One big question for every NBA team

Will the Lakers put themselves in position to land a superstar next summer?

We’ve heard all the rumors. Paul George is apparently dead set on bolting to the Lakers in 2018, and the buzz connecting LeBron to Los Angeles hasn’t gone away. With Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka in charge, the specter of the Lakers is looming over the league once again.

In terms of finances and accounting, the Lakers took the first step in clearing space to sign two max players next summer by trading Timo Mozgov’s albatross to the Nets. Offloading Luol Deng’s deal will be another pivotal transaction Los Angeles will have to make, although they don’t have to rush that move just yet. The Lakers will eventually need to dump Julius Randle’s cap hold next summer and they might also have trade Jordan Clarkson. They can execute all these moves somewhat easily, although they will have to throw future assets into any Deng trade.

How the Lakers’ on-court performance this coming season potentially impacts their 2018 free agency scheme is a big unknown though. If the Lakers are a train wreck this year and Lonzo Ball disappoints, perhaps the superstars linked to Los Angeles will be less willing to join. Kevin Durant declined to meet with his hometown Wizards after their disastrous, injury-plagued 2015-16 season. Timing is everything in the NBA. But these are the Los Angeles Lakers, not the Washington Wizards. The prospect of creating a Lakers superteam might trump such concerns.