Throughout the Lakers’ storied history, there is one formula that almost has never failed when the franchise has encountered hard times: Recruit another superstar.
For a team that already boasted LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the audacious notion of acquiring a third such headliner this offseason —the same plan they’d pursued two summers before in the failed Kawhi Leonard courting — was the clearest path to recovery after their title defense in 2020-21 fell woefully short.
So, ahead of L.A.’s 73rd season, which begins in earnest this week with the opening of training camp, LeBron and the Lakers went recruiting.
In the two months that followed their first-round playoff flop against Phoenix, when Davis’ groin injury left them pulling up lame, the Lakers explored the prospect of trading for such stars as Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook. The process unfolded well beyond the team’s front office’s search, with James setting up a war room of his own at his Brentwood estate for some in-person player meetings while leading remote communications in other conversations.
