LeBron James is no stranger to a Big 3 construct delivering an NBA Championship, but the Los Angeles Lakers may need to go another direction next season.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t put Donovan Mitchell on the trade market and Trae Young doesn’t make sense from a scheme/fit standpoint, the Lakers’ options to land a third bonafide star in his prime alongside James and Anthony Davis could quickly grow limited.
If Los Angeles needs instead to add around the edges of the roster, at least until the regular season begins to unfold and trade deadline possibilities open up, one realistic option could be Golden State Warriors point guard Chris Paul.
There is a universe where the Lakers sign Chris Paul,” Eric Pincus of Bleacher report told Jovan Buha of The Athletic on May 20. “It makes a lot of sense to me. Is Chris coming for the minimum? I don’t know. I don’t want to say he comes cheap to the Lakers, but in the absence of a better offer, I could see that.”
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report added his two cents to the possibility of Paul to L.A. on Friday.
“This version of Paul isn’t worth a budget-busting contract, but he won’t necessarily require one. His $30 million salary for next season is non-guaranteed, per Spotrac, and if the Golden State Warriors duck out of that deal, perhaps the Point God would be open to a team-friendly pact,” Buckley wrote. “The Lakers are a good team with a chance to be really good. They may not be inner-circle contenders at the moment, but they aren’t necessarily far off from that status.”
