Better offseason - 96 lakers vs 2014 cavs

[Houston911]

Who has the better offseason?

Lakers added kobe and shaq
Lakers lost divas

Cavs added lebron, love, Marion, mike miller
Lost anthony Bennett

All things considered (dan Gilbert being a racist owner, cleveland being an undesirable city, cavs not a storied franchise) I've gotta go with cleveland

Who would have ever thought Cleveland would have one of the most stacked teams of our lifetime?

 

[TheyCallMeAzul]

Cleveland. Counting the re-signing of Kyrie Irving, they got three established high-caliber players as opposed to one and a draft pick that eventually ended up cashing out. It's also insane how unlikely the whole thing was. They got LeBron despite Gilbert's rant & hiring a rookie coach. Then they got Love due heavily to the fact Golden State wouldn't trade Klay fukking Thompson

 

[BrothaZay]

96 Lakers.Kobe and Shaq bought them 3 rings.

 

[FukkaPaidEmail]

That Lakers offseason helped them win 5 titles....this isn't even a discussion

 

[Malta]

It's hard to say since we know how it worked out for the Lakers, but they weren't a bad team before 96, while the Cavs have gone from out of the playoffs to the favorites according to Vegas.

 

[TheyCallMeAzul]

It's hard to say since we know how it worked out for the Lakers, but they weren't a bad team before 96, while the Cavs have gone from out of the playoffs to the favorites according to Vegas.

exactly. at the moment of when it all took place, cleveland's is better

 

[FTBS]

It's hard to say since we know how it worked out for the Lakers, but they weren't a bad team before 96, while the Cavs have gone from out of the playoffs to the favorites according to Vegas.

Exactly.

Cavs went from a team that couldn't make the playoffs in the East to a prohibitive lock to make the CF and a real chance at the Finals. Lakers went from 50 wins and losing in the 1st round to 50 wins and losing in the 2nd round. Beyond that, if it wasn't Shaq somebody else would have eventually made their way to LA and Kobe probably ends up there as a FA at some point anyway. Cleveland is far from a destination and Bron coming back was pretty much their only means of being a contender any time soon.

 

[Lakerman0834]

Is this seriously a question one adds 2 top 10 players all time one adds a perennial loser and top 15 all time

 

[Dwight Howard]

I don't even think the Lakers knew they were putting together a 3 peat team. Everything kinda just fell into place. The Cavs basically went in with the mentality of putting together a stacked team. So to me Lakers is more impressive. They worked with less. Signed Shaq and flipped Divac for a rookie high-school phenom. Cleveland just got lucky LeBron was born there and the league awarded them 3 #1 draft picks in 4 years. That doesnt happen and they don't have the ability to for a super-team, thus LeBron may not have signed there.

 

[SchoolboyC]

Without using hindsight, at the time the Lakers added the most dominant player in the league and a young player straight out of high school, which let's be honest in July 1996 who really thought Kobe was going to become a top 5-10 greatest player of all-time?

While the Cavs already had an elite PG and added the best player in the world plus in my opinion, the best power forward in the league.

So once again, ignoring hindsight and what ended up happening years down the line, yeah I'd say the Cavs offseason was better. But I doubt the acquisitions they made this offseason will lead to as much success as the Lakers' did. If that makes sense.

 

[AJtheOne]

let's see how this all works out for the Cavs in the long run first

 

[FTBS]

I don't even think the Lakers knew they were putting together a 3 peat team. Everything kinda just fell into place. The Cavs basically went in with the mentality of putting together a stacked team. So to me Lakers is more impressive. They worked with less. Signed Shaq and flipped Divac for a rookie high-school phenom. Cleveland just got lucky LeBron was born there and the league awarded them 3 #1 draft picks in 4 years. That doesnt happen and they don't have the ability to for a super-team, thus LeBron may not have signed there.

So the Lakers "worked with less" and didn't have fortune on their side and weren't looking to build a championship team?

 

[FTBS]

let's see how this all works out for the Cavs in the long run first

Thing is no matter how it works out, barring an epic crash and burn where they don't make the playoffs or struggle as a 7 or 8 seed the Cavs won. To go from irrelevant to the most relevant team in the league and a legit contender is the defining moment of their franchise's history. Adding an ATG big and an ATG guard is just another summer for the Lakers.

 

[Pdiddy]

Kevin Love is overrated

 

[Dwight Howard]

So the Lakers "worked with less" and didn't have fortune on their side and weren't looking to build a championship team?

lakers signed Shaq and traded an all-star for a rookie drafted at the back end of the lottery. nobody expected the Lakers to win a championship in 96 or 97. they weren't true contenders until Kobe emerged. that's a big difference from the league awarding you 3 #1 overall picks. the Lakers worked with what most major market teams had cap space and and trade chips. flipping Divac for Kobe is more impressive than anything the Cavs have done this offseason