Lakers fans, it’s time to rejoice. The dog days are over. No more being embarrassed for being the laughing stock of the loaded Western Conference.
The days of the Los Angeles headlines being dominated by a buffoon named Lavar are behind us.
LeBron James will be suiting up for the purple and gold, and it’s currently the talk of the sports world. The four-year deal that King James inked with the storied franchise is worth more than $153 million.
It has united LeBron James with the biggest media and television market on the West Coast.
I am here today to discuss what else Magic Johnson has planned up his sleeve that will make this team a serious contender. The signing of LeBron wasn’t the only move made on Sunday in LA, and I want to unveil and elaborate on the other acquisitions. Will they help or hurt this franchise’s chances at a title?
What else will the front office do during the remainder of free agency that will help elevate the Lake Show into the upper echelon of the West? In other words, what other moves and acquisitions are looming?
I’ve been hearing some so-called NBA touts saying that the Lakers aren’t even a top 4 team in the Conference with the current structure of the West, but I’m telling these people to pump their brakes.
This is LeBron James we are talking about, the dude who has made a mind-boggling 8 consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.
Can LeBron make it 9 in a row? Are there any pieces out there that the Lakers could bring in to make that a foregone conclusion?
Before I get into what the Lakers will do next, let’s recap what they have already done. Signing LeBron James wasn’t the only move LA made to bolster their roster on Sunday. Take a look.
When the clock struck midnight on the east coast, and the calendar shifted from June to July, NBA free agency officially began. If you thought that the Lakers were going to stand pat and watch as the other dominoes fell into place, boy, did you have another thing coming for you.
We all know that LeBron James is headed to La La Land, but did you see who else the Lakers locked up Sunday night? Let me quickly fill you in and shed light on how I think the recent moves affect the upcoming season.
I’ll start with this one because, quite frankly, it’s the one (of these three) that makes the most sense to me. Snatching this guy up for the league veteran minimum salary was an absolute steal and one that the Lakers franchise should be applauded for.
We all saw what JaVale McGee can do when properly motivated and placed in the right situations. The 7-footer only averaged about 10 minutes per game with the Warriors last season, but the 30-year-old big man was highly effective when he was plugged in and helped deliver a title to the Bay area.
He’ll arrive in LA and immediately give the Lakers the shot-blocking presence they have lacked in recent years. JaVale shot over 62% from the floor in his two seasons in Golden State, yet he doesn’t demand the ball inside, and Luke Walton won’t have to call any plays for him.
This isn’t a move that will turn heads around the NBA, but it’s a move that can help boost a weak frontline that includes washed-up vets like Brook Lopez and Channing Frye.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see McGee log some big minutes down the stretch of some close games, and I expect him to be a force to be reckoned with at the rim for the opposition.
This signing was a win for the Lakers and one that I guarantee LeBron is smiling about.
While King James was surely amused when he heard the news of the Lakers acquiring big-man JaVale McGee, I can promise you his reaction was a bit different after hearing that Lance Stephenson was also heading to the City of Angels.
First of all, I think all the antics and drama that Stephenson carries with him into a locker room far exceed the value he can provide on the court. However, the dude can play tough defense, and $4.5 million for a 1-year deal isn’t going to break the bank.
The part that has me and most others scratching our heads is how bad of a fit this appears to be on paper. Does Magic Johnson not remember Lance blowing into the ear of LeBron James during the 2014 Eastern Conference playoffs and being the ultimate annoyance to the King?
Does he forget that Stephenson gestured the choke sign after LeBron missed a free throw during the 2012 Eastern Conference Semis against Lance’s Pacers?
It seems to me that James and Stephenson have never seen eye to eye, nor do either of the men seem even partially interested in smoothing things over. I don’t know Lance personally, but he doesn’t strike me as the type of individual that wants to bow down and apologize to LeBron, and thus take the high road.
I guess I have to wait to see how this move plays out because it sure looks like an unmitigated disaster to me. I predict a not-so-happy ending for Stephenson’s tenure as a Laker, because this is LeBron’s team now.
Well, I wasn’t on board with giving Lance Stephenson a one-year deal that was worth less than $5 million. How do you think I feel about paying another reserve wing player a grip of cash, this time to the tune of $12 million for the year!
Look, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a nice player, and he doesn’t have the excessive baggage attached like Lance Stephenson does, but let’s just be real. KCP is a career 40.9% shooter from the field and is going to be used as a role player of sorts, most likely playing less than 20 minutes per game.
He did play 33 minutes per contest last season for the purple and gold and is athletic enough to stay in front of most two-guards in this league, but things are going to change.
I’m not a GM in the NBA, and I don’t know it all, but I can’t help but think that tying up 12 million bucks with Caldwell-Pope had more to do with his ties to Klutch Sports Agency than it does with his prowess on the court.
Klutch Sports represent both James and Caldwell-Pope, so perhaps this is another example of LeBron recruiting one of “his guys.” The fact that Kentavious was already a Laker last season and averaged more than 13 points per game means that this move wasn’t all about LeBron, but I just don’t see a big role for KCP this year.
JJ Redick just signed a 1-year deal with the 76ers for the same price, and I’d certainly rather have a sharpshooter like Redick than a rotational piece like Caldwell-Pope.
If LeBron and the Lakers are serious about delivering a championship to the crowd at Staples Center, they are going to have to do a lot more.
Apparently, the Lakers are in a hurry to continue reforming their roster in attempts to please the King. Monday afternoon marked the signing of free agent PG Rajon Rondo, who the Lakers will pay $9 million next season for his services.
His services normally include handling the ball and making most of the on-court decisions, so I am a little curious as to how this will play out. Typically, LeBron requires oodles of double-teams. The natural thought would be to surround him with shooters and players that can score the basketball – clearly not the strengths of Rajon.
Rondo may not seem like the perfect fit to complement LeBron, but I think his presence on the floor can have a positive impact on the rest of the roster.
Also, one has to think that the Lakers signing Rajon Rondo is the precursor that will mark the end of the “Lonzo Ball era” in Los Angeles. It’s one thing to have one point guard who can’t throw a rock into an ocean, but it’d be another thing to have two PGs who can’t shoot to save their lives.
We’ll just have to continue monitoring the situation.
Also worthy of Monday’s headlines, the Lakers announced that they will not be retaining Julius Randle, who was renounced and became an unrestricted free agent as of Monday evening.
This at least helps paint the picture of what the roster will look like when the summer is over, but we still have to keep close tabs and see how it all plays out.
One has to assume that the Lakers are not giving up on the possession they prize the most, and that’s the Spurs’ small forward.
Let’s just put the elephant in the room on the table, because it’s no secret. The Lakers covet Kawhi Leonard, and Leonard wants to play in the city he grew up in. The graduate of King HS played 2 years of college ball just a couple hours south of LA at San Diego State University.
All signs are pointing to the Lakers being his top choice of landing spots.
The issue of Los Angeles seeing Kawhi in a Lakers uniform this upcoming season is two-fold. First, do Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford really want to send away their franchise player to a Western Conference rival that already has LeBron James?
If the stress that Kawhi has caused for San Antonio is justified, do you really see Pop and Buford granting Kawhi his wish while simultaneously sending their franchise into rebuilding mode? Come on, you know the Spurs’ front office personnel better than that, don’t you?
And secondly, do the Lakers even have enough to offer the Spurs? I can promise you that the San Antonio organization won’t touch Lonzo Ball with a 10-foot pole, and the Lakers can’t trade rookie Mo Wagner until July 31st.
I keep hearing this “Brandon Ingram/Kyle Kuzma/future draft picks package” being thrown out there, but I don’t think the Spurs are going to budge for something of that nature. The more days that go by, the more likely that Lakers fans will have to wait until next summer, hoping and praying that Leonard signs on as a free agent.
Because at this point, a trade for Kawhi to the Lakers is seeming less and less imminent.
If and when the reality of not getting Kawhi Leonard this season sets in, how will Magic respond? I don’t expect General Manager Rob Pelinka to do much of anything, as he is just a puppet for what Magic and the Buss family ultimately decide to do.
The good news is that Magic understands how the game of basketball is played as well as or better than anyone, and he knows what it takes to build a championship-quality team.
That’s why he is so keen on acquiring Kawhi Leonard, but he’ll have a plan in place should it not pan out the way he hopes.
I don’t think that JaVale McGee takes the Lakers entirely out of the “Clint Capela equation,” but I don’t really see this happening.
Clint blossomed last season in Houston, and I expect Daryl Morey and the Rockets to work something out, possibly something that involves retaining Capela in a long-term deal.
It’s hard to imagine how far this guy has fallen off the radar of NBA teams compared to a couple years ago. The pint-sized guard was on the verge of receiving a max contract in 2016, but injuries and question marks have surrounded “I-T” ever since.
Believe it or not, few teams have shown interest in the guy who averaged 29 PPG in 2016-2017 and couldn’t be stopped that postseason.
Isaiah didn’t mesh well with LeBron during their time together in Cleveland, and I think that Thomas needs a new start and a clean slate elsewhere. I’m sure LeBron has voiced his opinions on the matter to Magic Johnson, meaning I expect to see Isaiah Thomas in a different uniform come October.
It’s hard to really talk about the prospects of this season for the Los Angeles Lakers until this Kawhi Leonard thing is figured out. Some even think LeBron joining the Lakers was a mistake, as their shot at winning a title this upcoming season looks bleak at best.
I happen to think the picture is very clear. Magic Johnson’s plan all along was to obtain LeBron James and bring in Kawhi Leonard, whether that be via a trade this offseason or during free agency next summer.
If Kawhi ends up staying in San Antonio for the upcoming season on a 1-year deal, I don’t expect the Lakers to panic and start fishing for the next-tier guys right away.
If that’s the case, they’ll feel confident that Leonard will join forces with LeBron next year, and then they’ll have a roster that can challenge the Golden State Warriors.
However, should Leonard get traded to the City of Brotherly Love and join the nucleus of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, then I certainly expect the Lakers to take a hard look at Clint Capela.
I get that LeBron has a home in LA, and his son is going to play high school ball for a powerhouse program in the area.
But I have a hard time believing that LeBron James will “just settle” and not seriously chase NBA titles for the next 3-4 seasons.
By all accounts, this just means that the Lakers aren’t finished making moves. BetOnline.ag already rocketed the Lakers up the board and have them at +450 to win the title.
I can’t wait to see what happens if they somehow add Kawhi Leonard to the mix!
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