Los Angeles Lakers' 2018 Free-Agency Big Board
The perpetually star-gazing Los Angeles Lakers are ready to spend big in free agency.
The only question is whether a major move or two will be available this summer or a year from then.
"We now have real 100 percent space to do two max players if that's what we decide to do, or one in 2018 and then following it up with another one in 2019," general manager Rob Pelinka said, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "...If you break it down and study the cap, we feel like we're the mot strongly situated franchise in the NBA in terms of where our cap stands."
Trapped in a four-plus-year playoff drought, the Lakers would seemingly prefer to strike free-agency gold sooner than later. And they might have the option to do so with precious space in a largely cap-crunched summer and a handful of top-shelf talents potentially available.
L.A.'s ambitious plans for 2018 should include chasing the players listed on this tailor-made big board.
Because the Lakers don't have to spend their money this summer, they can afford to dream big. In other words, we're only focusing on the market's upper echelon. Still, we're approaching this in a realistic manner, so we've omitted players unlikely to leave their current clubs (Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic) and those who wouldn't fit this roster's construction (Chris Paul would seem redundant with Lonzo Ball in the fold).
5. The Incumbent Options
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If L.A. wants to cut down on travel costs, it could fill most of the roster without leaving its own arena. Few pieces of the current core are cemented into the franchise's future plans, and the free-agent market will be flooded with ex-Lakers.
That said, the initial attraction to them—short-term contracts that won't muddle the books going forward—highlights how many appear perceived as placeholders. Ball's presence should lead to a hard pass on an Isaiah Thomas reunion. Brook Lopez's sagging stats indicate he isn't long for L.A. Channing Frye and Tyler Ennis offer little in the present and even less for the future.
The Lakers, then, seem to have two in-house options worthy of significant contracts: Julius Randle and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They both could be back-burner targets at first, but their appeal would grow if the franchise strikes out on its primary objectives.
The Lakers openly shopped Randle earlier this season, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, but maybe the big man's torrid run of late has shifted their opinion. He's averaged 20.4 points on 59.2 percent shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists over his last 14 outings, nine of which were L.A. wins.
"Every time he puts up 24 and 12, I start to think there's no way the Lakers let him walk for nothing, even if it allows them to get LeBron James," Eddie Sefko wrote for the Dallas Morning News. "The guy is turning into a pretty darn good player."
And since Randle will be a restricted free agent, the Lakers can chase bigger fish first, knowing they have the option to match whatever offer he receives.
As for Caldwell-Pope, he'd be worth keeping at the right price. He's always been a versatile defender, and he's never had a better shooting campaign from the field (43.1) or outside (38.6). He's young enough to fit the team's timeline (25), and he shares an agent with LeBron James, which L.A. might see as a potential recruiting tool for the King.
4. DeMarcus Cousins, C, New Orleans Pelicans
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DeMarcus Cousins' long, uncertain recovery from a ruptured Achilles will make him one of this summer's most fascinating free agents.
Had he avoided the injury, he'd be at least one spot higher on L.A.'s wish list. If he isn't the Association's best center, he's among the handful of players vying for that title. His per-game averages wound up at 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.6 steals. Only one player had previously reached 25 points, 12 boards, five dimes and 1.5 rejections: Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Before the injury, the New Orleans Pelicans were prepared to offer Cousins a five-year max deal, per Marc Stein of the New York Times. Now, it's tough to tell what New Orleans plans to do.
"Can the Pelicans still feel comfortable committing max money to Cousins coming off one of the most serious injuries an NBA player can suffer? Perhaps not, particularly given that maxing out Cousins would force New Orleans to make drastic cuts elsewhere to avoid going into the luxury tax," ESPN's Kevin Pelton wrote.
All suitors must factor Cousins' injury into their level of interest, but this shouldn't scare off the Lakers completely. Not when a slightly diminished version of the big man would still be a dominant force.
The question becomes how close to the max both L.A. and New Orleans are willing to go. If his contract is discounted at all, there would be considerable potential for value should he work his way back to 100 percent. That might make either side willing to inherit substantial risk, because it's otherwise difficult to employ max-level talents for less than max money.
The likeliest scenario probably keeps Cousins in the Big Easy. But unless the Lakers snatch two of the top three names on their board, they'd be foolish to sit out the Boogie bidding process.
3. Jabari Parker, SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks
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With a small number of difference-making free agents available in 2018, the Lakers could opt to preserve their cap space for a run at next summer's stars. That's not simply speculation but rather an option L.A.'s brass is reportedly considering, league sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Wojnarowski.
Flexibility is key for front offices, especially if it means not panicking and doing something silly like throwing $136 million at Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. But the Lakers don't have to consider this offseason as an elite-superstars-or-bust prospect.
They could instead opt to chase one of the up-and-comers entering restricted free agency. While Houston Rockets center Clint Capela and Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon both qualify as such, Milwaukee Bucks swingman Jabari Parker makes the most sense.
He's already a top-tier scorer—20.1 points per game last season, 19.9 points per 36 minutes this campaign—despite being set back by a pair of ACL tears. And those medical misfortunes might make him the easiest of the three to pry loose, should Milwaukee feel apprehensive about committing major coin to a player with repeat knee troubles.
The Lakers need to find a way to jolt their 24th-ranked offense, and a healthy Parker is one of the most potent point-producers available. That assumes the Bucks would let him go, but the Lakers won't know that without sending an offer sheet his way.
Between Parker's established floor and unseen ceiling, he's someone who could help L.A. now and make it more attractive to other free agents later. He doesn't have the stature of the two stars ahead of him here, but he'd qualify as a flashy free-agency addition and might make this nucleus awfully appealing to the deeper 2019 class.
2. Paul George, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
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The Lakers' interest in five-time All-Star swingman—and Palmdale, California, native—Paul George is the Association's worst-kept secret. L.A.'s fawning has been transparent to the point of a $500,000 tampering fine, and he hasn't exactly shooed his hometown team away.
Last summer, as he orchestrated his exit from the Indiana Pacers, his preference to join the Lakers in 2018 free agency was leaked to Wojnarowski. George hasn't tried closing the door to L.A. since.
He told TNT's David Aldridge, "I keep saying L.A. is home, so it's always going to be a destination." When his presence elicited "We want Paul!" chants at the L.A.-based All-Star media day, George told reporters: "It makes you feel great. I love it."
Even if the public displays of affection aren't for everyone, L.A.'s basketball interest in George should be universally understood.
The 27-year-old is smack dab in his prime, and he's on a short list of the league's premier two-way players. He has the versatility and athleticism to thrive in Luke Walton's high-octane offense. George's three ball (career-high 41.3 percent) would play perfectly next to a ball-dominant creator like Lonzo or LeBron James. George's stopping skills might be worthy of this campaign's Defensive Player of the Year Award.
He's elite—the best player on a good team or second banana on a great one. There aren't many players the Lakers would rather have, although a certain basketball wizard who should also hit the open market fits that bill.
1. LeBron James, SF/PF, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Apologies for the lack of drama, but if every team made a free-agency wish list, LeBron James might sit atop all 30.
Even at 33 years old, he remains the Association's most powerful force. He wears nicknames like King James and Chosen One, and they don't sound hyperbolic. He's productive in a way no one has ever been, and he continues raising his own standards.
"He's definitely one of the top five greatest players even right now," Magic Johnson said of James last June, per Mark Medina, then of the L.A. Daily News. "He'll continue to move up. LeBron is special."
James is a transformational talent. Even if his arrival wouldn't vault the Lakers to the front of the championship race, adding him and a second star would at least position the purple and gold to potentially host a playoff series (or two) next season.
Is LeBron available? Only he knows. He holds just a $35.6 million player option for next season and has not committed to the Cleveland Cavaliers beyond this one, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
If James does go, would he consider the Lakers? That probably depends on his opinion of the young nucleus and whether he could get a player like George to come with him. It seems within the realm of possibility, but the odds are impossible to calculate from outside his inner circle.
Still, at least there's clarity on where he ranks in L.A.'s eyes. This perennial whale-hunter won't find a bigger fish in the free-agency waters.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball Reference or NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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