Lakers Rumors: What's Next For Los Angeles After Signing LeBron James In 2018 Free Agency?

The Los Angeles Lakers won the biggest prize in free agency by signing LeBron James to a four-year contract. The move puts L.A. back in the playoff picture for the first time in five years, drastically improving a team that finished 12 games under .500 a season ago.

Now, it’s time to see what kind of help the organization will give to the league’s best player. Much has been made about the Lakers’ ability to add not just one, but two superstars this offseason

James was the first All-Star to make the leap and commit to donning the purple and gold in the 2018-2019 season. Will anyone else join him?

The Lakers have already missed out on the star player that many assumed would inevitably head out West. A year after Paul George told the Indiana Pacers he planned on signing with Los Angeles in 2018 free agency, the forward decided to commit to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Indiana traded George to Oklahoma City shortly after he made his intentions known to the organization last June.

Chris Paul made a similar move by signing a four-year deal with the Houston Rockets. The Los Angeles Clippers sent the point guard to Houston in the summer of 2017.

DeMarcus Cousins is the only remaining player selected to the 2018 All-Star team that’s available in free agency. The big man didn’t play in the game after rupturing his Achilles, and the injury will limit the kind of contract he’ll be offered. There have been rumors this offseason that Cousins could go to the Lakers on a short-term deal as he looks to prove that he can still perform like one of the league’s top players.

Los Angeles, however, no longer appears to be in a position to sign Cousins. Shortly after James announced that he would be a Laker, the team made several reported additions to the roster, erasing almost all of their available salary cap space.

The Lakers are reportedly bringing back Kentavious Caldwell-Pope back on a one-year deal for $12 million. Lance Stephenson is coming to Los Angeles for $4.5 million, according to reports. JaVale McGee will go from beating James in the NBA Finals to being his teammate just a few months later, earning a $2.4 million salary for the 2018-2019 season.

ESPN’s Chris Haynes reported Monday that the Lakers have a meeting scheduled with Tyreke Evans. Adding him could limit Los Angeles’ options to simply signing free agents to minimum salary contracts.

Decisions on Julius Randle and Luol Deng are the key to creating more cap space. The Lakers could let Randle walk as an unrestricted free agent, saving them a little more than $12 million. Using the stretch provision on Luol Deng’s contract—Deng is owed nearly $37 million over the next two years—would also give the Lakers more money to spend.

If the Lakers are going to add another game-changer this summer, it’ll likely be through a trade. They no longer appear to have the money to land Cousins and there aren’t any other free agents that would move the needle in L.A.

The possibility of trading for Kawhi Leonard didn’t go away with the signing of James. L.A. still has valuable assets that can get a deal done with the San Antonio Spurs, who seem ready to trade their best player. It's just a matter of whether or not the Lakers are willing to match the Spurs’ asking price.

It’s no secret that Leonard wants to play for the Lakers. James joined the Lakers without there being another All-Star on the roster, indicating that he’s prepared to wait to compete for a title and not be among the championship favorites next year. Maybe Los Angeles will play out the 2018-2019 season with most of last year’s roster plus James, hoping to land Leonard in free agency a year from now. According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, the Spurs have received underwhelming trade offers from the Lakers.

All of the free agents not named LeBron James that are coming to Los Angeles are doing so on one-year deals. The Lakers will have room under the salary cap to sign another max salary player next year.

Of course, the Lakers would risk missing out on Leonard completely by not trading for him. That’s what happened when the team decided not to trade for George a year ago. The All-Star fell in love with Oklahoma City after just one season and decided to stay put.

The Philadelphia 76ers are considered to be serious players for Leonard. Acquiring him could arguably give Philadelphia the best team in the East. Would Leonard leave a 76ers’ team that just made the NBA Finals for a Lakers’ team that might get bounced in the second round of the 2019 playoffs?

James will get the Lakers to the postseason, even in the West. There’s no doubting that. He dragged a Cleveland Cavaliers’ team that had no business being a championship contender to the 2018 NBA Finals.

But switching conferences for the league’s best player changes things. His streak of consecutive NBA Finals appearances is in serious jeopardy.

James doesn’t make the Lakers a real threat to dethrone the Golden State Warriors if he’s the only superstar on the team. Playing alongside another star like Leonard would give him a fighting chance.