What If... Lebron James Were the Watcher?

Well first of all, if Lebron James were the Watcher then when he landed in L.A., he would have just observed sh*t instead more or less instantly disrupting the makeup of the roster.  And if he had done so, that means as we speak he'd likely be playing with people like:

Julius Randle, who was already one of the top up-and-coming bigmen before the Lakers decided to ignore him.  Last season, as a member of the Knicks, he won Most Improved Player.  And even though his scoring average has gone down since, I think most logical people would still rather have him on their team right now than Anthony Davis.

D'Angelo Russell, who would have probably developed into something like a perennial All-Star if the Nets had kept him.

Kyle Kuzma, who was inconsistent next to Lebron but still, for whatever its worth, learned to play with him.  And this season, as a member of the Wizards, he's averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Lonzo Ball, who was never really a good fit alongside Lebron since LBJ insists on playing point.

Josh Hart, the least popular member of the crew yet someone who is still averaging 13 points and 8 rebounds and whom the current Lakers could definitely use.

Brandon Ingram, who currently is a better scorer than everyone on the Lakers besides Lebron.

Yes, Lebron and AD won a championship a couple of seasons ago.  But if he were playing with the above players now, the Lakers would be contenders.

As far as winning championships go, Lebron's greatest strength has also been his biggest weakness - the ability to construct superteams on-the-fly.  Given the Heat's stability, maybe if he has stayed there they would have been able to put together a dynasty.  But as for the Cavs and especially the Lakers, the way rosters have been constructed to accommodate King James is like trading today for tomorrow.  Lebron isn't one of those 1980s' era 'I don't want to play on a stacked team' superstars.  A happy Lebron is one who is surrounded by perennial All-Star teammates like himself.

So that means if he were the Watcher, James could together a stacked dream team that may even win an entire 82 games.  And since he doesn't really give AF, this is what the Lakers' starting five would rather look like:

Anthony Davis is someone who Lebron seems to have confidence in despite his health issues.  And when AD is healthy and rested, he is still in fact the best center in the game.

Ja Morant, because as indicated by Lebron going back to Cleveland to play with Kyrie (after Kyrie won All-Star MVP the year prior), he doesn't mind playing with the top young scorer of the day.

Chris Paul, because, on top of being the second-best aged NBA player, he's the only member of the Banana Boat Team that Lebron has yet to play with.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, because as stated, Lebron likes his teams stacked.

And there are also people like KD and the Beard who presumably King James wouldn't mind teaming up with for a season or two.  But considering that the Watcher version of the Lakers already has a beat-up starter in Anthony Davis, then two would really be pushing it.

CONCLUSION

It's funny, because you can't even say 'if Lebron were the Watcher he'd make himself a better player' or anything like that, since he's still an MVP level performer 15+ years into his career.  I still believe, as great as he may be, that LBJ should just retire.  It's like what is he going to do next, win a championship with a fourth team?

But since him quitting doesn't seem to be a realistic option, perhaps he should do some actual watching, i.e. playing in the post and allowing someone else, like Russell Westbrook since you have him, to completely run the point.  It's scary to think that Lebron may even be the best player on his team into his 40s, getting caught up in a seemingly neverending cycle of propagating win-now/suck-later rosters.