NBA Free Agency: 3 Possible Next Moves for the Los Angeles Lakers

Signing LeBron James was obviously the first priority for the Lakers, but it was evident over the last two seasons that James alone isn't enough to win a championship.

With LeBron playing superhuman basketball, he barely got a weak supporting cast to the finals where they were convincingly swept by Golden State.

With LeBron now signed to a four year/$154 million deal and Paul George re-committed to Oklahoma City instead of heading to the west coast, what can Magic Johnson and the Lakers' front office do next to give themselves the best shot of conquering the West?

Signing LeBron isn't the only move the Lakers have made, they have also signed JaVale McGee ($2.4 million), Lance Stephenson ($4.4 million), and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($12 million) to one-year deals.

They will make the playoffs as currently assembled thanks to LeBron, but they won't go as far in a stacked Western Conference as LeBron is used to going. How can the Lakers assemble a team to compete with Golden State for Western supremacy?

#1 Trade for Kawhi Leonard

San Antonio Spurs v Golden State Warriors - Game One

Trading for Leonard is the first call for the Lakers, who are heavily engaged in talks with the Spurs to acquire the superstar.

Leonard - a two-time defensive player of the year, finals MVP, and two-time all-star - has made his intentions of playing in LA clear, so much so that he is threatening to sit out the season in San Antonio if they don't grant his wish to be traded.

Gregg Popovich has a rule that he won't help Western Conference rivals, but the Lakers' offers for Leonard may be too good to refuse.

Following their four signings, LA still has roughly $7 million of cap space left with the 2018-19 cap set just shy of $102 million.

Leonard will earn $20.1 million next season, which makes him an attainable trade target for the Lakers. With a surplus of young players to be used as possible trade assets, the Lakers have multiple packages they can put together to acquire Leonard.

The Spurs aren't interested in Lonzo Ball in any trades, while Brandon Ingram is almost certain to be the key part of any trade.

Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart are two more players under contract who will likely be dangled as trade bait. Julius Randle's restricted free agency decision will be vital in the trade process; should the Lakers sign or match an offer for Randle at a reasonable price, he can be used alongside Ingram as a trade chip.

If he is offered a lucrative contract elsewhere, the Lakers may have to let him walk and try and convince the Spurs to take Deng and his mammoth contract ($18 million next season, $18.8 million the year after) in the deal to make the salaries match.

Deng, Ingram, Kuzma, and draft picks for Leonard could be the bulk of a deal if Randle walks. Randle, Ingram and draft picks would be better for the Lakers as they would be able to retain Kuzma, but the Spurs may still demand the young star.

After Paul George's decision to stay in Oklahoma City, San Antonio may have some faith that they can change Leonard's mind about wanting to move to LA. Other teams such as the Celtics and Philadelphia may also pay a higher trade price for Leonard after seeing how the George situation played out.

A low-usage and highly efficient scorer on the offensive end, and an elite perimeter defender on the other end makes Leonard a perfect teammate for LeBron.

He won't demand the ball, and he can guard the opposition's best player to leave LeBron as fresh as possible on the offensive end. He will be difficult for the Lakers to obtain, but they will throw everything they possibly can at Spurs to try and land the two-way superstar.

Trading for Leonard and going into win-now mode immediately will be the best thing for the Lakers, but it's not the end of the world if they have to wait another year.

#2 Sign DeMarcus Cousins

Signing Cousins is a possibility for the Lakers, but they have limited cap space to fit him in currently. Signing Caldwell-Pope to a high-priced deal may have been a sign that they are out of the race for the free agent big man.

Coming off a season-ending Achilles injury, Cousins may not get the max contract that he wants from New Orleans, which puts the Lakers in a good spot to poach him away if they can unload Deng's contract.

They will have to package Deng with other assets if they are to unload his deal and take a minimal cap hit in return, but if they can dump his $18 million for next season they will have close to $25 million to spend on Cousins.

Cousins is meeting with the Pelicans and Lakers in free agency, so the assumption is he will land with one of those teams.

If they can manage to dump Deng and sign Cousins at a discount, they can still theoretically trade for Leonard after signing Randle over the cap with bird rights.

A long-term Cousins signing will be their first priority if they can get a verbal agreement from the Spurs for a Leonard trade and make all the appropriate preceding moves. It's a long shot, and a lot will have to go right for them, but a big three of LeBron, Leonard and Cousins would be highly competitive against the best teams in the West.

If the Spurs fail to co-operate in a Leonard trade, the Lakers won't want to sign Cousins to a long-term deal.

They will hedge their bets, wait for Leonard in next year's free agency class, and hope he doesn't backflip like Paul George did. Still, a one-year deal is a possibility for Cousins, but only if the Pelicans offer him an atrocious deal (which is possible given his injury status and the Pelicans' improved play following his injury).

Cousins isn't exactly a perfect sidekick to match-up against the Warriors, but if he can improve his conditioning to keep up with the Warriors' 'Hamptons Five' then he will be a great option as a center who can dominate in the post while also creating space by playing on the perimeter.

#3 Wait for 2019

2017 Las Vegas Summer League - Brooklyn Nets v Los Angeles Lakers — This goes hand-in-hand with the idea of giving Cousins a one-year deal

This goes hand-in-hand with the idea of giving Cousins a one-year deal. Cousins would be the fourth player signed to a one-year deal in that scenario, putting them in a prime position to be a big player in next year's free agency when those four contracts come off the books.

It would also make them strong competitors next season when he returns from injury and give them the chance to re-sign Cousins using bird rights after signing Leonard as an unrestricted free agent.

Leonard will almost certainly sign next year if he doesn't play in LA this year; Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker headline the players due to be out of contract at the end of next year as other free agent possibilities.

Waiting for 2019 might just be the smartest move. The organization has already satisfied fans by winning the sweepstakes for the best player in the world; they will almost definitely be back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

They now face the pressure of doing what Cleveland couldn't and giving him a supporting cast, but they don't need to do it with another superstar immediately. He arguably has more support already than he did last season, albeit in a superior conference.

They will be competitive with the current roster after landing the other three free agents and still having all of their young assets, at least enough to keep Leonard on track to join next off-season while retaining a slew of young stars.

With all that in mind, even if Leonard is a 99% lock to join the Lakers next year, they still need to go hard at him now in case he changes his mind and decides to try again with the Spurs.

After seeing George return to OKC, San Antonio have to have some renewed confidence in retaining their star while rival clubs have to believe they can convince him to stay if they trade for him.

What do you think about the trades made by the Lakers? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!