Buy low, sell high. That’s the core of economics, right?
LeBron James stock is at an all time low, and as a result, the market has been flooded as panicky shareholders have sold off their piece of the NBA’s greatest asset of the last 15 years.
It’s rare to get a product of this quality at this price (27, 8.5 & 8 on 51% shooting—this is a “down year”). It’s like getting a MacBook Pro for 75% off—it just doesn’t happen.
Why are people cashing in their LeBron stock after all these years? As in economics, market realities are often driven by perception. The perception suggests this is the end, which is understandable. After all, this year James has demonstrated how terrible of a leader he’s capable of being, even though we showed you two years ago the signs of it were there. The rampant trade rumors of teammates, the speculation of (another) coach getting fired, the body language of a person stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours…we all saw it.
Realistically though, many people can’t seem to grasp that if you lose your best player for a month of the season in a competitive environment, it’s likely going to derail your playoff aspirations. This is even more true for a LeBron-led team, as his squads typically possess more of his DNA than that of the traditional star player.
Of course, the Lakers front office did him no favors. At minimum, James deserves some blame for this; at most, a considerable amount. But as ya boy pointed out the day after 23 agreed to move west last summer, the Lakers front office had done NOTHING to warrant his services in the first place (fast-forward to the 20:17 mark).
Sidebar: Which further exposes a greater issue with many of the NBA’s front offices located in glamour markets. In short: those front offices are pretty much all overrated.
LeBron officially missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 years makes this a somber day for all basketball fans, including the Bron haters. But by hater logic, this should elevate his stature in their eyes as this extremely early exit does no further damage to his 3-6 Finals record. For years, those who loathe LeBron told us this was the stain not even a bottomless bucket of Shout could wipe out, totally ignoring the accomplishment of being a nine-time conference champion. Under this thinking, you can’t now criticize him for not advancing further this year if you didn’t praise him for advancing year after year.
Nonetheless, shares are at an all-time low, making this the ideal time to invest.
For the first time in forever, LeBron will get some much needed rest—no playoffs, no Finals, no media scrutiny, no travel, no Olympics. Nothing. And as horrifying and embarrassing as getting blocked by Hezonja, slipping versus Brooklyn and pretty much this entire video is, the people who are now claiming The King is washed are likely forgetting that he did this just nine months ago, on the road against KD, Draymond and Klay…
Given the circumstances, this performance, in defeat, was more impressive than any single playoff game most all-time great players have ever had.
Sidebar: It’s hardly the intention of this Clevelander to defend LeBron today, but when you see stupid takes like this all over the internet, the objective observer in me is left with little choice but to present the other side…as if his entire career’s success is a byproduct of the conference in which he played.
It’s quite possible that this is the end. Perhaps Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson are unable to successfully woo another star player to Los Angeles, and fail to consummate a deal with the Pelicans (a team that seemingly had a vendetta against them) to score Anthony Davis. It’s quite possible the young Lakers never develop and Brandon Ingram’s blood clots truncate his career. It’s quite possible the best of LeBron is now reserved strictly for Hollywood pitches and treatments. It’s quite possible the 2018-19 Lakers were a prelude to an ugly end to the LeBron James era of dominance, where he cedes his crown as the game’s best player, never competes for another title and plays out his golden years in a golden jersey merely as a celebrity sideshow.
But it’s far more likely that someone will buy into the Laker brand one more time and will rescue them via free agency, the Davis trade finally gets done somehow, a coach comes in that commands a modicum of respect from James, and that the front office finally realizes that building a team like “Cleveland all over again” was actually the correct way to do it. And that a rejuvenated, refocused, reloaded, healthy and motivated LeBron returns in the fall of 2019.
Buying stock doesn’t necessarily mean buying stock in the idea he’s a lock to win a fourth NBA championship. It simply means we haven’t seen the last of LeBron James playing big in games deep into the postseason, something that he’s arguably done better than anyone else in NBA history.
Still not convinced? That’s cool. Send your remaining shares this way.