The Los Angeles Lakers have big plans for the future. The storied franchise hopes to make a major splash in NBA free agency next summer with their sights set on bringing in one or two superstar-caliber players.

In order to have the cap space available to pursue players like LeBron James, Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins, the Lakers need to shed some salaries with Jordan Clarkson being one of the players that could be playing elsewhere next season as a result.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are confident they can trade Clarkson when the time comes, transcription vis Harrison Faigen of LakersNation.com.

“They believe they can trade Jordan Clarkson and get his money off. They prefer not to do it at the trade deadline. Clarkson has helped them win games this year, and because they don’t have their pick, they want to win as many games as they can. So I think there’s some confidence there that they can find a deal for Clarkson after the season, to get his money off. But there’s got to be a sequencing here. And it gets back to, are they going to chase one max-salary slot, or two?”

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It'll be interesting to see how things in Los Angeles pan out over the next six to seven months as they prepare to swing for the fences in free agency. Rumors have run rampant over the last few months about George's intention to sign with the Lakers and talk of LeBron being ready to make the move to Los Angeles to wear the purple and gold in the near chapter of his NBA career.

If the Lakers can land one or two big-name free agents this summer, it could result in a power shift in the Western Conference. The emergence of Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram combined with the addition of one or more of those star players could make Los Angeles a contender in the West once again.

Only time will tell who comes and goes in Los Angeles as Magic Johnson and company try to get this franchise back on track. One thing seems for certain though; changes will be made with the Lakers potentially looking much different next year.