Los Angeles Lakers: Why we won’t see any big offseason signings

2. The Los Angeles Lakers’ core is set up for two years

If you look at how the Los Angeles Lakers did business in brining in talent around LeBron James and Anthony Davis then you would notice that the front office seemingly has a two-year plan in mind with this core.

Every single player right now, except for LeBron, will be an unrestricted or restricted free agent by 2020. Some are this offseason, some are the following, but nobody outside of LeBron is signed past two years.

Even LeBron could opt-out if he really wanted to as he has a player option for the 2021 season.

Danny Green, Quinn Cook, Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kyle Kuzma will all be free agents after the 2020 season while Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley and JaVale McGee have player options that they are likely going to accept after this season.

Outside of the buyout guys, Dwight Howard is the only part of the Lakers core that will be an unrestricted free agent no matter what after the season.

There are multiple reasons the Lakers did this: first is to pivot with LeBron James potentially leaving and building around Davis or potentially even LeBron taking a lesser salary in his later years to bring in another star around AD and himself.

Also, the front office likely wanted to give all of these guys that second-year guarantee, and it is paying off. The team has gelled quicker than most quickly constructed teams have ever gelled and the chemistry is undeniable.

The Lakers might add small pickups like a buyout or veteran minimum guy, but they are not going to be shopping on the free-agent market to replace a core that has performed just fine thus far. Which leads us into the third and final point.