LeBron James joins Los Angeles Lakers in $154m deal

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American basketball superstar LeBron James has reached a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers worth about 154 million US dollars, according to his agency the Klutch Sports Group.

Shams Charania from Yahoo Sports said that James has the right to opt out of the contract in the final year. ESPN’s Bobby Marks wrote on Twitter that the Lakers will pay LeBron 35.65 million, 37.43 million, 39.21 million and 41 million dollars over the four years of the deal, but he may not enjoy a no-trade clause.

James, the four-time NBA MVP, three-time FMVP and “King” of the Cleveland Cavaliers, posted on Instagram, “Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons. This will always be home.”

Finally, LeBron James chooses to depart for the Western Conference. /VCG Photo

After the release of the news, Kobe Bryant wrote on Twitter: “Welcome to the family @KingJames #lakers4life #striveforgreatness @JeanieBuss @MagicJohnson and RP well done!!!”

Lonzo Ball posted, “Y’all really thought he was gonna pass up the greatest city in the world... #TheKingIsHere”.

First-year rookie of the Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell, said “Gotta love the West.”

LeBron goes West, so what changed?

The Golden State Warriors are still the best team in NBA and LeBron's biggest rival. /VCG Photo

Since he was selected by the Cavaliers with the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, LeBron has played for two teams, Cleveland and the Miami Heat, both in the Eastern Conference. After eight years of dominance in the East, he finally decided to go to the Western Conference.

For starters, there are not enough reasons for him to stay. The Cavaliers has barely any space for improvement considering the number on their payroll and trade values of the players they have. LeBron is already 33 years old and does not have many years left on the court. He said he still wanted to chase after Michael Jordan, which will require more championships. Take a look at the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, and you will agree that it is little more than fantasy if he remains in the East.

This trip will probably be tough. Unlike the last two times he switched teams, LeBron will have no superstar players like Dwyane Wade to join for the “Big 3” or young geniuses like Kyrie Irving to share his burden. It’s true that the Lakers are chasing Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins, but until they sign on the paper, LeBron is fighting alone.

With Chris Paul #3 and James Harden #13, the Houston Rockets are capable of defeating any team in the league. /VCG Photo

The Western Conference is not Legoland either. The Golden State Warriors, a team that has made it into the NBA Finals four times in a row, took away three championships and has Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala in the West. By the way, they got the three championships by defeating the Cavaliers led by LeBron.

Then there are the Houston Rockets who almost kicked the Warriors out by once leading 3-2 in the 2017-18 Western Conference Finals. They managed to keep Chris Paul, whose arrival last season helped the Rockets take down franchise record 65 wins.

The Oklahoma City Thunders are not to be ignored since they have Russell Westbrook, a man who has just finished two consecutive triple-double seasons. He will also continue to play with Paul George who, one day earlier, accepted a four-year contract with OKC. In fact, only two years ago, George had already challenged LeBron’s dominance for five years in the East.

The Oklahoma City Thunders led by Russell Westbrook #0 and Paul George #13 are not to be underestimated by anyone. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, let’s not forget about the San Antonio Spurs. They are old, they lack athleticism, they don’t have Tim Duncan any more, they will probably lose Kawhi Leonard…but after these clichés being repeated for over a decade, did any team ever look down on the Spurs led by head coach Gregg Popovich?

These are the teams LeBron has to meet with the Lakers before they can enter the Finals. If competition in the Eastern Conference is normal mode, the wild West is at least extra hard mode.

Lakers got LeBron, then what?

The Lakers need to take Kawhi Leonard fast before any accident happens. /VCG Photo

Laker fans should be happy since they just had one of the best basketball players in history join their team. So should the Lakers’ management team, but not for long. Though their efforts finally paid off, it’s just the beginning of a longer, difficult journey.

The Lakers have made good progress in the past 2017-18 season with a team of young, talented players. But their problems are obvious: they lack mature skills.

Lonzo Ball has the potential to become a great organizer and a good defender, but his shooting is terrible enough for defense to let him go without worrying. Brandon Ingram grew better as he attacked the rim more often and more effectively. But he is a terrible shooter as well. Kyle Kuzma has decent offense skills but is an unqualified defender, at the very least. Julius Randle was doing better in using his strong body, but that did not change the embarrassing fact: he is too short to protect the rim in defense and lacks shooting range in offense.

Considering LeBron’s model of success in the past requires two things: three-pointer shooters (including the big men) and a second ball handler with strong offense ability, the only qualified choice the Lakers has is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who just agreed to a one-year contract of 12 million US dollars with the team.

DeMarcus Cousins is good, but he had terrible injuries and temper issues. /VCG Photo

As for second attacker, the Lakers were busy on the market chasing Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins. Though he made it clear that he wanted to join the Lakers, Kawhi still has two years on his contract with the Spurs, who will not let him go without getting more than enough through trade, especially when they know how desperate the Lakers have become. How many young assets Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are willing to bet will be key to making this deal.

By contrast, Cousins is an unrestricted free agent so the Lakers do not need to negotiate with any team. But there are other problems.

First, Cousins had a torn left Achilles, an injury that could destroy a basketball player’s career -- Laker fans should be familiar with this after what happened to Kobe Bryant in 2013. Second, Cousins is one of the league’s best centers when healthy and he can shoot three-pointers, but he still prefers playing with the ball in his hand. Third is temper issues. Cousins is well-known for having arguments with his teammates, coaches, and even reporters. How to tame the beast will be a task for the Lakers to work on.

With so many brain-wracking problems to deal with, the Lakers cannot afford to take their time, not after Paul George repeatedly said he wanted to join and accept the four-year contract with OKC. The Lakers need to act and do it fast.

It’s still good news

LeBron James has won three NBA champions and the Lakers should be proud to have him. /VCG Photo

With all the possible concerns above, the Lakers still should be proud of themselves for having LeBron James, who is a big attraction to many players.

ESPN’s Chris Haynes posted on Twitter that free agent Lance Stephenson agreed to join the Lakers for a one-year 4.5-million-dollar deal.

Sean Deveney from Sports News said that LeBron’s old teammate Chris Bosh is interested in getting back to the court to join the Lakers after blood clotting forced him out of the league in 2016.

Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports posted that free agent Nerlens Noel put the Lakers on his list of joining. Brook Lopez who just finished his contract with the Lakers is also interested in returning.

This is the “LeBron effect” working and there is one thing for sure, with LeBron on the team, the Lakers will not be underestimated by anyone from the 2018-19 NBA season.