Prior to LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, many believed that they needed to have another superstar in place. However, that wasn’t the case.
Coming into free agency, the Los Angeles Lakers clearly had their eyes set on LeBron James. As the best player in NBA and the best free agent available, he was priority number one. However, there were certainly some concerns about whether or not James would sign with the Lakers without another star in place.
Many thought that the Lakers were going to be able to sign Paul George, but he shockingly decided to stay in Oklahoma City. In addition to George, the Lakers were also linked to Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs. However, the asking price for Leonard was far too high and the Lakers never appeared to be close to a deal with the Spurs.
Recently, LeBron James spoke with Rachel Nichols about his decision to join the Lakers. In the interview, James spoke about not pushing the Lakers to make a deal for Leonard.
"“Because I love the young guys that they have, and I’m not trying to force my hand in no way, shape or form. I believe Rob [Pelinka] and Magic [Johnson] and Jeanie [Buss] have done an unbelievable job of reshaping what the organization should be, keeping Dr. Buss’ dreams and what he was all about, to keep that going. I feel like they know what’s best for the team and I wanted to be a piece to continue that motion of being back to a championship franchise where they should be.”"
In order for the Lakers to acquire Leonard, they would have lost nearly their entire core of young talent. Rebuilding for the Lakers has not been a quick or easy process, but they have done a very nice job the last few years.
While the duo of LeBron and Leonard would have been deadly, there wouldn’t have been much else in place. Now, the Lakers still have the young core in place and will have the opportunity to sign Leonard in the offseason.
Even though the Raptors might be a good team in the Eastern Conference next season, seeing Leonard commit to them long-term would be shocking. Leonard reportedly wants to play for the Lakers, and having James on the team should only help their chances of signing him. By James not demanding the Lakers to get Leonard, the franchise is set up for sustained success for years to come.