A basketball fans perspective

Monday, Wednesday & Friday

We await a decision

Free agent signings and trades continue to occur as this is written. There is one move that is yet to be consummated, the trade of Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers back to the Raptors. The holdup on this trade is awaiting the results of an investigation. The quick explanation, Kawhi Leonard was reported to have signed a contract calling for “No Work” but he would receive payment from Aspiration. This was reported as a method by the Clippers and Leonard to circumvent the NBA salary cap. As this is written no decision has been rendered by the NBA as the league office continues to wait answers from the investigated body they hired.

If we look over the history of the NBA there have been numerous instances of violations requiring the league office to render a decision. To my knowledge this is the first instance of payment made to a player in this type of arrangement. A co-worker asked my thoughts on this matter and I was forced to confess I had no idea what the NBA might do if the Clippers and Kawhi are found guilty. Clipper owner Steve Ballmer is pleading innocent to the charge they attempted to bypass the NBAs salary cap. This from ESPN; “The Clippers on Thursday again said they did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration and they were victims of a fraud initiated by (Aspiration co-founder Joe) Sanberg. Sanberg has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.” A decision should occur before the end of summer due to the length of time this investigation has been conducted.

No precursor

I believe this member of Laker Nation remains an eternal optimist. Offer me a sense you are attempting a thing and if it appears feasible I’m gonna buy into it, that’s me and the 2026-27 version of the Lakers. I’m taking this bold stance on July 8 without the roster finalized and long before the NBA season begins. The basis for the why is the roster assembly to date, yes the heartbeat LeBron James has left. As all believe LeBron was a vital part of this team over the last eight seasons. If not for his talented play well, what can I say.

The Lakers were missing the playoffs until his arrival, he helped bring an NBA championship and playoff basketball every one of those eight seasons, that was then, this is now. The change, Mark Walter is majority-owner of the Lakers now, his ownership group has been quite active in its operation of the Dodgers baseball team. The owners have spent huge sums of money to acquire talent and the result has meant playoff and Worlds Series winning teams. Several in the media have indicated their belief the Lakers have “overpaid” in signing a number of players over the free agent/trading period. At this point we can only declare success at the end of the season, is there an NBA championship in the Lakers future?  

It’s just an opinion

The term “Generational Talent” has come into our vocabulary recently, by no means is it a new term. For an unknown reason I’ve only heard it applied to budding basketball talent, perhaps you’ve heard it related to other sports. In any event I conducted one of my unscientific polls at work, the question: “Is Cooper Flagg a generational talent?” One co-worker answered my question with an emphatic yes while another said; “I must see him play a degree longer.” What is the definition for the word, “In demographics, it generally spans a 20-30 year period.” If we use that as a description is it possible to have two generational talents arrive into the NBA in a short span of time?

I offer you no proof only an observation, I believe that is the case. We have Victor Wembanyama who reached the NBA in 2023 and the aforementioned Flagg in 2025. Although an international player we first saw Wemby as a 19-year old, as for Flagg he turned 19 last December after beginning play at Duke as a 17-year old. There are literally hundreds of thousands of youth playing basketball around the globe however just like cream a few rise to the top. Some might remember we held this discussion earlier and the answer is yes, there could be more than a single athlete at a time. At this time next season will there be a standout in the 2026 draft we uncover as a generational talent, of course we must wait to discover if or who that might be.    

He requested the Lakers

The problem with LeBron James was simple, I believe the great majority of Laker fans never fully embraced him. The question might be why there is no single reason but a bunch. Chief I believe is how he arrived in Los Angeles. If we go back in time consider this, the late Jerry West drafted Magic Johnson, there was James Worthy….then he saw a 17-year old Kobe Bryant and arranged a draft trade to acquire him. Shortly thereafter Shaquille O’Neal was signed in free agency after West went after him. Free agent LeBron James said; “I want the Lakers,” do you see the difference here? Each of the names (and others) the Lakers sought, LeBron James wanted the Lakers and they said okay, we’ll sign you.

Of course that is an over simplification of the events that brought LeBron James to Southern California. Over the period he was a Laker I read more than my share of complaints and guess what? The overwhelming majority of these criticisms had little to do with his production on the basketball court. The Lakers drafting of Bronny would only add “fuel to the already existing fire.” This is a shorten version of my belief why LeBron James is no longer a Laker, my hope….the divorce wouldn’t be so contemptuous. Maybe the breakup would have turned out much smoother if the Lakers had pursued LeBron all those years ago instead of the other way around.