The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be aggressive in improving their team this offseason in hopes of bolstering their title defense in the coming season. And while there are a lot of names always connected with the Lakers because they are the Lakers, there are two names of interest that have popped up in the past week, Chris Paul and Derrick Rose. A reason they are interesting? Well, if Rajon Rondo gets a bigger deal this offseason after a strong playoff performance, the Lakers look like they will need some additional help for LeBron James at point guard.
An Eastern Conference executive told Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus that Paul would “love” a return to Los Angeles, where he played with the Clippers, but this time joining his pal LeBron on the Lakers.
“Chris Paul would love to come back to L.A. I know it would be a dream come true for Chris,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “I know LeBron loves and trusts him and he would be a good fit.”
In addition to Paul, there have been rumors about Derrick Rose, who had a strong season with the Detroit Pistons and was rumored to be a target of the Lakers during the season before the Lake Show instead chose to play the buyout market by bringing in Markieff Morris, Dion Waiters, and J.R. Smith. Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney reported some within the league find a Rose deal more likely now than during the offseason.
Whether it’s Rose, Paul, or someone else, it sure does seem that adding some point guard help will be a priority for the Lakers. LeBron led the league in assists, but as we saw in the playoffs, allowing LeBron to play off the ball and be a freight train in transition still has a place in the Lakers attack.
