A 10 Step Ideal Front Office Plan for the Lakers this season: Step 5

Ideal Lakers 2017 2018 Front Office Plan: Step Five

Now that the Lakers have followed the first four parts of my plan, clearing away most of their long term salary commitments before July 1st 2018, they will be ready to finally enter free agency.

Because of the trades of Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, and the salary dump of Luol Deng that (in my version) included Ivica Zubak and Thomas Bryant along with future picks, the Lakers have essentially stripped their roster to the bones. With this plan they enter free agency with commitments to only Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and whoever they select in the 2nd round with the pick they got from the Nuggets. Including another 7 cap holds at around 850k apiece totaling just under 6 million to get the roster to the minimum 13, the Lakers only have 25.7 million in salary and holds, giving them just over 76 million in cap space to use on free agents. (Of course they have huge cap holds for players like Brook Lopez and KCP, but these will be resolved in later steps of my plan, before anyone actually signs) That brings us to our first, long awaited free agent acquisition.

Step Five: Reaching an Agreement to Sign Paul George

While LeBron may be the top prize on the market, Paul George is probably the easiest commitment to get first, if like 8 million, gazillion reports are to be believed. After a year of tampering, leaks, Magic winks, anonymously sourced reports and agent hints, it seems almost inevitable that George will come to LA. Sure, an amazing season in Oklahoma could theoretically change things, but most (anonymous) execs I have seen quoted recently all still feel that the former Pacer remains "hell bent" on joining LA. For the purposes of this post, we will go ahead and say that this gets done.

Now, because the Lakers can offer him only a four year deal, and because George may want to take another swing at free agency before he ages out of max territory, it feels like this deal will probably be for all four years, but with the last year being a player option. Regardless of length, if this long rumored move at last comes to fruition, then the Lakers not only have their potential All Star finally in house, but a star player in his prime to help LA lure other free agents out west. Speaking of which...

If you have followed my plan this far, and want to see what I think should happen after reaching an agreement with Paul George, check out the next part of the plan. Step Six: Agreeing with LeBron James.

To let me know what you think of my plan so far, you can tweet me @plain_fiction, or email me directly at plainfiction@gmail.com.

Or if you read epic fantasy novels and are tired of waiting for the next Game of Thrones episode, go to my web site www.plainfiction.com and read one of my books!