As the Los Angeles Lakers seek their 35th win of the 2017-18 NBA season against the Los Angeles Clippers, the focus has seemingly shifted to the offseason. After trading D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov, it is no secret President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are creating the necessary cap space to sign two max contract players.
Channing Frye, who spent nearly two full seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was asked if LeBron James would like to play for head coach Luke Walton according to Matthew Moreno of Lakers Nation:
When asked if he believes LeBron James would like to play for Luke Walton, Channing Frye hesitated (wasn't sure if he could answer because of tampering), then said "any superstar would like to play for Luke."
— Matthew Moreno (@MMoreno1015) April 12, 2018
After years of rebuilding through the draft, the Lakers have finally established a young and competitive core. Along with their lottery draft picks (Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball), the former and current front office has also done an impressive job with their late first to early second round draft picks (Ivica Zubac, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant).
Led by head coach Luke Walton and in his second year, the Lakers won more than 30 games for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Through all the injuries and roster changes, Los Angeles has been competitive in most games, which should be attractive to potential free agents. However, it remains to be seen if it will be enough to attract James and George.
Regardless of what happens this free agency, the Lakers are in good position. Randle, who has come into his own in his fourth season, can be re-signed. In addition, they could re-sign players like Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Isaiah Thomas to preserve cap space for next year's free agency.
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