Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Richaun Holmes

The Los Angeles Lakers are sitting in a free-agent holding pattern at the moment.

The rest of the Lakers offseason plans revolve around Kawhi Leonard's decision.

If he signs with the Lakers, they have to add cheap players to fill out the back end of their roster. If Leonard decides to go elsewhere, the Lakers would then have a max spot available and plenty of cap space to attract lower-tier free agents to join up with Anthony Davis and LeBron James. 

Even though the offseason is only a few weeks old, the Lakers can already be viewed as winners because of the successful trade with the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire Davis. 

Adding Leonard would be an extra boost to a franchise that has positioned itself nicely to go after a championship during the 2019-20 NBA season.  

Latest Lakers Rumors

Kawhi Leonard

According to Tania Ganguli and Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Magic Johnson spoke with Leonard and his uncle Sunday.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Since Johnson no longer works for the Lakers organization, he is not allowed to meet with Leonard on their behalf, but he is still allowed to provide advice and perspective to the top free agent left on the market. 

Leonard's decision-making process could be a slow one, as Yahoo's Chris Haynes reported that he sat out the first day of free agency. 

The Lakers are in competition with the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors for Leonard's signature after they created a max spot by adding the Washington Wizards as a third team in the Davis deal and convinced Davis to waive his $4 million trade bonus, per ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks. 

Los Angeles has positioned itself nicely to bring in Leonard, and if that is the case, it has to be viewed as the title favorite with the Golden State Warriors dealing with injuries and Toronto's top star taken away from it. 

Going after Leonard is a bold move, but the Lakers have the long-term championship potential that could intrigue the two-time NBA Finals MVP enough to join the squad.

One of the main reasons why Leonard would be against joining the Lakers is wanting to be the main superstar on a team.

If Leonard feels like he is best suited without other superstars around him, he can choose to sign with the Clippers and play close to home in California, or re-sign with Toronto and go after more championships there.

Danny Green 

According to Danny Green's podcast co-host Harrison D. Sanford, the Lakers are one of many teams the free agent expects to hear from. 

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Green would become more of an intriguing option for the Lakers if they are able to secure Leonard's signature since the two of them played together in San Antonio and Toronto. 

No matter what happens with Leonard, the Lakers are going to need to find a few veteran players on the free-agent market to fill out an empty roster. 

Green's championship-winning experience could prove to be vital alongside Davis and James, as there are not many players available with his resume. 

If the Lakers miss out on Leonard, they could try to draw Green away from playing with his long-time teammate with more money since their max spot would not be filled.

Without Leonard, the Lakers would likely distribute that money around to veteran players in order to bring some stability to a depth chart that could still be filled out by cheap young players. 

Richaun Holmes

According to HoopsHype's Alex Kennedy, Richaun Holmes has received interest from the Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls. 

Steve Dipaola/Associated Press

Holmes fits the profile of the type of player the Lakers need to go after once the Leonard decision comes down. 

As Kennedy pointed out, Holmes averaged 8.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 16.9 minutes per game for Phoenix last season.

Those numbers are exactly what the Lakers are after when it comes to second-and-third-tier free agents. 

If the Lakers can sign a few players like Holmes, who have experience and can produce at a solid clip off the bench, they will be in a better position to avoid a drop off in production when Davis and James are on the bench.

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