How LeBron James’ move to LA impacts the Warriors
By Derek Tahara
LeBron James signed a four-year, $154 million with the Los Angeles Lakers to potentially rival the Warriors in a battle for NBA and California supremacy.
On Sunday, it was announced by Klutch Sports and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that LeBron James was going to sign a four year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers producing a potential new rival to the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors.
How does LeBron signing a three-year deal with a player option in the fourth year with the Lakers impact the Warriors?
For starters, this means that there will be another roadblock for the Warriors to try to continue this dynasty they have going.
With LeBron going to the Lakers, he will be surrounded by a talented young core of Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram. Currently, no other stars have signed with the Lakers, so the competition level may not be as hyped to be as fans in Southern California and around the country would like it to be.
James’ signing also means that there is a new rivalry in California.
The NorCal-SoCal battles across various major sports has been intriguing. The last time both the Lakers and the Warriors were in the playoffs in the same year was in 2012-2013, but that was when the Warriors were on the rise and the Lakers were on the slow decline.
Both teams have never been at the peak of their powers at the same time. The Lakers winning titles during the Kobe-Shaq era in the early 2000’s while the Warriors were bottom-feeders struggling to even win half of their games during that time period. The Warriors and Lakers have never been this good at the same time, which is a real treat for both fanbases.
Perhaps the most enthralling possible narrative for the Warriors when LeBron took his talents to Los Angeles is that he provided the defending champs the proper focus and motivation for the regular season rather than the complacency they showed last season.
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It gives Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green reason to be ready and prepared for the grueling battles in the Western Conference every night. The Warriors have to play with force during the regular season knowing that they could potentially face LeBron and the Lakers in the playoffs.
There is one more fascinating question that will be revealed as the next couple of years go by:
How will this seismic move by LeBron affect the Warriors in the future?
It was also reported on Sunday that Warrior fan-favorite JaVale McGee signed a one-year, veterans’ minimum deal with the Lakers, upsetting many fans. This means that free agents will want to go to Los Angeles to play one of the game’s greatest players in one of the biggest markets in the league.
Not only is Los Angeles a big market, but also one of the grandest cities in the world, which makes L.A. that much more of an attractive free agent destination.
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With Klay Thompson potentially becoming a free agent in the summer of 2019 and Draymond Green in the summer of 2020, it should put a scare into Warriors fans.
Thompson is the most likely Warrior to potentially leave for Los Angeles.
He was born in L.A. and loves to go out at night. With James signing in free agency this summer and L.A. being one of the most pristine cities in America, those factors could be enough to entice Thompson to jump ship for his hometown team. However, Thompson has said in the past that he wants to stay with the Warriors and is willing to take a pay cut to stay.
Green might be a little bit different. Although there have not been any reports linking Green and the Lakers during free agency, it was reported recently that he was not expected to sign an extension with the Warriors and he would possibly explore free agency when his time is up in a couple of summers.
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All of these factors will have a major impact on the Warriors with LeBron in Los Angeles.
Let’s just appreciate that both teams are potentially at the height of their powers at the same time and the battle for California dominance is just beginning.