Lakers Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on LeBron James

The Los Angeles Lakers may be taking themselves out of the LeBron James free-agent sweepstakes.

The four-time MVP will be able to sign with the team of his choosing this summer, and the Lakers were all in on making trades that would free up enough cap space to land him.

But now, it looks as though president of basketball operations Magic Johnson won't be making any big moves before Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski, the odds are now "50-50 at best" that Los Angeles pulls the trigger on any deal.

For weeks, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson have been offered up in talks around the league, but none of the packages have included the most important need on the Lakers' wishlist: salary-cap relief.

In the hunt to land two superstars this summer, they would need to clear enough money off the books to offer two max contracts. That would require moving Clarkson, who is owed $12.5 million next season and $13.4 million the following year. Randle is still on his rookie deal, but he will be looking for a raise.

Although he's been playing well, averaging 14.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, he's consistently offered in potential trade deals, which is perhaps the biggest signal that Los Angeles is wary of investing in him further.

Then there's Luol Deng's whopping contract. He's only played in one game, so paying him $36.8 million over the next two years to be buried on the bench has to hurt. The Lakers need to move him.

The reality that these complicated moves may be too much to accomplish by Thursday seems to be settling in for Los Angeles, so they are now looking further down the road to the summer of 2019, per ESPN's league sources.

The Lakers no longer have eyes for Paul George, who seems smitten with the idea of staying with Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder (see video below), or DeMarcus Cousins, who will have a long road ahead recovering from an Achilles injury.

Fans may even have to give up on the idea of James, too. He's reportedly not going anywhere unless that team has another superstar riding shotgun, which the Lakers don't have, yet.

So 2019 it is.

Obviously, James is the biggest fish in the league, but there's others waiting to be snagged should Los Angeles choose to wait.

The Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson, Minnesota Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler and San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard could all be up for grabs, for the right price.

Waiting to add a big name to the roster won't sit well with Lakers fans, but it will give the team more time to create salary-cap space and evaluate its young talent, especially Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Rookie of the Year candidate Kyle Kuzma.

At 22-31, Los Angeles is in 11th place in the Western Conference with no real shot to make the playoffs, but it bodes well for the future that it has found a rhythm, having won 10 of its last 14 games.

If these young players continue to develop and create a new culture of winning, they'll only make joining the Purple and Gold that much more attractive for the 2019 free-agent class.