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What easily could have been a disaster for the Los Angeles Lakers became a nonfactor on Thursday, as general Rob Pelinka managed to send Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to the Washington Wizards in a salary dump that essentially guarantees that the Lakers will have maximum salary cap space heading into free agency.
The Lakers have been pretty transparent in their chase to pair a third star alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but the market has become murkier. It still seems probable that the Brooklyn Nets are the favorites to land Kyrie Irving, while the Boston Celtics have become the frontrunners to sign Kemba Walker, according to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
In the meantime, the Houston Rockets have taken a particular interest in clearing space to sign Jimmy Butler, while Kawhi Leonard's future remains unclear after he helped lead the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title.
However, ESPN Senior NBA Writer Ramona Shelburne said that it is unlikely that the Lakers would have made such efforts to get to max cap space if they did not think they had a realistic chance at signing either Irving or Leonard:
“My sense is they (LAL) wouldn’t have gone through these gymnastics if they didn’t feel like they had a good shot at Kawhi or Kyrie…Kawhi (would be a better fit) but I think they have a better shot at Kyrie.”
🗣: @ramonashelburne of @ESPN
📺: @AroundtheHorn #Lakeshow pic.twitter.com/jv5bbbU6gL
— CAN’T BEAT LA (@CantBeatLA_) June 27, 2019
Despite Irving's recent flirtations with the Nets, it seems foolish to count the Lakers out as far as his situation goes.
Of course, Irving and James led the Cavaliers to the NBA title in 2016. After demanding a trade from Cleveland in order to pursue being a number one option, Irving made no bones about his infamous “apology” call to LeBron in the middle of the regular season.
Leonard's future is more unclear, especially because the Raptors might very well be the favorites to repeat as champions should he elect to rejoin the fray.
