The Los Angeles Lakers are arguably the best team in the NBA right now, but even the most star-studded roster has room to improve.
To let some of LeBron James‘ critics tell it, there’s nothing the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player would love more right now than to add reinforcements to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ already talented roster.
Ever since LeBron left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat, he’s been labeled by a loud segment of fans and media as a front-runner who is always trying to stack the deck in his team’s favor. To these people, LeBron isn’t just a basketball player; he’s also the de facto general manager, coach and team owner wherever he goes.
So if LeBron had a chance to fire up a time machine and find a roster spot on the 2019-20 Lakers for a prime Magic Johnson, James Worthy or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he would (depending on who you ask) do it in a heartbeat.
To be honest, it would be tempting to anyone. The hardest part of choosing three legends to consider adding to the Lakers is deciding which three to pick among the many legends who have worn purple and gold.
From Jerry West to Wilt Chamberlain, Gary Payton to Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers have had more superstars than any franchise in NBA history.
This season, the Lakers have two more superstars in LeBron and Anthony Davis. The 35-year-old point guard/small forward and the 27-year-old power forward/center have led L.A. to a 49-14 record, best in the Western Conference and second-best in the league.
Shortly before the NBA went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lakers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks (best record in the NBA) and LA Clippers (second-best in the West) in back-to-back games to become a popular championship favorite.
I don’t care if the season has to be delayed for years, when the @NBA comes back it needs to start exactly where we left off. The Lakers are 49-14. I don’t want to hear “just start the season over.” Mother Nature isn’t going to cheat Lebron from getting this ring. @KingJames https://t.co/wE1RszW5Pw
— Jared (@JaredBBC) April 9, 2020
If or when the season resumes, the Lakers will have to regain the momentum they’ve lost. If they could add another quality contributor to the team, the risk of upsetting their existing chemistry may be worth it.
Rather than giving the Lakers a cheat-code squad and adding a Hall of Famer like Elgin Baylor or Steve Nash, instead I’ll try to be as realistic as possible and focus on players L.A. could’ve at least tried to acquire in real-time, in real life. (Although for these purposes, we’ll have to pretend the salary cap doesn’t exist.)
With that, here are three former Lakers that could help the team right now.