The Future:
What happens next? The Lakers will absolutely strive to sign an elite free agent this summer. But there’s no guarantee they will succeed. And if they don’t, we can expect that Magic will likely again offer up his youngsters as trade bait so that LeBron can have at least one more star beside him.
That approach might bring some short-term success, but it doesn’t bode well for the long run. Remember that both times James opted to leave the Cavs behind and sign elsewhere, the team totally collapsed the following year. This season they have one of the worst records in the NBA. Miami fared a bit better, having compiled a mediocre 195-188 W-L record in the 4 ½ years since he left.
Should we expect something similar in LA when LeBron moves on or fades out? Had they acquired Davis, the Lakers might well be poised to make a major title run now. But since they would have gutted their roster to get him, what would the future hold once the now 34-year-old James’s skills start to diminish?
Would a Davis-led Lakers team become as mediocre as the Davis-led Pelicans have been? That’s not a very appealing prospect, is it? It’s certainly not exactly creating a “sustainable contender”, as Johnson once preached.
Stay tuned and we’ll all see whether Magic allows LeBron to continue to exercise a major influence on what Johnson should do to move the Laker franchise forward.