fail. Even if LeBron squeezes one more ring out of his beleaguered limbs, he's hardly setting a new standard.
If we operate under the premise that LeBron James is a trailblazer, then his goals, in this case, are oddly recycled.
What can he do that hasn't been done already? Win an NBA title with the Lakers? No team has won more since Bird and Magic saved the sport nearly 40 years ago.
Revive the rare, moribund iteration of the Lakers? Kareem Abdul Jabbar moved to L.A. in the '70s and brought the sizzle back to Tinseltown. Shaq did the same 20 years later.
If LeBron wins a title then he merely met their stratospheric standard. If he fails, he will be the first truly iconic player in or near his prime to do so. Six of the eight most prolific scorers in NBA history have now worn a Lakers uniform. So this path has been pounded by too many of his predecessors.
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Just ask his new boss. No one is more tethered to the purple-and-gold standard than Magic Johnson. Indeed, Johnson is playing the role of Jerry West, who aged decades during his Homeric pursuit of Shaquille O'Neal. West isn't just a great player or a fantastic GM. He's the damn logo. Some teams expect excellence. The Lakers demand greatness.
This is what L.A. gets from its stars. Not 50 wins. Not playoff berths. Not contention. They expect rings and bling and statues. Maybe the Lakers haven't been the Lakers since Kobe Bryant won consecutive titles nine years ago. Luol Deng was the best free agent fish they could land in the last five years. But once Magic lorded over the franchise, the entire basketball world converged on the Staples Center.
Unless the Lakers land Kawhi Leonard, which would make them nearly unbeatable, this team looks and feels rather pedestrian. And if you're saying that next summer is when the Lakers resume their spot as the main nerve of the NBA, then you just wasted perhaps the last year of LeBron's prime. Not to mention you're asking LeBron, who's long been allergic to drama from his teammates, to deal with Lonzo Ball for a full season. Which means you're asking him to tolerate LaVar Ball, the mouth of the southwest, who had the audacity to say, when asked what his son can learn from LeBron, LaVar said, well, nada.
A piece from CBSSports.com caught LaVar in full, comical modesty. "Can LeBron teach him what?" the elder Ball said of James dropping knowledge on his son. "No, he can't teach him nothing," he continued. "I already taught him everything."
As laughable as it initially sounds, LeBron would have been better served playing for the Knicks, who have none of the Lakers' glittering history yet is the one city that's bigger, richer, and has a better, more famous path for a June parade. Winning in New York City would be a biblical achievement. In Los Angeles, it's just business as usual, a regurgitated theme and meme for a man who's spent his whole life doing things his way, and in uniquely new ways.
Twitter: @JasonKeidel
