NBA Rumors: Lakers to opt for unpopular plan to help LeBron James next season

With LeBron James still contemplating his own future, Los Angeles Lakers fans hope the franchise convices The King to stay by putting him in a position to succeed next season.

But the question around the organization is whether that’s only possible by landing a third star behind LeBron and Anthony Davis, or if improving the supporting cast is enough to make the Lakers an NBA championship-caliber team.

Many fans would obviously like to see another big-name player on the roster, but it looks like that’s not what the front office has in mind. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers believe it’s not necessary to go all in for a third star.

Lakers reportedly prefer to improve rotation rather than adding another star next to LeBron

“As far as what I think the Lakers are going to do, my sense is they are leaning more toward upgrading the supporting cast rather than the three-star model and I say that for a couple reasons. One, it’s difficult to trade for a star,” Buha wrote. “There’s going to be a lot of competition this offseason, so I think if a star is willing to demand a trade and say that they only want to go to the Lakers or make it a very short list where the Lakers have the assets to compete with the teams on that list then, sure, I think the Lakers can land that type of star.“

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during game four of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell is one of the biggest names to watch heading into the offseason, but it looks like the Cavs are ready to get him tied to a massive extension.

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Atlanta Hawks sensation Trae Young has been linked with the Lakers on countless occasions in the last few years, but his future seems to remain in Atlanta. And there’s not so much talent out there that appears to be a good fit next to LeBron and AD.

“But there’s also a lot of uncertainty right now where we don’t know which star is going to be available in Cleveland, is Donovan Mitchell going to accept that extension and then Darius Garland is the one asking out, or is Donovan Mitchell going to reject the extension offer and all of a sudden he is available? We don’t know which star guard is going to be available in Atlanta. We don’t know if there’s going to be another star that becomes available. Is Mikal Bridges available in Brooklyn? There’s still a lot of uncertainty as of right now in terms of which stars are actually going to be available closer to the draft and free agency when the Lakers would be potentially looking to make a big, splashy trade.”

The Lakers still have big questions to answer with the search of Darvin Ham’s replacement still ongoing, in addition to the uncertainty around LeBron James, who has until June 29 to opt into a player option for next season.