The Lakers are back (for real this time)

The Los Angeles Lakers are back for, uh, the second summer in a row. Last year, L.A. pulled in LeBron James as a free agent, perhaps through no credit of their own. This year, the franchise traded a bucket load of draft picks and a couple of youngsters for Anthony Davis. The LeBron coup was supposed to end the Lakers’ half-decade nightmare. The Davis gambit actually will.

To be clear, the Lakers gave up a lot to land Davis: three first-round picks (essentially unprotected), two unprotected pick swaps, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart. Reportedly, the Lakers insisted on keeping Kyle Kuzma and didn’t end up having to take back any onerous New Orleans Pelicans salaries. This is a premium package not just for a 1-year rental of an All-NBA and MVP-caliber player, but to ensure the Lakers sign him as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Davis had indicated previously he wanted to be traded to the Lakers, so L.A. has little fear he’ll walk away.

But with LeBron looking Father Time in the eye and the NBA completely disheveled by the results of the Finals (on the court and under the knife), this is an easy decision for the Lakers. You stockpile intriguing young players and collect draft picks to get stars. Chances are you’re not going to land a player the caliber of Davis with 10 years of picks. Ball and Ingram are promising, but they’ll never be as good as Davis is now. By the way, Davis is just 26 years old. He’s just now entering his projected prime, and he already has two top-5 MVP finishes, both on non-dominant Pels teams.

LeBron missed about a month of basketball around midseason last year, and it sunk the Lakers’ playoff hopes. Assuming the Lakers at a minimum add some reliable players around James, Davis, and Kuzma, and that new coach Frank Vogel is a decent fit with the star duo, there’s no chance L.A. misses the postseason again barring a catastrophic injury or two. This is already a legit contender in a Western Conference that will sadly be without Kevin Durant on any team and will likely miss Klay Thompson for at least half the season. The Lakers might not yet be West favorites, but they can’t be far off right now.

The unknown is what the Lakers will do in the early hours of free agency on June 30.

By timing the trade right, L.A. should be able to pull in a max-level or near-max free agent. Reports suggest Kemba Walker is a top target. The Kyrie Irving rumor mill is spinning fast, too. With a high-scoring duo like James and Davis, a volume shooting guard or a reactive agent probably isn’t the top need: a smart shooting wing who can defend like hell is a better match. Think Chauncey Billups. No candidates really stand out in that vain. Does J.J. Redick want to return to Los Angeles? How do we feel about Khris Middleton a few weeks after the Raptors shut him down? Are the Pelicans sure they won’t throw in Jrue Holiday? How does Kawhi Leonard feel about taking a backseat to two fellow MVP candidates?

In all likelihood, the third wheel will end up as Walker or Jimmy Butler, or perhaps DeMarcus Cousins (who could reunite with Davis and have a shot at really sticking it to the Sacramento Kings). Irving would be a shocker after his acrimonious flight from LeBron two years ago, but Kyrie is no stranger to strange twists. Rob Pelinka’s most important job is really to fill out the roster much, much more sanely than he and Magic Johnson did a year ago. That should mean goodbye to the Meme Team. Reggie Bullock should stick around. Shooting and defense, shooting and defense, shooting and defense.

All of that tinkering around the edges and the particular identity of the third star, assuming the Lakers land one, will decide whether L.A. is a champion or a heartbroken contender. If it goes poorly, at least the playoff drought will be over: sometimes, you take small victories. Given what a nightmare 2018-19 ended up being, it’s hard for the Laker fandom to be too greedy.

Even if it’s not all perfect in the end, with this epic trade the Lakers are back. For real. Probably. We think.