Los Angeles Lakers: 5 realistic goals for 2018 offseason
By Dan Lovi
1. Sign Paul George
The season ended earlier than expected for the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting bounced in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs. For Paul George, his time with the Thunder may be just as short-lived.
George grew up in Palmdale, California, a city north of Los Angeles separated by the San Gabriel Mountains. He has stated that his favorite player growing up was Magic Johnson and he used to wear the No. 24 as a homage to Kobe Bryant.
According to Shahan Ahmed of NBC Los Angeles, before the Thunder faced the Lakers in L.A., George talked about the importance of playing at home and praised Ball.
Paul George made it clear playing back home means a bit more because of family & friends, offered HIGH praise for Lonzo Ball & said Lakers have history over Clippers, so it's not the same thing.
— Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) January 3, 2018
"Lakers have the history...that's who we grew up watching."
While we don’t know where James and other free agents will be playing next year, all signs point to George coming home to Los Angeles and suiting up for the Purple and Gold next season.
Next: Full two-round 2018 NBA Mock Draft
If the Lakers are able to accomplish these five goals over the 2018 offseason, it will have been an extremely successful summer for this quickly rebuilding franchise.