← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Hoops Tonight - Lakers FAILED LeBron James, not the other way around
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Host
This is an iHeart podcast.
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Advertiser/Voiceover
Guaranteed Human.
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Co-host/Guest
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Co-host/Guest
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures the volume.
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Host
All right, welcome to HOOPS Tonight here at the Volume. Happy Wednesday everybody. Hope all of you guys are having a great week so far. I got a quick show for you guys today. As you guys know, this is very typical for when LeBron James gets eliminated from the playoffs, but there's a particular group of fans that seems to come out of the woodwork and start wanting to reevaluate everything about his career. And like, here's the thing, it's obviously completely absurd. The dude is 41 years old. I don't know how you could literally be anything other than impressed by what just happened over the course of the last month and a half after, after Luka Doncic went down with his hamstring injury. And I'd extend that to basically three months dating back to mid February when the Lakers first started to go on their run after the all star break and LeBron embraced his smaller role and helped the team have its most dominant month since, since the Russell Westbrook trade, basically. Right. So like, I don't, I don't know how you could feel anyway other than impressed and just say positive things. But like, that's just kind of the nature of the beast. It is what it is. But I do find the con, the conversation fascinating. This Idea, like, was LeBron's tenure in LA a failure? It's not even over. We'll see. He's probably going to come back and I think the Lakers will have at least a second tier championship contender type of team next season if they do bring everybody back. Or at least, you know, the core of the team, plus some mild tweaks here or there. But like, let's say this is LeBron's final game. Is LeBron's Laker tenure a failure? I want to dive into that concept a little bit. You guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribe to the hoops on that YouTube channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. We're on the pathway to 150,000 subs, so it mean a lot to me. If you guys take a second to scroll down and hit that subscribe button if you're already subscribed like this video, sign up for post notifications. That helps us A lot. All right, let's talk some basketball. So to me, this question is actually a very simple answer. Like, is the LeBron Laker tenure a failure? I do think so, just not for him. LeBron won a championship with the Lakers. And I know there are some people that try to poo poo on the, the bubble ring, but that's obviously completely absurd. They started the season 24 and 3. They were clearly the best team all year long. When the COVID shutdown happened, they were at a 64 win pace. This year's Thunder team had 64 wins. And we view them as an all time great team. That team was the best team all year long. They had the best player all year long in LeBron James, and they kicked everyone's ass in the bubble. No one even came remotely close to threatening them. They were one of the more clear cut champions in NBA history relative to like the entire journey. Not like a, a team that came out of the woodwork and won, but they were like the best team before the season, after the ad, after the AD trade in terms of expectations. They were the best team when they started playing basketball. They were the best team when they finished playing basketball. They, including like big moments like LeBron right before the COVID shutdown, beating the Clippers and badly outplaying Kawhi, beating the Bucks and badly out playing Giannis, like that was as straightforward a championship as I can remember in terms of just what a basketball team accomplished from start to finish. So they won a championship. So like the idea of LeBron, if you want to think that LeBron's Laker tenure was a failure, then, now you think that Jason Tatum's time in Boston was a failure because he only got one championship. You think that Jokic, his time in Denver was a failure because he only got one championship. You think Dirk's time in Dallas was a failure because he only got one championship, or Giannis's time in Milwaukee, it like, it literally doesn't make sense. LeBron's career just with the Lakers matches in accomplishments many of the all time greats. So the idea of it being a failure for LeBron is absurd. But is it a failure that the Los Angeles Lakers, the most popular brand in basketball that operates at an advantage in so many different ways because of that brand and because of the city in which they reside, Is it a failure that they only managed to win one championship with this guy? Yeah, this is a crazy stat for you guys. If you total up the plus minus from every single season that LeBron played with the Lakers, when he was on the floor, they were plus 12, 25. When he was off the floor, they were minus 664. That is an absurd level of impact on both ends of the floor to where you're basically looking at best team in the league level production when he's out there, and one of the worst teams in the league when he's off the floor. And this is where it comes down to the real failure of this era, which lies in the leadership of the Lakers. It lies with Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka. Put it very simply, if you get handed LeBron James in his mid-30s, 35 years old, 34 years old technically, and LeBron, through his connections and his friendships, brings in one of the top 10 players in the league. And you have them perennially for a span where like all the way through 2024. Anthony Davis and LeBron were both still awesome. AD started to have injury problems in 2025, but LeBron was still awesome. Really, that stretched right around the All Star break last year was the last time LeBron played at that, like, best player in the world type of level that he hasn't been able to recapture since then. But we're talking about a six season window in there where you have two players of that impact. Literally all you have to do is just every year just make mild tweaks. Find a player on the margins here, hit on a draft pick there, maybe not do something stupid in a trade where you ship off all your good players and take back a bad player. And I know all the LeBron detractors are the first ones to point out that LeBron wanted Russell Westbrook. And I've never accepted that as reasoning for why Rob Pelinka made that trade. Today's show is brought to you by presenting sponsor Hard Rock Bet, Florida's sportsbook. The second round of the NBA playoffs is here where the lights are brighter, the pressure is higher, and every possession can change a series. And a Hard Rock Bet every night is your shot to score a major bucket with win or go home energy on the hardwood. I love building same game parlays. 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- [10:09]
Advertiser/Voiceover
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- [10:40]
Co-host/Guest
for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures Amazon Health
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Advertiser/Voiceover
AI presents painful thoughts I I can't
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stop scratching my downtown. Mm yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist. I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud.
- [12:00]
There's no question too embarrassing For Amazon Health AI chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24. 7 Healthcare just got less painful.
- [12:11]
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- [12:43]
Host
Rob Pelinka is the basketball expert in that front office. His job is to decide what players are on the team. And most importantly, it's his job to sell to LeBron and to the owner. Why it's a bad idea to go trade for Russell Westbrook I sold real estate before I started doing this for a living, and my clients would occasionally come to me with a bad idea. I want to ask for this. I don't want to ask for that. I want to buy this. I don't want to buy that. And it was my job, with my expertise, to explain to them why that was a good idea or why it was a bad idea to give them advice. And that was harder for me because they actually got the last decision. There were times where my clients wanted to proceed with something that I thought was a bad idea, and I had no choice to be like, okay, I'll make the phone call. I'll draft up the contract. Like, for LeBron, Rob actually had the authority to look at him and be like, no, dude, not doing it. And like, there are trades in NBA history where there's some upside and there's some downside. Take Cam Johnson. When he got traded to Denver this year. You know, I thought it was a really good idea, but it was like, this could be a good idea, this could be a bad idea. Cam had his moments. I thought he played well towards the tail end of the Timberwolves series. But that lack of size at the rim in Michael Porter Jr. And that lack of consistent, you know, like, aggressive shooting. Like, I think you could make the case that that was a bad trait. You absolutely could make that case. But at the moment, there was some debate as to whether or not it was the right deal. Even though I had a leaning when the Russell Westbrook trade was in the pipeline immediately Everyone that I know that had, you know, some stake in the Lakers as a fan was like, this is stupid, don't do this. Everyone I know that covered the league was like, this is stupid, don't do this. Russ isn't good anymore. He's duplicative with LeBron. He can't shoot. He's not a good defensive player. He's a huge salary that requires you to send out a bunch of your most important players. It was obviously a bad decision at the time. It was like, it was like Adrian Wojnowski was like breaking sources. Rob Pelinka about to shoot himself in the foot. That's literally what it sounded like when you read the tweet for the first time. So like I, the, the. It was such an obvious act of self sabotage that I believe Rob Polinka holds the responsibility for not going to LeBron and being like, dude, no, this isn't the guy. Or being able to go to genie and being like, I, I know LeBron wants this, but this is why we can't do this. That is your job. You are the expert. And unlike a real estate agent, you have final authority. In this case, you're the general manager. You're the guy who picks up the phone and calls the league. And so there was between this lack of the, the, the lack of those little tiny wins that you need to sustain success. Like the Lakers don't have literally a single player on the roster right now who is a rotation level player that they got from the draft since 2022. They bombed on all their first round picks and all of their second round picks since 2022. We're about to have the 2026 draft this year. Do you know how hard it is to have a GM foolishly gift wrap you, Luka Doncic, and in return only have to give up, obviously the 1 first round pick, but to only have to give up Anthony Davis as your matching star and one additional rotation player. That's it. And they give you Luca Doncic. And you're not a championship contender in the top tier. You're just a smiddling second tier team that's deeply flawed like so many other teams that we see every year. You know how hard that is? Do you know how hard it is to. Since the Russell Westbrook trade. So since that trade happened in the summer of 2022 or 2021, they literally have not been, there hasn't been a single season where you went into it from the start and we're like, the Lakers are among the most talented teams in the league this year. And every single year, they either had LeBron and AD or LeBron and Luca. Do you understand how insane that is? 2022, you're like, yeah, middling tier team 2023, eh? Middling tier team. 2024. Middling tier team 2025, 2026. They've never been viewed as one of the most talented teams in the league, and they've been gift wrapped. LeBron by choosing them. Anthony Davis, through his LeBron connections, Luka Doncic, through a GM, basically soiling himself for the world to see. It is so difficult to mismanage that the way they have. And so when I look at that and I see a player who's so good for so long in a Lakers Jersey that you're plus 12, 25 when he's on the floor and minus 664 with him off, and who through his connections brings you Anthony Davis, who tangentially brings you Luka Doncic through a mistake that another GM made and you get one championship. Yeah, I actually do think that's a failure. It's a failure of the leadership of the Los Angeles Lakers. But LeBron's career in a Laker jersey, he won a championship. And there's just a lot of dudes that you would never call a failure who won one championship in a long tenure with the team. So it ain't LeBron's failure. But yeah, it's, it's, it's pretty ridiculous that you had a player that good for that long and you only got one championship out of him this whole time. All right, guys, that's all I have for today. As always, sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us and supporting the show. We'll be back tonight after the final buzzer of pistons Cavs Game 5. I will see you guys then.
- [19:07]
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- [21:12]
Host
this is an iHeart podcast.
- [21:15]
Advertiser/Voiceover
Guaranteed human.