Lakers Rumors: Signing Kevin Love Integral to LA's Instant-Rebuild Plans

Hello, Internet patrons. What you've opened is yet another screed on the possibility of Kevin Love joining the Lakers, one of literally millions that show up when you start using your fingers on the old Google box.

It'll be far from the last, especially with the Lakers possessing a treasure trove of cap space and Love heading into unrestricted free agency.

The general gists of these Love-Lakers articles generally go through the same (albeit necessary) pattern, so let's just get it over with now. 

The Lakers are bad. Worse than they've been in the entire history of their franchise. They've won 48 games over the past two seasons. For a general frame of reference, the Lakers have won 48 or more games in 25 different seasons since Magic Johnson arrived in 1979, including a string of 12 straight. They're currently coached by Byron Scott, whose performance drew such low marks some wondered if the Lakers hired him to actively tank their season. Their best player is Kobe Bryant, an undeniable legend who has played 41 games the last two years and looked cooked before his latest season-ending injury. They share a building with the Clippers, who despite their playoff failures have three stars worthy of All-NBA distinction.

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We could probably deep-dive the Lakers' downfall for thousands of words or just keep listing things for another 125-word paragraph. But yeah: Suffice it to say, the Lakers and their fans could use a reason to feel optimistic.

Love is just that.

Many will use Love's disappointing stint in Cleveland as evidence he's "not a superstar" or "not a championship-level player," but those opinions are bad and not good and you should shelve them, unless you enjoy ridicule. Love is a uniquely gifted offensive player, the proverbial stretch 4 who also has one of the league's best and most varied post games. The Cavaliers' endless array of high pick-and-rolls did little to highlight Love's unique skills.

Which, of course, is part of the reason Love had the general disposition of an accountant on Tax Day all season. Love isn't part of LeBron James' Cavaliers posse. In fact, the two basically spent the entire season subtweeting one another—sometimes figuratively and other times literally.

The icy relationship is how you end up with exchanges like the ones shared by Grantland's Zach Lowe and ESPN's Brian Windhorst on the former's podcast (via RealGM):

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"Every executive I talk to, every agent I talk to, every quasi insider, every girlfriend's cousin's sister's boyfriend all says this guy is out of there," Windhorst said.

"I hear the same thing from everybody," said Lowe. "From everyone that is two or three or four steps removed. I don't quite believe all of that ... Part of what's going on there is the Lakers' boogeyman. They don't just say he's out of there, they say 'He's going to the Lakers.' That has much to do with the fear people have of the Lakers as it does with Kevin Love."

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Again, nothing new. Love's not super-happy in Cleveland and he's from the L.A. area, so everyone puts on their Basic Reasoning hats and marries the two facts. I'm of the opinion that all free agents are staying in their current location until I receive word that they aren't, so the "will he or won't he" of it all is totally insignificant.

For the Lakers, though, it could mean everything.

The Lakers already got their first big win of the summer, leapfrogging two teams to land the No. 2 pick in June's draft. Taking personal rankings out of the equation—I currently have Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell second on my board—conventional wisdom is that L.A. will select the leftover of Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke's Jahlil Okafor.

Towns has reached a near-consensus as the draft's top prospect, but the Timberwolves, who own the top selection, don't appear convinced. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reported Timberwolves (insert one of 30 titles here) Flip Saunders "really likes" Okafor. A lot can and will change between now and June, but somehow landing Towns makes the Love partnership all the more palatable.

Unlike Okafor, a classic back-to-the-basket type who would create some skill overlap, Towns projects as a lethal pairing with Love. Towns has elite length and good shot-blocking instincts, providing a rim protector who would help hide Love's defensive deficiencies. He's also a talented offensive player who can spread the floor, possibly giving the Lakers a nearly ideal combination of floor spacing and defensive acumen.

The No. 2 pick is one of three Los Angeles has in the first 34 selections. The latter two, Nos. 27 and 34, are arguably as interesting as the first. Cost-controlled selections in that range have never been more valuable, and it's possible (perhaps even likely) that general manager Mitch Kupchak will parlay those pieces into an immediate fit.

The Lakers will have around $30 million in cap space once they're done declining Jordan Hill's option and waiving non-guaranteed flotsam. Targeting a Wilson Chandler type with those picks would fill a need at the wing and leave L.A. enough cap space to pursue Love. Trevor Ariza, Courtney Lee and, if you want to go nuclear, Lance Stephenson are among the other wings who are in the same general price range who might be available for the right price.

All of these moves are possible sans a Love signing. They're just nowhere near as meaningful.

LaMarcus Aldridge fills some of the same criteria but turns 30 in July. Marc Gasol is already 30. DeAndre Jordan isn't giving up $30 million to move across the hall. None of the teams with elite restricted free agents are going to allow their guys to walk. Rajon Rondo is no longer good at basketball, Brook Lopez is chronically injured and Paul Millsap isn't moving the needle.

Love is the only player on the market this summer with the correct combination of age, skill and star power. He's the Lakers' all-or-nothing option, the only guy they could sign and then plan around as a foundational post-Kobe piece. The only other reasonable option on the table is doing absolutely nothing and tanking away the 2015-16 season even more severely than this one in the hopes of landing a top-three pick.

Given all the indications that this is Kobe's swan song, a meek exit isn't likely in the team's plans. The Lakers are going to sign a max-level player come hell or high water. Whether it's Love or not may ultimately decide whether this is the first move of a true rebuilding effort or a shortsighted decision by an organization on a wayward path.

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