There has been no shortage of rumors as far as what the Los Angeles Lakers may do to reload and make one more run at an NBA championship next season.
Next season could be LeBron James’ swan song in the Purple and Gold. Therefore, it makes sense for the team to go all out to earn another Larry O’Brien trophy. But, of course, there are limits to what is reasonable and prudent.
With the recent news that future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul may soon become a free agent, there was instant speculation the Lakers might go after him. A recent report by Jovan Buha of The Athletic indicated they may try to sign him to a veteran’s minimum contract while retaining current starting point guard D’Angelo Russell.
In fact, Marc Stein wrote in his substack that the Lakers’ Plan A is to snag Paul as a free agent while still re-signing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, their two most important players who are about to become free agents themselves (h/t ClutchPoints).
Via Marc Stein Substack:
“It is feasible to some unknown degree that the Lakers could elect to amend their plans and decide, in the end, that they do want to pursue Irving this summer. But that would be a dramatic departure from the Lakers’ current Plan A, which calls for re-signing free agents Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and trying to sign Chris Paul as a free agent should Paul make it to the open market in the wake of his inclusion in the Beal-to-Phoenix trade.”
Of course, the rumors L.A. may go after Irving simply refuse to die, no matter how unlikely it is that he will end up in the Purple and Gold.