The Los Angeles Lakers had an eventful free agency. We take a look at three takeaways for the team from 2019 NBA Free Agency.
That sure was fun Los Angeles Lakers fans! For months and months, we enjoyed speculating about what players would be on the Lakers roster next season. We also endlessly conjectured about where all the unprecedented number of star free agents would sign.
Now that the dust has settled, the biggest surprise might well be what a master manipulator quiet superstar Kawhi Leonard turned out to be.
Most everyone thought that his delay at choosing a team was due to indecision. But, in actuality behind the scenes, he stealthily convinced Paul George to demand a trade to join him with the Clippers. In retrospect, we can see that Leonard apparently wanted to play with one other star, but not two.
What would Kawhi have done if the Thunder hadn’t agreed to trade George to the Clippers for two players and a bushel of draft picks? That would be subject once again to speculation and conjecture. Instead, let’s focus on reality rather than “what-if?”.
And the reality is that the Clippers have added a couple of All-Star forwards to what had been regarded as a gritty but non-contending roster. And the Lakers can counter with two top forwards of their own in LeBron James, who of course signed with them a year ago, and Anthony Davis, for whom they traded away most of their young potential stars and a bundle of draft picks.
In the end, here are three takeaways about what the offseason meant for the Lakers.