Jul 30, 2018
, TSN.ca Staff
Shortly after LeBron James announced his signing with the Lakers on July 1, a mural went up in Venice Beach to celebrate the arrival of the four-time MVP and 14-time All-Star.
With the night sky as its backdrop, LeBron in his new jersey stood as the “King of L.A.”
Almost immediately after word of the mural hit social media, a Twitter user offered money to anyone who would deface the artwork.
It didn’t take long for somebody to take up his offer and, sure enough, the piece was spray-painted over.
Surely, you would assume that the graffiti might be the work of a disgruntled Clippers fan. Who wouldn’t be angry at the possibility of Showtime returning when the biggest news the other denizens of the Staples Center made this summer happened when the coach’s son got traded? Lob City is now and dead and gone and the half-decade when Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan made the Clippers the hottest ticket in L.A. seems like a distant memory.
But it wasn’t a Clippers fan who pulled an “El Barto” and ruined the mural – it was a Lakers fan. Why would a Lakers fan want to give that kind of welcome to his team’s new franchise player? Because before he’s a Lakers fan, he’s a Kobe Bryant fan. The signing of James has brought a subsection of Lakers fans out of the woodwork – the sort of fan who sees LeBron’s very presence as a kind of affront to Kobe’s legacy.
Lakers diehard Ice Cube doesn’t understand what these people are thinking.
“They’re paranoid and this close to being worse,” the legendary rapper and actor told TSN.ca of the fans resisting LeBron’s arrival. “I think that [one mural] got defaced not because of Kobe, but the guy put up ‘King of L.A.’ and I think that was a bit much. But that doesn’t dismiss all the paranoid Kobe fans who think somehow, some way that LeBron can touch Kobe’s legacy in Los Angeles – no way, no how, no shape, no form.”
For Ice Cube, it’s simple – James will never come close to what Bryant did in Los Angeles because that’s not how things work with the Lakers. Every iconic player’s contribution is singular and wholly unique.
“None of the Lakers can touch anybody else,” Cube explained. “Jerry West couldn’t touch Elgin Baylor. Wilt Chamberlain couldn’t touch Jerry West. Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] couldn’t touch Wilt Chamberlain. Magic [Johnson] couldn’t touch Kareem and it goes on and on. You win a championship there and you’re cemented period. You’re going to be part of the family.”
When the ink dried on James’s Lakers deal, prevailing wisdom was that it would set off a domino effect and other stars would flock to the team to build a squad capable of taking on the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets for Western Conference supremacy.
But that didn’t happen. The two superstars who were most likely to join James will not be doing so. Lifelong Lakers fan Paul George chose to re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. General manager Rob Pelinka was unable to come up with a suitable package to pry Kawhi Leonard away from the San Antonio Spurs and now the Los Angeles native is a member of the Toronto Raptors.
A supporting cast for LeBron did arrive, but it’s not of the calibre many expected. JaVale McGee, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo and longtime James adversary Lance Stephenson have all signed for the Lakers. Cube, though, thinks this will work out just fine for the Lakers, citing precedents with the club when it comes to big-name acquisitions.
“L.A. isn’t good with two superstars arriving at the same time,” Cube said of ill-fated swoops for star players. “It didn’t work with Karl Malone and Gary Payton [in 2003]. It didn’t work with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash [in 2012]. I’m leery about two guys coming in anyway, so I like the fact that LeBron is there and, not only do we have young guys that he can teach, but we got older guys who can still teach him a couple of things, too.”
Cube is hopeful that the recent NBA Finals pedigree of some of these new Lakers will be contagious.
“A couple of them have won championships,” Cube said of these new Lakers. “Rondo has one and JaVale has two now. So we got guys who are not going to bow down to LeBron and just wither under his shadow. We’ve got young guys who will learn not to wither and learn, ‘I ain’t just gotta kiss LeBron’s ass, I need to go play my game.’ I think that’s good because our team kinda already has that personality of ‘We know how young we are, but we don’t give a s--- about who you are. We’re going to come to play and try to beat the hell out of you. We might lose, but we’re going to try to beat the hell out of you.’ I think that’s kinda all you need to get you going.”
Cube believes that attitude extends to the team’s head coach Luke Walton. Heading into his second season on the Lakers bench, the 38-year-old Walton is only four years James’s senior and lined up against him in his playing days. While still a relative neophyte when it comes to coaching, Cube thinks Walton will be one of the best coaches that James has worked with over the course of his 15-year career.
“I ain’t trying to diss none of his coaches, but outside of [Miami Heat coach Erik] Spo[elstra], this guy really hasn’t had a major coach,” Cube said. “It’s amazing that he’s been able to do it [without one]. And I actually think Luke is a little better than a few of the coaches he’s had.”
Among the young incumbents on the Lakers is point guard Lonzo Ball, who is heading into his sophomore season. Taken with the second pick of the 2017 NBA Draft out of UCLA, Ball alternately starred and struggled during his rookie campaign, missing 30 games due to an MCL injury. He also, of course, did not come alone – Ball’s presence with the Lakers also meant the arrival of his father, Big Baller Band impresario and sports media mainstay, LaVar Ball.
For his part, Cube welcomes the energy the Balls bring to the Lakers.
“I love it,” Cube said. “Just think of the Lakers before LaVar Ball came. Just think of how dull it’s been around Lakertown.”
Brash as LaVar might be, Cube sees something else in the family’s patriarch and the way he’s guiding the careers of Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo.
“Those are quiet guys,” Cube said of the Ball kids. “And we know this in sports – [LaVar] knows that quiet guys sometimes finish last, no matter how good they are. If I’ve gotta speak up for my sons and they can’t really or don’t want to speak up for themselves, then that’s my role. And you’ve gotta love a father who even gives a f---. I’m rolling with him because there’s no blueprint to this. He doesn’t have to follow everybody’s rules. He’s going to the best route he feels. And to be honest, there’s probably some other parents that we don’t even know about who are even more of a pain in the ass than him.”
But for all of the good feelings surrounding the Lakers right now there is a stark reality to be faced. The team is in the midst of its longest playoff drought ever, having missed the postseason in five straight years, and the Lakers’ eight years without a championship represent the lengthiest period without an NBA title in 25 years.
Cube believes there’s a bare minimum of expectations for the team.
“I think if they don’t make the playoffs, then it’s been a bust,” Cube said. “You gotta blow the team up if they don’t make the playoffs, but I think you’ve got enough. You got LeBron f------ James, man. It’s like dude. All you gotta do is pull a little weight and win the ballgame.”
Ice Cube and the world will get their first look at LeBron James and the Lakers on September 30 when they kick off their preseason in San Diego against the Denver Nuggets.