Lakers News: Latest on Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James Rumors and More

The Los Angeles Lakers are all-in on the 2018 offseason. They have the assets and cap space available to obtain three max-level players, specifically LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

James and George are the simplest duo; the Lakers don't have to work hard to open up two max contract slots in July. Leonard is the difficult one, as acquiring him would require giving up on a number of young players on the roster and the San Antonio Spurs' willingness to trade Kawhi to a Western Conference team.

Suffice it to say there's a lot of moving parts to be handled over the next couple weeks.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith seems to think it's a waiting game in regards to Leonard.

"From what I am being told…he's made it very, very clear that he’s looking to go to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers and he does not care about the $219 million super max he could sign," Smith said on ESPN Radio Los Angeles last week.

Leonard was born in Los Angeles and could also benefit financially in the long run from a move to Los Angeles. The Jordan Brand reportedly lowballed Leonard in negotiations for a new contract, which has led to a bit of a stalemate, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright. Leonard isn't necessarily the type of personality who sells shoes, but having him be the face of the most famous franchise in the world could atone for his lack of showmanship.

Sam Amick of USA Today reported the Lakers have been told in no uncertain terms that Leonard will either be a Spur or play for an Eastern Conference team next season. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have trade packages that are more enticing than anything the Lakers could offer.

As for LeBron, it appears he'll be making his free-agency decision independent of any other stars—a change from the last two times he hit the open market. In 2010, he coordinated a move to Miami with Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade. In 2014, Kyrie Irving was already in place, and it was the NBA's worst-kept secret that Kevin Love wasn't far behind.

Despite no assurances of a second superstar, ESPN's Brian Windhorst offered his opinion on James' future and made the Lakers the favorite. 

"Right now, I’m 51 percent LeBron to [the Lakers], regardless of Paul George or Kawhi Leonard…if I was percentage-wise, I would say 51 percent [to] L.A., 40 percent [to stay in] Cleveland and nine percent [to] Philadelphia. That’s where I’m at right now," Windhorst said on the Lowe Post podcast.

Windhorst was only offering his (informed) opinion. The reality is no one besides those closest to LeBron knows what he's going to do—if he even knows at this juncture. What's abundantly clear is that Cleveland and Los Angeles look like the overwhelming favorites.

Houston and Philly, once viewed as real contenders, are now seen as being far on the outside.