The summers of 2018 and 2019 were always supposed to be where the Los Angeles Lakers became a title contender. They struck gold in 2018 by signing LeBron James, and now have their sights set on getting another star this offseason.
The Lakers have been tied to almost every name in this free agent class at some point. Whether Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins or Anthony Davis, the Lakers should manage to add a second All-Star.
The ESPN Forecast Panel predicted many things for the upcoming summer, and one of the categories was how successful the Lakers would be. And by an overwhelming margin, they decided that the Lakers would get one and only one max free agent to join the team:
The Lakers can add two max players next to LeBron James this summer, but because of their cap sheet, it will likely require trading for a star (such as Anthony Davis) after signing a big free agent.
Even if L.A. wins the AD trade sweepstakes, executing that timing might be tough. Our panel thinks it’s most likely the Lakers land one more star, but not multiple.
While the Lakers have been linked to several marquee free agents, their odds of faring well with the creme of the crop aren’t believed to be high.
The Forecast Panel went through each individual major free agent and predicted where they will go. Davis was put on the Boston Celtics, Durant was put on the New York Knicks, Irving was kept on the Celtics pairing him and Davis, Leonard was confidently placed on the Los Angeles Clippers, and Thompson was kept on the Golden State Warriors.