NBA Free Agency: 3 Possible Next Moves for the Los Angeles Lakers
Signing LeBron James was obviously the first priority for the Lakers, but it was evident over the last two seasons that James alone isn't enough to win a championship.
With LeBron playing superhuman basketball, he barely got a weak supporting cast to the finals where they were convincingly swept by Golden State.
With LeBron now signed to a four year/$154 million deal and Paul George re-committed to Oklahoma City instead of heading to the west coast, what can Magic Johnson and the Lakers' front office do next to give themselves the best shot of conquering the West?
Signing LeBron isn't the only move the Lakers have made, they have also signed JaVale McGee ($2.4 million), Lance Stephenson ($4.4 million), and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($12 million) to one-year deals.
They will make the playoffs as currently assembled thanks to LeBron, but they won't go as far in a stacked Western Conference as LeBron is used to going. How can the Lakers assemble a team to compete with Golden State for Western supremacy?
#1 Trade for Kawhi Leonard
Trading for Leonard is the first call for the Lakers, who are heavily engaged in talks with the Spurs to acquire the superstar.
Leonard - a two-time defensive player of the year, finals MVP, and two-time all-star - has made his intentions of playing in LA clear, so much so that he is threatening to sit out the season in San Antonio if they don't grant his wish to be traded.
Gregg Popovich has a rule that he won't help Western Conference rivals, but the Lakers' offers for Leonard may be too good to refuse.
Following their four signings, LA still has roughly $7 million of cap space left with the 2018-19 cap set just shy of $102 million.
Leonard will earn $20.1 million next season, which makes him an attainable trade target for the Lakers. With a surplus of young players to be used as possible trade assets, the Lakers have multiple packages they can put together to acquire Leonard.
The Spurs aren't interested in Lonzo Ball in any trades, while Brandon Ingram is almost certain to be the key part of any trade.
Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart are two more players under contract who will likely be dangled as trade bait. Julius Randle's restricted free agency decision will be vital in the trade process; should the Lakers sign or match an offer for Randle at a reasonable price, he can be used alongside Ingram as a trade chip.
If he is offered a lucrative contract elsewhere, the Lakers may have to let him walk and try and convince the Spurs to take Deng and his mammoth contract ($18 million next season, $18.8 million the year after) in the deal to make the salaries match.
Deng, Ingram, Kuzma, and draft picks for Leonard could be the bulk of a deal if Randle walks. Randle, Ingram and draft picks would be better for the Lakers as they would be able to retain Kuzma, but the Spurs may still demand the young star.
After Paul George's decision to stay in Oklahoma City, San Antonio may have some faith that they can change Leonard's mind about wanting to move to LA. Other teams such as the Celtics and Philadelphia may also pay a higher trade price for Leonard after seeing how the George situation played out.
A low-usage and highly efficient scorer on the offensive end, and an elite perimeter defender on the other end makes Leonard a perfect teammate for LeBron.
He won't demand the ball, and he can guard the opposition's best player to leave LeBron as fresh as possible on the offensive end. He will be difficult for the Lakers to obtain, but they will throw everything they possibly can at Spurs to try and land the two-way superstar.
Trading for Leonard and going into win-now mode immediately will be the best thing for the Lakers, but it's not the end of the world if they have to wait another year.