3 on-court reasons for LeBron James to join the Los Angeles Lakers
1. Equipped for Golden State
Every front office in the NBA should share the same obsession with taking down the Golden State Warriors that Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey speaks about.
If you’re not trying to build your team to give yourself the best chance possible to take down the best team in the NBA over the last four seasons, and perhaps one of the best in league history, then what are you actually doing?
Rockets' GM Daryl Morey doesn't understand the teams that aren't obsessed with beating the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/L13j5R5Zv9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2018
The Los Angeles Lakers’ current roster is more inclined to take the mantle from the Warriors once their stars age, but adding LeBron James to the mix puts them right in the middle of a crowded list of contenders outside of Houston and Golden State.
To have a chance against the Dubs, you need five players on the court that have size and versatility on the defensive end. With Lonzo, Ingram, Kuzma, Randle and Hart, the Lakers have a strong defensive lineup on paper. Randle can guard 1-5, Ingram can guard 1-4, Lonzo and Hart can go 1-3 and Kuzma can defend 2-5. That doesn’t leave you in terrible situations if one of those is switched onto Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry.
Add LeBron James into the lineup of any of those players, and that is a strong defense that can present Golden State with problems as well as anybody in the NBA. Nobody can stop KD, but Ingram has the length and height to give it a shot.
Offensively, there are mismatches to attack Curry on the other end with every player presenting a problem for the Steph. There is no weak link that would allow Draymond Green and others to sag off and help drives, giving LeBron free license to attack the rim when he commands the ball.
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It sounds crazy, but on paper the Los Angeles Lakers present LeBron James with a better chance to take down the Warriors — the barometer in today’s NBA — than the others he is considering. And this is without the Lakers adding another star, or even mentioning the off-court enterprises to pursue in L.A.