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Los Angeles Lakers: 5 ring chasers to pursue this summer

By Jason Reed

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Blake Griffin #2 of the Brooklyn Nets is guarded by Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during Game One of the Eastern Conference second round series at Barclays Center on June 05, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 05: Blake Griffin #2 of the Brooklyn Nets is guarded by Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during Game One of the Eastern Conference second round series at Barclays Center on June 05, 2021 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Mike Conley

Mike Conley is an unrestricted free agent this offseason who has the power to determine where he wants to go, even if the team he wants to sign with does not have the cap space to bring him in. That is the situation with the Los Angeles Lakers.

This all depends on what Conley wants to do but if he wanted to be a Laker then he could make it happen. As a free agent, all Conley would have to do is approach the Utah Jazz, inform them of his desire and work out a sign-and-trade to get him to LA.

The pitch to the Jazz would be the fact that they could get something for Conley instead of letting him (and the cap space) walk for free.  Most of the time teams will bite on this, but it would not be totally surprising to see Utah say no if they do not want to help the Lakers.

The return for Utah would likely be a sign-and-trade with Dennis Schroder, Kyle Kuzma and maybe the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Regardless, the return would revolve around Schroder and Kuzma.

Schroder would give the team its starting point guard while Kuzma could come off the bench and fill a need at the four for Utah. Conley, meanwhile, would come to Los Angeles as the Lakers’ true third star and provide a third scorer as well as someone who fits the offensive mold of this team.

Conley has been a winner throughout his career but has never won the big one, let alone played in an NBA Finals game. He told reporters after the season that his number one priority moving forward is to win a championship and there may not be a better place to do that than Los Angeles.

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