Lakers fans don't deserve LeBron, but they're lucky to have him

Shad Powers | Palm Springs Desert Sun

Show Caption Hide Caption LeBron to LA: James to sign monster deal with Lakers USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt discuss LeBron James' decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $154-million contract.

Wow! LeBron James is a Laker.

That sound you hear is almost every Laker fan deleting their Facebook posts and Tweets about LeBron from the year 2008 to 2017.

I have mixed feelings about "King James" now wearing Purple and Gold. I'm a LeBron guy. I side with LeBron in the Greatest of All Time conversation, so it's a huge development for the Lakers to acquire him.

For me, what sets LeBron apart from Michael and Kobe was what he did after moving to Cleveland. He left Miami to go to Cleveland, the literal worst team in the league, because he wanted to get that city a title. And he did it. Think about that. They went from the worst record in the league to the finals the first year with LeBron and won a title (against the team with the best record of all time) the second year. Completely remarkable and unprecedented in the world of sports.

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So now the Lakers are that moribund franchise LeBron has chosen to turn around and take to the finals. Yes, the West is a tougher path, perhaps, but I'm not betting against him.

But to keep the bar low, we can at least say the Lakers will be in the playoffs next year, that's a fact. LeBron is that good. And that will end a five-year drought that is frankly embarrassing for a franchise that didn't miss the playoffs five times total in the previous 50 years.

He also immediately returns the Lakers to relevancy both on the court and everywhere else -- ticket sales, televised games, merchandise.

Another thing that excites me about this move is the concept of Lonzo Ball playing with and learning from LeBron. I root for Lonzo (not Lavar, but Lonzo) to do well, and this is going to big for his development. He'll get playoff experience and maybe, just maybe, be in position to run the team when LeBron leaves.

But here's where my mixed feelings come in. After all the hate and negativity and ridiculousness consistently spewed by Lakers fans for the last decade, I kind of feel like they don't deserve having LeBron. It was a nice uplifting story when he got the city of Cleveland it's first banner. This is different. The Lakers have plenty of banners, 16 of them to be exact. It just doesn't seem fair in a way.

The vitriol aimed toward him by Laker lovers when he would roll through and ruin Christmas for Lakers fans, or outplay Kobe consistently in their head-to-head matchups was embarrassing back then and their likely abrupt reversal now isn't going to be a good look. (FWIW: LeBron and Kobe played head-to-head 22 times with LeBron's team holding a 16-6 edge in those games and averaging more points, rebounds and assists in the meetings.)

Here's a sample of a Facebook post from a friend of mine who is an avid Lakers fan in 2011: "Lebron you can feel free to surrender your nickname which you never earned anyways. You will never be in the same class as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Kobe Bryant. Those guys are winners, you aren't and never will be."

Does someone who says this and the thousands of Lakers fans that have said the same and much worse for years now deserve to benefit from his greatness in Purple and Gold? Seems cosmically unfair. Especially to fans of other teams who have never had a Kobe or a Magic or a Kareem. Other franchises deserve a LeBron, not the Lakers.

But guess what? They got him. And it's going to be fun to watch how it goes down.

It will be a nice shot in the arm for an NBA that has pretty much been a moot league since Kevin Durant joined the Warriors as far as any sort of drama goes.

LeBron the Laker. Unbelievable. I'm anxiously awaiting this chapter in his career. And I'm even more anxiously awaiting my friend's Facebook posts about him. He may have to eat some crow, but even crow tastes good while you're raising another banner.

Shad Powers is a sports columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @shad_powers.