LeBron James signed a 4-year, $154M contract to become a Los Angeles Laker on Sunday.
This coming after Paul George signed a 4-year, $147M contract to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So if George isn’t coming to LA, and the Spurs have shown no interest in trading Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers, who is going to be playing with the King?
I’m a little surprised at the current combination of Lance Stephenson, Javale McGee, and Rajon Rondo… but those are all 1-year contracts, which opens up A TON of flexibility for next season.
LeBron has called DeMarcus Cousins “the best big man in the game” before, so, even though he signed with the Warriors on a 1-year, $5.3M deal yesterday, there’s still a big chance that he could end up signing in LA next year. Cousins won’t play until late December or January anyway, since he is coming off of an Achilles injury. Who knows when he’ll be back to form?
So who else is left this year? Not a lot of big names, but guys that could fit.
- Wayne Ellington (great from 3)
- Nick Young (Swaggy P back in LA? He’s a shooter…)
- Tyreke Evans (he can score)
- Dwayne Wade (he did well for Miami… but he didn’t do well for Cleveland early last season)
…and that’s where I start to run out of names.
But here’s what King James is looking at for next season (2019):
- Carmelo Anthony
- Klay Thompson
- Kawhi Leonard
- Kemba Walker
- DeMarcus Cousins
Imagine Klay or Kemba, Melo, and Kawhi in LA with the King and possibly Boogie Cousins.
So if you’re looking for the Lakers to win a championship… don’t look for it this season. Look for 2019.