With LeBron James now on the Los Angeles Lakers, what will expectations be for the team and how will success for him be measured over these next four years?
Has it set in yet?
A little over two weeks ago it was announced LeBron James would be singing a four-year deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers. It still was surprising to many to see it happen, even though the Lakers were the rumored favorite all along to sign LeBron.
There were many factors as to what impacted LeBron James’ decision to move to L.A. His business ventures and being more involved in the film industry were among the most important ones. Family and lifestyle comfortability also played a major role in his decision.
There is no doubting these were probably the most important factors. However, LeBron James also made this decision from a basketball standpoint as well. While the Lakers roster has a majority of young players, their core has potential to become great. Having LeBron James along with other veterans teach them how to become great will only speed that process up.
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Along with young talented players, the Lakers also have flexible cap room over the next couple of years. This is what likely intrigued LeBron the most when it came to basketball reasons. This allows them to keep their young core intact. More importantly, it allows the team to go after big name free agents next offseason and the year after.
When LeBron James and Magic Johnson met at midnight on July 1st it was made clear by both that they understood they’re building something special. LeBron told Magic and the Lakers not to rush into making any drastic moves to try to ‘win now’ and that he was there for the long haul.
This gives Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka, and the entire organization confidence and the ability to have patience in building a team that can win a championship.
How will success be measured for LeBron James in Los Angeles?
Some fans of the Lakers have had mixed emotions about LeBron James joining the team. The ones skeptical about it are dedicated Kobe Bryant fans who watched the rivalry between the two for years.
LeBron will surely be accepted by most but will have to earn the respect from those fans who aren’t sure how they feel about having him in Los Angeles. The Lakers making the playoffs and contending to make the finals will be a start, but won’t be enough.
LeBron knows coming to Los Angeles is different than any other team in the league. Los Angeles expects you to win championships. For someone of LeBron James’ stature, anything less will be considered a failure.
These next four years in Los Angeles could be what defines his legacy and propels him over Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time for good. And he understands that. So despite many people believing his move to Los Angeles to be for reasons other than basketball, that is not the case.
Winning a championship or multiple for the Los Angeles Lakers is a feat in its own right and is why so many legends have made the same move LeBron did at some point in their careers. On top of that, winning a championship for three different franchises is something nobody else has ever done.
According to Magic Johnson, the Lakers are on a three-year plan to build a team around LeBron to win championships. It started with getting LeBron James this off-season. Now the focus is on improving the young players this season and what they can do next off-season.
The news of Kawhi Leonard being traded to the Toronto Raptors benefits the Lakers in signing him next summer. It has already been reported that Kawhi has no interest in being in Toronto. He could possibly go as far as to sit out this whole season. The Raptors will have an extremely tough time convincing Kawhi to re-sign before next summer.
If the Lakers are able to pair Kawhi with LeBron, that three-year plan might just be a two-year plan. That might be enough alone to dethrone the Warriors and win a championship.
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Ultimately, success for LeBron in Los Angeles will be determined by if he is able to win a championship. Or how many he can win. Winning one or two rings for the Lakers will propel his legacy even further. In turn, Los Angeles Lakers fans will deem anything else as a failure. Not winning could end up as another blemish on his resume to become the undisputed greatest of all time.