This is no rumor just something I was thinking about. Westbrook and George are both from LA and LeBron is currently there. Ingram and Lonzo are fitting out instead of fitting in with LeBron and I don’t blame them, as a
young player you are trying to make a name for yourself so why just have LeBron use you in a way to benefit his game?
So you might ask what makes you think it will be any different with Westbrook and George? Well Westbrook and George are established stars in the NBA and LeBron wouldn’t be able to manipulate those guys and would instead have no choice but to compromise to win with them. I haven’t seen such a dominant personality on the court like Westbrook since Kobe retired and it might be a power struggle between Russ and LeBron but you’d like to think they both figure it out once put together on the Lakers. LeBron is pass first at heart and Westbrook is a gunner, it’s the perfect blend. Toss in George who’s arguably the best 2 way forward in the game and you’ve got a recipe for something quite enticing.
Could Westbrook,George, and LeBron challenge Golden State for the crown? In my opinion yes, LeBron has 4 years in LA and if you are Magic Johnson you can’t afford to just waste away this year. You’d have arguably 3 of the top 10 players in the game on the Lakers depending if you want to put George in your top 10 and that would certainly be enough to have a chance at eliminating the Warriors and possibly winning the Lakers at least 2-3 titles before LeBron hangs them up.
As for the Thunder Sam Presti gets to rebuild with young talent because as OKC stands at the moment with Russ and George they are a second round exit at best because Westbrook can only do so much in the playoffs and I love George but if he’s your second option in the playoffs to beat a high-powered Golden State offense which bolsters 2 MVP level players in Curry and Durant and arguably the best shooting guard in the game in Klay Thompson Good Luck. George is a phenomenal two way talent but he’s not an MVP caliber player, he’s more of a Tier 2 guy.
For the Thunder they get a young up and coming star in Ingram who reminds me a lot of a young Grant Hill with his point forward skills and defense. Ingram has a smooth touch on his jumphot and the mentality to become great, I just don’t think that’s possible under LeBron James who has taken away what makes him so special which is his versatility and ability to handle the ball at his size and serve as a playmaker on fast breaks and the half court. Lonzo Ball was also quite impressive and showed flashes of how good he could be last season but the ball has been taken away from his hands also from LeBron so he does not look the same as last season.
Obviously Westbrook is serving a $207 million dollar deal and George a $137 million dollar deal. Westbrook and George are both locked into their contracts for 4-5 years just like LeBron is so they could compete for titles together over the next 4-5 years or even longer depending on if LeBron wants to keep playing past his 4-year deal with the Lakers. Obviously with Westbrook and George locked into so much money it will be hard to match salaries but the Lakers have enough assets to pull off a deal. LeBron is playing chess while everyone else is playing Checkers, Magic Johnson must have laid out his plan to LeBron when he visited him once free-agency kicked off. What’s the plan? If we aren’t a 1st-3rd seed by the trade deadline I’ll clean house. What do you guys think? Can the Lakers bring in George and Westbrook?
D-NBA 