Lakers Rumors: Latest on Jimmy Butler Pursuit and Offseason Plans

So begins one of the most important stretches in recent Los Angeles Lakers history.

Rumors surrounding the team continue to hit a fever pitch ahead of the NBA's draft lottery, where the Lakers hope to once again land a top-five selection to place next to Kobe Bryant and big-name free agents.

Right now, the biggest rumblings center on those free agents, as the league has started to give a better idea of which players will reach the open market.

Here's a look at the latest.

Lakers Hunting for Jimmy Butler?

It's no secret one of the players the Lakers seem to covet as free agency approaches is Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler. 

Something can't be a secret when so many teams share obvious interest, right? 

According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, though, the Lakers continue to come up more than most with regard to Butler:

"

The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, sources say, are only the two teams you hear about most when it comes to making runs at Butler. There will most definitely be others, no matter how often the Bulls say in the coming days -- and you'll hear it a ton -- that they intend to match any offer he gets.

"

Interesting, right? Like the New York Knicks, the Lakers are a legendary franchise forsaking their past instant-gratification ways in an effort to take on a long-term rebuild in hopes that it works.

Butler is a good way to go. One of the league's premier young guards, he is just 26 years old, but he averaged 20.0 points, 3.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game last year with a 21.32 player efficiency rating, per ESPN.com.

The free-agency situation surrounding Butler is unpredictable, so it's not fair to say the Lakers are already out of the running. It's something worth keeping an eye on as things progress.

Suitors for Wesley Johnson Emerge

The Lakers don't seem sure about what to do with Wesley Johnson, the 27-year-old forward who has spent the last few years with the team on one-year deals and posted a career-high 9.9 points per game last season.

How about a twist? The Los Angeles Clippers might have a plan for him, per ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne: "The Clippers have interest in Lakers swingman Wes Johnson, according to sources."

It's hard to know how the Lakers feel about the rumblings, as the last peep from the organization about Johnson came from InsideSoCal.com's Mark Medina: "All of which leaves the Lakers with mixed feelings on whether they want to retain Johnson once he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1."

Johnson doesn't sound like a player the Lakers will enter a bidding war over, but it also doesn't sound like they think he has reached his ceiling. It will make for quite an interesting duel if both teams calling Los Angeles home want Johnson.

Lakers Can Play That Game

For what it's worth, the steal-local-teams'-players shtick seems to go both ways.

In the same nugget from Shelburne, it's also revealed that the Lakers would like to pursue Clippers center DeAndre Jordan: "The Lakers would likewise love to steal Jordan away from their Staples Center rival."

Many other teams in the league would love to do the same. Jordan's just 26 years old and coming off a season in which he averaged 11.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Plenty of max contracts figure to fly in Jordan's direction this offseason if the Clippers let him slip to the open market, including one from the Lakers.

It makes too much sense. Jordan would pair well with young Julius Randle down low and give the Lakers the flexibility to grab one of the draft's top guards—D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay—to forge half of the backcourt of the future.

The Jordan saga in Los Angeles won't end for a long time, especially now that the Lakers seem set to enter the fray too.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.