Those two aren’t quite the same, are they?
No perhaps not like for like in terms of similarity, but in net result it's pretty much blowing a huge chunk of the cap on a player that just can't get it done at the very top level anymore.
When LeBron's on the court, he plays to a high (perhaps not elite) level, but his body's wearing down, goes missing through injuries, and to me the front office is paying the name more than the player at this stage.
It's fine if this was a Tom Brady taking less to bring in more talent, but it isn't. It's half the cap going on him and AD who disappear injured for large parts, come back to a messed up chemistry and realisation that while their game is good, it's not good enough for a Championship run.
I know the Lakers are never going to be a franchise that goes through years and years of painstaking rebuild through drafts, but this approach has swung too far the other end for me. For years it's been band-aid over an ageing roster, looking for that home run and it's only getting worse.
I really wish they'd let LeBron go to the Eastern conference and pursue his dreams of another title, and yeah maybe somehow trade AD for some picks or something and take a painful year or two to come back fresher, but it'll never happen. They'll just keep chasing the bright lights and somehow convince themselves that by April next year they'll somehow flip a magic switch and turn into legit contenders.
