Lakers Rumors: ‘Several’ Lakers got enticing offers from other teams but still picked LA

Recent Lakers rumors are that several players picked Los Angeles over other teams around the league.

If recent Lakers rumors are accurate, it certainly appears like the Los Angeles Lakers have cemented themselves as a destination site in the league once again.

Without a doubt, the idea of the Los Angeles Lakers having a traditional “Big 3” would have been amazing. If the Lakers got Kawhi Leonard, it would have meant the team possessed three of the top five players on the globe.

The sheer thought of that would have been terrifying for the rest of the league. Developing a game plan on how to guard that hypothetical “Big 3” would have been the furthest thing from an easy task.

Of course, at this juncture teams do not have to worry about that when they face the Lakers this season. Although that is true, the purple and gold still have more than a formidable roster.

The Lakers have an excellent amount of depth and managed to address core areas of weakness from past years. One of those particular departments that the front office improved upon was three-point shooting.

Given how the modern NBA generally is, the fact that the Lakers have more weapons from outside is encouraging. It will enable the team to remain competitive in games where, say the defense is not performing all too well.

However, on nights where the Lakers are struggling from the field, the defense should be able to pick up the slack. Their frontcourt alone will be quite a nightmare for just about anyone to go through.

Granted waiting for Leonard made the Lakers lose out on some good role players, the squad was still able to snag quality pieces, nevertheless.

Certainly, the acquisition of Anthony Davis sheds light on the Lakers’ success in free agency. The big man remains young and his game arguably carries no significant limitations. Thus, it begs the question: “Who wouldn’t want to join forces with him?”

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Let alone AD, everyone knew LeBron James was already in town. Therefore, whilst Los Angeles may not have been able to boast a “Big 3,” so to speak, they still had a dynamic duo to pitch to free agents.

That factor instantly made the Lakers a tough team to merely pass on. The presence of those two alone make the purple and gold a championship-type contender. Not to mention that the team did not have to trade Kyle Kuzma to the Pelicans. What a blessing that was.

That being said, it makes sense as to why the storied franchise was able to score a lot of quality role players this offseason.

Yes, it required a great deal of sacrifice to get to this point. Despite that, the Lakers should be mighty happy to be in the position they are in.

Per a report from Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, “several” players ultimately picked the Lakers over other teams that likewise had offers on the table. Ron Gutterman of Lakers Nation transcribed what Ganguli specifically said on the matter.

"“The Lakers got Anthony Davis. Sure, they had to remake their team and give up all but one of their young draft picks to get him, but if it works it will work big. And while their wait for Leonard might have lost them some players, they are now in a position where free agents want to be part of what they’ve built. Several players who signed with the Lakers had similar competing offers from other teams, but this was where they wanted to be.”"

Hearing this scoop should be a breath of fresh air for those who bleed purple and gold. Over the last few years, the team’s free agency pitches have not been successful by any stretch of the imagination.

Certainly, over that span, the team was involved in a smorgasbord of free agency rumors. A couple big tier names even seemed destined to be donning a Lakers uniform. Yet, not a whole lot went as the Lakers hoped despite their best efforts.

The constant disappointment caused many to wonder about the direction the team was headed in. To go from being a championship contender year after year to hardly being relevant was not something folks were used to witnessing.

However, the fortunes have finally reversed. The Lakers are definitely relevant again, to say the least. Appearance wise, this is the best spot the team has been in what has seemed to be forever by Lakers’ standards.

Appearance does not always necessarily correlate to success, though. The 2003-2004 Lakers are a perfect example of that. That roster had what one could argue was a “Big 4” and that did not reel in a championship.

Even though looks are not always everything, indeed, the Lakers are in a strong position at the moment. The roster is more balanced than it has been in a handful of seasons, which provides more than enough reason to be excited.

Regardless of how the dice is rolled, Los Angeles is once again at the center of the basketball world. That is what is important at the end of the day. Players are interested in playing for the Lakers in lieu of wanting to seemingly be just about anyone else.

Sure, no one can predict how things will be initially. Chemistry is never built overnight. At the same time, exhaling is appropriate. The Lakers are a prominent team to be a part of and the NBA world knows it.