The Los Angeles Lakers will have a busy summer and it all began last night with the team taking Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson in the 2014 NBA Draft. Now the team turns its focus to free agency where LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are both unrestricted free agents and the Lakers would love to bring both to LA.
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Both players played with Kobe Bryant on the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic teams and maintain contact with him. According to our own Serena Winters, Kobe reaching out to them wouldn’t be a surprise to general manager Mitch Kupchak:
Kupchak on Kobe & FA: "I would not be surprised if Kobe reaches out or free agents reach out to Kobe."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) June 27, 2014
In this league, teams have to use every tool to bring in the best players. But teams are unable to talk with players before July 1 and Kupchak made sure to clarify that he would not ask Kobe to do anything until that date according to Winters:
Kupchak on Kobe’s input on free agency: "Post July 1st, I could ask him to make a phone call."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) June 27, 2014
The Lakers roster does not have a bunch of big names right now. Kobe Bryant is the draw for any potential free agents. While Bryant is viewed as being difficult to play with sometimes, he is also one of the most respected players in the league.
The Lakers are still long shots to land one or both of the prized free agents available, but they will explore all options in hopes of quickly rebuilding into a championship contender once again.
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