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It’s not a secret that the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to sign LeBron James this summer to bring the franchise back to respectability and compete for a championship once again.
It’s been eight years since the Lakers won a championship, much less play in the Finals. Recruiting James to play for them is not an assurance that they’ll be a championship team immediately, but they will be leaps and bounds closer to it.
The league’s most coveted player will most definitely be exploring his options in the summer as he opts out of his current contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Though he loves playing for Cleveland, the future of the Cavs as a championship-caliber team is not a given especially since the new players are an uncertain bunch come playoff time. If the Cavaliers fail to win a title this year or worse yet, lose before the Finals, James will be having second thoughts about returning to Cleveland next year.
Should that happen, other teams such as the Lakers have a shot at luring James away from his home state. But that means that the organization has to put together a roster that will be enticing enough for the King to consider the City of Angels as his new kingdom. It will take more than fancy and flattering billboards to make that happen, for sure.
So what kind of roster will attract James to play for the Lakers?
Two Superstars
The first target is already a given: The Lakers will have to secure the services of Paul George. The All-Star forward is clearly enamored with the chance to play for his hometown team. He was a huge Kobe Bryant fan growing up. What could be better for him than to play on the same team as his idol?
The Lakers need to find a way to include Bryant in the recruiting team to make it even more appealing for George to join them next season. That’s going to be a bit difficult as Bryant seems to have made it clear that the Lakers don’t need him to recruit free agents for them.
“The thing about this franchise is that you shouldn’t need recruiting to come here,” Bryant said “It takes a special person to want to play for this franchise and take the pressure that comes along with playing for this franchise. The pressure of following Magic’s footsteps and myself and the dynasty that we’ve had, it takes a special person to do that. And if I need to convince you to come here, to carry that legacy forward, you ain’t the one to be here.”
Even so, Bryant might want to make an exception with George.
Should the All-Star forward agree to play for the Lakers, the next step is to get another star who can become part of the team’s own version of the Big Three.
How about Julius Randle?
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus explains the Lakers’ dilemma with Randle perfectly.
“It's not that Randle's play hasn't warranted inclusion as a vital part of the team's future, it's that he'll take up $12.4 million of the Lakers' precious cap space as an unsigned free agent,” Pincus said. “That's almost as much as Ball, Ingram, Kuzma and Hart combined ($16.6 million next season).
“The Lakers can go over the NBA's projected salary cap of $101 million for 2018-19 to pay Randle up to $25.3 million, but the first step is a $5.6 million qualifying offer to make him restricted. In doing so, the Lakers will need to allocate the $12.4 million for Randle's cap hold.”
Later, he asks the burning question in Lakers fans’ minds.
“Can Los Angeles land James and George while keeping Randle?
Without help from another team, that appears to be problematic unless James ($35.4 million) and George ($30.3 million) are willing to take less than their maximum salaries.”
It’s unlikely that both players will take less than the maximum, especially James who will already be sacrificing a lot of money just to play for a team other than the Cavaliers.
Their best hope of having James and George on board with Randle is to find a way to trade Luol Deng and his massive contract to a team that will take him in along with a budding star of their own as well as a draft pick or two.
That would be difficult but not impossible. If the Lakers can pull this off, they’re a step closer to getting James to sign on the dotted line.
Shooters
James needs shooters around him. This season, the Cavaliers forward is second only to Chris Paul in assists to three-pointers per game at 4.16. Among the current players that the Lakers will likely keep on the roster by next season, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma fit the bill as they are some of the best shooters on the team.
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Three young players who are untested in playoff games could be problematic for the team if they want to succeed in the postseason. James needs more. The Lakers have to find players that are good spot up shooters to shore up their bench which will be decimated by the house cleaning involved to sign James and George.
Someone like Will Barton could fit in well with this team aside from a veteran or two who can fit the bill, but another intriguing possibility is getting a shooter from the draft pick they acquired from the Cavs.
Big Men
James needs a rebounder and a rim protector. Hopefully, both can be found in one player although they would need a similar backup big. Players like Greg Monroe, Nick Collison, or David West could land a spot with these Lakers.
Other players such as Ersan Ilyasova, Trevor Booker, Jahlil Okafor or perhaps even a familiar face in Jeff Green can be convinced to move to L.A. once their contracts are up as well.
The Lonzo Ball Factor
Lonzo Ball is one of their worst three-point shooters on the team at 30.5% for the season. Even his overall field goal percentage leaves a lot to be desired at an atrocious 35.9%.
If he didn’t have such a great upside as a playmaker to back up James whether he’s on or off the floor, Ball wouldn’t fit in with the Lakers plans if the former MVP decided to play for Los Angeles. There is no doubt that Ball is a terrific talent and one who is still developing as a player. His ballhandling and passing skills will relieve some of the quarterbacking responsibilities from James.
But he has to improve his jump shot if he wants to stay on the floor with the 14-time All-Star. He needs more time in the gym to either improve his mechanics or to shoot more consistently from the perimeter. It would also help if his free-throw shooting improves, too.
Starting Lineup and Roster
Imagine this lineup: Julius Randle, Paul George, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Willie Barton, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Jeff Green, David West, Greg Monroe and Jahlil Okafor. That looks like a roster that James can be attracted to especially with the great mix of young players with wily veterans.
Whether it’s enough to bring the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals or even the Finals can only be answered once this team takes the floor next season.
But any team with James on the roster is almost a given to compete for an NBA championship year in and year out.
