Los Angeles Lakers: Early bold predictions for 2018 offseason

1. Lakers sign Paul George and DeMarcus Cousins

I know that almost every Lakers fan out there is desperately hoping the team lands both Paul George and LeBron James this offseason. They made the moves to create the necessary cap space, so it only seems right to assume the two will sign on the dotted line, right?

Well, not so fast.

I honestly believe that James will stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s all fun and games imagining him heading West, but it all feels like connecting dots that aren’t there and reading too deeply into innocent Instagram posts. The King is where he belongs.

The Lakers do get George, though. He signs a max deal, returns home and immediately makes this team that much more exciting. Then it gets really interesting when Magic also convinces DeMarcus Cousins to come to Los Angeles.

The best part? It’s on a heavily discounted, one-year deal that accounts for the recent Achilles tear the big man suffered. That’ll give Mitchell Robinson a chance to see some significant minutes before Cousins returns to the court, presumably ahead of the Lakers’ first playoff appearance since 2013.

After stretching Deng’s contract and avoiding two max deals, the Lakers now have the money to retain Julius Randle. They keep the fast-rising power forward, maintaining some semblance of continuity. Just for good measure, they also bring back Isaiah Thomas, who’s so excited about James staying in Cleveland that he decides to stick around on a one-year deal.

Next: Early predictions for where top free agents will sign

That makes the Lakers’ starting lineup for 2018-19 look something like this: Lonzo Ball, Isaiah Thomas, Brandon Ingram, Paul George, Julius Randle/DeMarcus Cousins. There will be some mixing and matching depending on opposing lineups, but it seems like a starting five worthy of a trip to the postseason, if you ask me.