All-Star forward LeBron James made the big splash move this offseason by electing to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $153 million deal after months of speculation.
It was a decision that had even caught fellow offseason acquisition forward Lance Stephenson a bit off guard that he made the jump to Los Angeles, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
Lance on LeBron: “I was surprised he made the move to L.A. … I feel like him reaching out and saying he likes what I bring to the game is amazing. I can’t wait to get on the floor with him … I’m very excited to see what that brings … I think we’re going to have a fun season."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 10, 2018
This has the potential to be a monumental shift in the Western Conference with arguably the best player in the league going to the Lakers where he could quickly make them a contender. Although it hasn't necessarily been the players that were expected to be brought in around James, it has begun to fill the roster with proven talent such as Stephenson, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and JaVale McGee.
This likely made it an easy decision for each of these players to quickly choose to sign with the Lakers to have the opportunity to play alongside the four-time league MVP.
Los Angeles also possesses several other intriguing young promising players such as Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart that could further develop into high-impact factors. There are the pieces in place for the Lakers to make a huge jump next season with their mixture of young and established talent with James leading the way. He is still playing some of best basketball of his career coming off yet another MVP-caliber campaign in his 15th year in the league.
His presence should immediately help the franchise end their five-year playoff drought while bringing a level of excitement and buzz around the team that has been lacking for quite some time. In all honesty, it's a move that has yet to sink around the league because of the magnitude of the impact it will make this upcoming season and beyond that.
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