I don’t know about Iggy either. He looked old and banged up in playoffs.
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...yeah, I feel like there is as much chance of CP3 getting a buyout as there as of me getting married to Lupita Nyong'o.
That is, technically not zero, but so close to zero as to be practically indistinguishable.
You described why pretty well. It would have to require OKC being totally willing to just eat a huge, huge quantity of salary (even if CP3 agreed to take, say, half of his money in a buyout, the total cost would still be insane), for absolutely nothing in return. That's particularly when you consider that the Lakers don't have a ton of cash to pitch in anyway.
For real. Coming from a team like LA which has an ego inflated so high by having a history of dynasty, but which is stuck in the doldrums of a near decade long lapse out of the playoffs, into a team like New Orleans which has never had a team make the finals at all, let alone win rings, is a huge change in expectations.
Every team wants a ring, sure, but different fanbases view the journey different. LA has won over a dozen titles, so for much of the Lakers fanbase, a season is meaningless unless it adds to the banners in the rafters. New Orleans is a team that, like you said, gets beyond hype over making it to the second round of the playoffs, because we haven't had that journey so many times that it feels banal yet.