The Los Angeles Lakers will have no shortage of options to improve their roster this summer. The 2015 NBA Draft will be filled with promising young talent while quite a few big-name players will hit the free agent market come July 1. Mitch Kupchak and company plan to make moves in order to get the team back on track with the storied franchise already being linked to two top-tier players in NBA free agency.
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One big-name player that has been linked to the Lakers for years is three-time All-Star Kevin Love. The UCLA product may currently be playing alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, but the speculation continues to run rampant about the veteran power forward wanting to end up in Los Angeles.
Love can opt out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer and if it does happen, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding believes there’s a “great possibility” the veteran lands with the Lakers in free agency.
Although Love has struggled to find his role in Cleveland, the Lakers are still confident the star forward can still be a “centerpiece” in Los Angeles. A max offer will almost certainly be on the table for Love from the Lakers if the 26-year-old chooses to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Another big-name that may also land in Los Angeles along with Love is Rajon Rondo. The veteran point guard has a close relationship with Kobe Bryant and has also been linked to the Lakers for quite some time. Despite a mid-season trade to the Dallas Mavericks, Rondo seems destined to leave his new team come July.
Rondo will likely have an ugly Lamar Odom-like divorce with the Mavericks and as a result, there could be limited interest in his services during the off-season. Rondo never saw eye-to-eye with head coach Rick Carlisle in Dallas and the team appears anxious to part ways.
All signs point to the Lakers be willing to sign both Love and Rondo once free agency gets under way. Anything can happen between now and the start of free agency on July 1, but there appears to be a great chance both players end up wearing purple and gold next season.
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