Los Angeles Lakers: 5 steps to championship contention

1. Sign a superstar free agent and then trade for Anthony Davis

This is probably the most obvious step to get the Lakers back into the championship mix but by far the hardest to pull off. The Lakers have been built on superstar talent since the days of George Mikan, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, moving on through the years to Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

With numerous superstar names to target in free agency, there is only one I think the Lakers should consider: Kawhi Leonard.

With Kawhi you get one of the best players in the league, capable of being the best player on the floor every single night. He brings elite level defense to a Lakers squad that badly needs it, an elite ability to score at will and a long term future for the Lakers after LeBron is gone.

Regardless of if the Lakers strike out or land Kawhi Leonard, they need to go all out to land Anthony Davis.  A trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard would be a trio of top 10 superstars of which the league has never seen. On any given night you will have to defend Lebron, Kawhi or AD. You might be able to stop one, maybe even two but there is no way you shut down all three.

With the Boston Celtics seemingly falling to pieces over the last month or so, the likelihood that Kyrie Irving staying with the Boston Celtics dwindles each day. If Kyrie leaves Boston, the market for Davis will grow smaller as the best possible trade piece is off the table in Jayson Tatum.

The Lakers should use this opportunity to land Davis but not at the expense of the Lakers entire young core. Kyle Kuzma should be removed from any trade talks, instead, including Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Moritz Wagner and Josh Hart, the Lakers lottery pick this year and an unprotected 1st round pick in 2022.

This is similar to the offer Magic and Co. gave during trade talks minus Kuzma. The numbers would be extremely tight but it would just about work cap wise.

With the Lakers virtually out of the playoff race, all eyes should be firmly set on this summer and fixing what can be fixed.