The Los Angeles Lakers finally made the big splash every assumed the team would after signing LeBron James last summer. After striking out on Anthony Davis at the trade deadline this season, the Lakers were able to make a move for the New Orleans All-Star for a package that includes Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and the No. 4 overall pick.
With Ball gone and Davis in the fold, the Lakers can focus building the rest of the team around another max player, shooters and defensive specialists for the upcoming season. While we’ve heard about the Lakers interest in adding Jimmy Butler this offseason, Marc Stein reported that the team could target Kemba Walker to fill the void at point guard.
Walker has played his entire season with the Charlotte Hornets and made his first All-Star game this past season. He’s a fun, shifty point guard who can get his own shot and create for others. Charlotte can offer him more money and more years than the Lakers, but the Lakers can offer him a much larger market and a pair of teammates who can take some of the pressure off of a guy who hasn’t had a solid No. 2 in his entire career.
As of right now, there’s no telling whether Walker would consider playing with the Lakers, but with the way that the team is currently structured (more than $100 million tied up in salary without Walker’s max slot), there really isn’t room for the team to improve, and there isn’t much left for Walker to prove in Charlotte.
Butler will remain an interesting option, along with a few others in an incredibly deep free agency class. Davis was the first domino, and it may be a bit easier for the Lakers to get another big name to sign on with the team seemingly heading in the right direction for the first time in nearly a decade.
