Lakers fans get good news about LeBron James from Vegas

Lakers fans desperate to see their team sign a big name free agent this summer may get their wish. They’re the new favorites to sign LeBron James.

Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers are in for a very long, and potentially very painful summer. The team desperately wants to re-sign LeBron James, but the odds aren’t in their favor. In fact, Las Vegas now believes the Los Angeles Lakers are a massive favorite to sign James this summer.

Betonline.ag has gone so far as to name the Lakers minus-money favorites to sign this summer’s most coveted free agent. They give LA -110 odds to secure James’ signature. In other words, you would need to bet $110 to win $100 on such a wager.

The Lakers are followed by the 76ers and Cavaliers who both come in at +450. The Rockets, who many thought might lead the process just a week ago, have fallen all the way down to +700. The difficulty of fitting maximum contracts for James, Chris Paul and James Harden has started to dawn on the consciousness of the betting public.

If the Lakers are successful in luring James, they will almost certainly try to pair him with a superstar of his choosing. The obvious choice would be fellow free agent Paul George. The Thunder like their chances to retain the All-Star forward, but all bets are off if James heads to L.A. George has always wanted to play back in his hometown and the lure of doing that alongside LeBron would be awfully difficult for him to turn down.

The real question with the Lakers is what they’d do with the rest of their roster. Point guard Lonzo Ball is a talented player, but stylistically he’s a poor fit next to James. LeBron could try to pressure the Lakers’ front office to deal Ball for a player who’s better equipped to help him compete for a Championship as soon as next season.

On the other hand someone like Kyle Kuzma would be an excellent forward to put on the floor with a player of James’ caliber. He’d get tons of open shots playing alongside such a dominant force. He may not have the experience James prefers, but he’s too talented not to keep.

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Ultimately, Lakers fans shouldn’t rush out and buy LeBron jerseys just yet. There’s a long way to go in this free agent courtship. L.A. fans can, however, be encouraged with their current place in the race.