While the Los Angeles Lakers managed to land the big fish in LeBron James this offseason, they were not able to pair him with more established stars to become true title contenders.
The Lakers held firm on trade negotiations for Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, believing that they can get the King the help he needs next summer. Leonard is still a possibility despite being traded to the Toronto Raptors but he may not be the only one.
According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, the Lakers could have another wing player hoping to join their ranks:
Outside of Leonard, [DeMarcus] Cousins and [Jimmy] Butler may be the most likely to switch teams. Per a source close to Butler, he’s open to the idea of moving on from the Timberwolves to play alongside James in Los Angeles.
There have been rumblings for some time that Butler does not get along well with the younger stars on the Wolves in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. The former Bulls star will be a free agent in 2019 alongside Leonard, Cousins, and Klay Thompson.
As the Lakers learned last summer with Paul George, a lot can change in just one year. Leonard and Butler’s current interest may not be the case next July, but for now, it appears as though Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka will have some options.
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