nba.com photo: LeBron James as a Laker in painted form is up for a four year stint with the Lakers

By Joe Hawkes Beamon and Jerry Feitelberg

The much anticipated moment is over as predicted LeBron James has signed a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers as the Lakers try to light the fuse on a franchise that has lagged since superstar Kobe Bryant retired. The Lakers have not been in the playoffs since 2013.

James, who has played most of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, will leave the team for the second time the first time was when he left for the Miami Heat. LeBron will be entering his 16th NBA season with three NBA Championship rings and four MVPs under his belt. LeBron is confident he can help establish some headway with the Lakers to make them great again.

After this last season’s Championship Final against Golden State, James looked to cry “Uncle” and wanted a change of scenery and looks at the Lakers as an organization that will build toward an NBA Championship Finals team. James makes L.A. his offseason home.

The Lakers are a young team the average player’s age is 25, James (33) will almost be like a player-coach with the young guys on the floor but he will seek assurances from the Lakers organization to get two or three veterans to make that extra push to get the Lakers to be a deep playoff team.

With the signing of James, Kawhi Leonard has expressed interest in joining the Lakers after he said he was no longer going to play for the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard could very well be one of the key building blocks the Lakers are looking towards in getting some experience on their roster.

Joe Hawkes Beamon and Jerry Feitelberg cover the NBA for http://www.sportsradioservice.com