Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on LeBron James, Julius Randle and More
It wouldn't be an NBA season without hearing rumors about the Los Angeles Lakers in connection with the game's biggest stars.
This year, said rumors include one LeBron James.
The Lakers being the Lakers has much to do with the annual idea the front office is about to make a gigantic splash and turn the team back into instant contenders. To their credit, those in charge have mostly stayed the course of a full-blown rebuild, stacking draft chips like Lonzo Ball and slowly clawing out from the bottom of the standings.
Granted, the Lakers remain a sub-.500 squad for now, though something like that gets turned on its head if a King comes to town.
Lakers make LeBron's Cut?
The Lakers haven't been able to land the big fish in free agency for various reasons, though lack of trying doesn't make the list.
Big names have to want to come to town.
This hasn't been the case lately, where in recent years rumored interest or even a meet with the Lakers has almost been a leverage play. This is where a traditional rebuild with smart picks has worked double for the Lakers: High-upside talent making up the core of the team can, in theory, make for an attractive destination for a guy ready to command a max deal.
As such, it isn't too much of a surprise to hear the Lakers are one of four teams LeBron might consider, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
"There have been whispers, mostly on social media, about whether LeBron James would consider the Spurs because of the mutual respect between James and Popovich, now the coach of the U.S. men’s national basketball team," O'Connor wrote. "But I’ve consistently heard from multiple league sources that LeBron currently has only four teams on his list: the Cavaliers, Lakers, Rockets, and 76ers."
One can begin to see the theme there. Those Cleveland Cavaliers just revamped the team, presumably in LeBron's vision. The Lakers have droves of young talent. Houston has a guy by the name of James Harden, and Philadelphia, along with Joel Embiid, has an encouraging amount of upside as well.
In the past, the Lakers almost seemed to make a list like this by default. Now, the talent in place seems to act as a recruiting tool, though one question seems to remain.
Is LeBron a fit?
The LeBron-Lonzo Dynamic
Asking if LeBron is a fit on any team is sure to produce some mockery, yet it's fair, especially when looking at the Lakers and their progressive improvement under the long-term rebuilding plan.
One Eastern Conference executive told Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus the following: “I don’t think he’s the best fit with Lonzo [Ball]. I think James would stunt his growth. Ball is talented enough to play off the ball and make it work, but he's best with the ball in his hands. With him wanting to secure his first payday, I don't think he'll be too happy deferring to James. You know his pop won't."
Potential drama from family members aside, it would be interesting to see Ball and James take the court together. Cleveland's offense is a slower-paced affair, not necessarily due to LeBron himself, but it's still worth pointing out he's a 33-year-old veteran averaging north of 37 minutes per game—throwing him into an uptick attack compared to what he runs now is at least worth mentioning.
The age factor is something to consider when looking at the fit too. LeBron's still averaging 27.3 points, nine assists and 8.7 rebounds per night on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor and isn't likely to drop off for three or more years.
But a drop-off will have to come eventually, and the Lakers are a little too familiar with being hamstrung by an aging superstar who isn't what he used to be. If LeBron dips and the Lakers can't afford to pursue somebody like Anthony Davis down the road, it's a franchise-altering problem.
Maybe LeBron adapts and doesn't hurt Lonzo's development at all, either, but are the young Lakers around him capable of elevating their games to contend? Brandon Ingram is 20 years old and averaging 16.2 points, and Kyle Kuzma is 22, averaging 15.6. Ball is 20, sitting on 10.1 points and 7.1 assists.
Whether such a core can mesh well with and match LeBron is something worth asking at this stage.
Julius Randle's Future
Not mentioned above is Julius Randle.
Randle is an unknown for the Lakers moving forward as the team approaches a deadline this summer to dish him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
His reps, though, might like the idea of hitting the open market based on numbers.
Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com captured one estimate for Randle: "ESPN's Bobby Marks estimates Randle's market to be around $12-14 million per year, and a team such as Dallas, Brooklyn, Atlanta or Sacramento could have the ability to offer Randle something in the neighborhood of $56 million over four years."
Big numbers, though not necessarily unwarranted. Randle is 23 years old and sitting on the best scoring output of his career, averaging 15.9 points on 56.6 percent shooting from the floor over 26.2 minutes per game, a number less than each of his last two seasons. He's only averaging 7.9 boards, though he's still stuffing the stat sheet in a way teams will like in what really amounts to his third season.
Randle has been especially impressive as of late, scoring 21 or more points in five straight games. It seems he's unlocked the key to his game on the offensive side of the court while running with guys like Brook Lopez.
It begs to reason the Lakers will want to keep seeing where this is headed. Barring some final, long-awaited splash on the open market, Randle certainly fits within the team's long-term rebuilding plans and should be back.
If not, estimates certainly suggest Randle is in for a healthy market.
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