Monch Lopez

I cover the tech industry -- and everything else related. Writing/editing/business partner: @aloraguerrero.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Commissioner by day, virtual baller by... well, also day. 😂

#NBA2K25 #AdamSilver #Gaming #Basketball #RevuDotComDotPH

[Jack Perkins @purehoop]

Thank you LeBron for 8 seasons and too many drawings to count. It was a privilege to watch you play for the purple and gold

[Laker Film Room Podcast @LFRPod]

Thought this was apt on the day before what could be the Lakers' 17th NBA title...

Back in April 2019 (before AD came to the Lakers), LeBron sat down with Jim Hill in an interview. When Jim Hill asked LeBron what message he'd like to give to Laker fans, he responded as follows:

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Oh, and he also almost fumbled Reeves' effing contract by low-balling him.

All. This. In. One. Off-season. That. Just. Started.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Pelinka's non-moves this off-season:
1. Lost Maxi Kleber (11M expiring) for nothing.
2. Lost Marcus Smart for reportedly 7M
3. Lost LeBron James in free agency

Absolute masterclass in franchise-building so far. The Lakers are in good hands. Lol.

[Daman Rangoola @damanr]

LeBron James, Laker Champion

LeBron James’ Lakers tenure has ended at 8 seasons, his longest stretch with a single team in his career. That meant eight offseasons and eight trade deadlines — sixteen transaction cycles of news, excitement, chaos, and exhaustion. It feels almost impossible to take a breath and step back, but I’ll try.

The one thing that I think has absolutely been forgotten is the state of the Lakers when LeBron James arrived. Lakers ownership had just finished firing the owner’s brother, hiring a first time President of Basketball, a first time GM, had a roster full of young, but unproven talent - and most importantly, they were absolutely rudderless. Let’s be very clear here: the Lakers were on their way to being a decade-long mediocrity. LeBron James didn’t go the Kawhi route and demand a trade for a co-star, he just signed with the team, and for that I will be forever grateful. He WAS the franchise savior, there is no other way to view that.

Now, the Klutch angle. The Lakers may bristle at being “pushed around” to do things like trade for Anthony Davis. But look at what the Lakers were doing that same offseason. They insulted and low-balled Ty Lue. Then, on the day they introduced Frank Vogel — the guy who had originally agreed to be the lead assistant — Magic Johnson went on television and trashed everything about the organization. So yeah, you got pushed around by Klutch to trade for AD, and thank god for that.

LeBron would go on to carry the franchise to a championship, the same year that he carried them through the untimely death of Kobe Bryant, followed by a global pandemic. I was asked on a podcast appearance I did the day LeBron signed about my expectations as far as championships, my answer: Set the over/under at 0.5. LeBron hit the over. Mission accomplished, end of story.

Were there lows that followed? Was the Russell Westbrook trade the worst trade of all time? I think so, and I think it’s stupid to pretend that LeBron didn’t push for that either - of course he did, it was a mistake, and it ended the title window for the team. But LeBron didn’t make the trade himself, I’d be much more amenable to the fact that LeBron James and Klutch were some overbearing pains in the asses if the organization actually had their own basketball principles and philosophies to fall back on. To date, I have seen no evidence of that.

I find myself defending LeBron today and his legacy as a Laker, but at the same time I don’t blame anybody for the relationship ending today. This was a relationship that had its ups and downs and both sides find themselves at a crossroads where saying goodbye is the most logical outcome. The Lakers have to build their franchise around their next centerpiece in Luka Doncic, and while LeBron James gave Luka the space to be himself, LeBron’s stature is too large for this team to not take it’s cues from him - it is time for the franchise to become Luka’s, fully and unmistakably. For LeBron, whether it’s commuting to San Francisco, or ending his story book career where it started, I can appreciate how those options just feel better to him today.

LeBron’s Lakers tenure was messy, political, dramatic, and eventually exhausting. But that cannot be separated from what came before him: a franchise with no direction, no credibility, and no obvious path back to relevance. He chose the Lakers without demanding a co-star first. He made them matter again. He helped deliver Anthony Davis. He won a championship. Everything after that can be debated, but the central fact cannot: LeBron James came to Los Angeles and did the job.

LeBron James, Laker Champion

[Hardwood Paroxysm @HPbasketball]

I am very glad LeBron is not giving the franchise that squandered him (DESPITE THE TITLE) more than any other team he's played for the final chapter.

That said, a Warriors ending would also be very sad.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

1. This off-season has started on a disastrous note for the Lakers. There's no player in free agency that can do the things LeBron does for 25M
2. Either Pelinka has a Hail Mary play in his pocket or he's gone. Should have been fired long ago
3. Go Olden State Warriors, I guess?

[Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers]

Thank you, LeBron 💜💛

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Lakers 2026 draft recap: LA got Temu versions of KAT (Avila), OG (Okereke), and Bridges (Carr), plus another white guy who can shoot. God, help the league -- or the Lakers. 😭😭😭

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

The NBA will crown a new champion for the 8th consecutive season. The Knicks, like others, won with a combination of depth, momentum, injury luck, chemistry, and having THE GUY who can put the team on his back and score. The Spurs don't have that (yet), and that's why they lost.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Jalen Brunson won a championship before Luka Doncic. But the Lakers also lack the depth the Knicks have. New York went all out with their roster construction, and won it all because of it. High risk, high reward.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

I DID IT!!!

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

.@aloraguerrero

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

I'm not very good at numbers, but I'm fairly certain the odds of AirCorgi picking the winner of each game correctly seven consecutive times is less than 1% (0.78%).

[Khobi Price @khobi_price]

Luka Dončić shares on his Instagram story that he will not play for the Slovenian national team this summer:

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

I hope that wasn't Bron's last game. :(

[Hoops Tonight @hoopstonite]

OKC is being called for the second FEWEST fouls in the playoffs so far

@_JasonLT explains the shocking and infuriating double standard

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

LeBron has been awarded 5 free throws after 2 games vs OKC. For all the time he spent under the rim, playing bully ball, driving hard to the basket, he was rewarded with 5 free throws. Ajay Mitchell shot 7 free throws in Game 2 alone. JJ's right: OKC does not foul.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Even the Foot Locker guy, referee uniform and all, sees it. Ajay Effing Mitchell has a better whistle than LeBron. Everyone on the Thunder has, which is a shame because they're already historically great.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

Could be worse. Surprised no one predicted a sweep. Also, Thunder in 7 is stupid. No way LeBron doesn't empty the clip to carry the Lakers to the finish line.

[Monch Lopez @MonchLopez]

I have a feeling this series will be remembered as Jokic's "LeBron in 2011 against the Dallas Mavericks." Impossible mountain to climb, even after winning multiple championships.