Under the leadership of president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka, the Los Angeles Lakers made great strides this past season.
Relying on youngsters Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles won 35 games — a nine-win increase from the previous season.
The backdrop to what was an improved young roster was obviously talk that the Lakers will be big time players in free agency this coming summer. By virtue of selling off the contracts of Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. in a trade with Cleveland, Los Angeles now has room for two max-contract players.
Linked to LeBron James and Paul George in free agency as well as Kawhi Leonard in a potential trade, Los Angeles is now reportedly telling other teams that no player on its roster is untouchable.
“While they like their young core and would prefer to keep those players growing together, they have told teams no player is untouchable in trades, according to multiple sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of trade and free-agent negotiations,” Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Short of being able to acquire the frustrated Kawhi Leonard from San Antonio, it seems that Los Angeles would be better off focusing solely on free agency.
Then again, there’s a chance other star players could be made available this summer. That group now reportedly includes Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
If we’ve learned anything from the Magic-led Lakers front office, it’s that the team is not afraid to make a bold move.
Whether that includes trading one of Los Angeles’ core young pieces for a more proven star remains to be seen. At the very least, the Lakers are obviously telling other teams they’re open for business.