Lakers Rumors: Could we see a James-Westbrook-George super team

There have been so many Lakers rumors circling throughout the community. However, these rumors may be the most promising.

Playing in such a massive market, the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of pressure to succeed in the NBA. Being perhaps the most storied franchise in league history, the last three years has been a turn for the worst in LA. Because of this, many Lakers rumors begin to circle, signaling for some kind of change.

Los Angeles has played the situation smart, stacking their roster with young talent that will either be traded for better assets or will develop into superstars themselves. However, sports fans being impatient, many do not understand this approach and demand the team to sign a superstar to fill Kobe Bryant’s void.

This has caused quite the speculation, and for the most part, it is justified. First, there is Paul George, who seemingly will eventually head to Los Angeles. Especially after George told the Pacers of his intentions to leave Indiana, Laker fans have been anticipating his arrival.

Then there is Lebron James. After going down 3-0 in the NBA Finals, reports released that the best player on planet earth wanted to head to LA in the 2018 offseason. This has had a lukewarm reaction, as we all know that Kobe Bryant fans despise LeBron James.

Then there is Russell Westbrook, who Laker fans have been dreaming about for quite some time now. Playing at UCLA has only sparked the Westbrook-Lakers relationship, however, it has gained no real ground yet. It is still very possible that Westbrook may head to LA in the future, especially if he can defeat Kevin Durant in the process.

That has led to a potential new super team involving Paul George, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook. Even Fox Sports joined in on the Lakers rumors.

Seeing the trio of James, George, and Westbrook all donning purple and gold truly is enticing. But how could the Lakers get this done?

Well, first and foremost, the team would need to get rid of Luol Deng, Timofey Mozgov, and Jordan Clarkson. Those three guys take up 53% of the Lakers salary cap, combined scoring around 30 points per game. For a trio that costs $44 million, you would expect more output.

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On top of that, the Lakers would likely have to part ways with some of their young core. Out of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Brandon Ingram, one would have to go. We ran a simulation using NBA 2K17, and for simplicity sake, flipped Ingram for George and the Lakers second overall selection for Russell Westbrook.

For the Lakers, it may not actually be that difficult. All three guys can enter free agency within the next two years, so if the Lakers can clear some cap space, all they have to do is convince them to take slight pay cuts.

To see how this team would do we simulated an entire season. Westbrook, Russell, George, James, and Zubac were the starting five, with Randle coming off as the sixth man. The bench was fairly weak, but the starting five was fantastic.

This led to a 58-24 record, finishing in second place behind the Golden State Warriors. Westbrook won the MVP by averaging 24.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. Both James and George took hits to their scoring, averaging around 17 a game.

The team made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games. Golden State’s high-profile offense was too much for this Lakers team, despite having three superstars.

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Obviously, this simulation should be taken with a grain of salt. A trio of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George would likely be more than enough to win a title. If the recent Lakers rumors mean anything, it just may happen.