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The Los Angeles Lakers will win three rings under LeBron James

By Jason Reed

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 15: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers laughs as he attends a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 15: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers laughs as he attends a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers went from rebuilding to title contenders by signing LeBron James. With James, the Lakers will ultimately win three rings.

We all should have seen this move coming, the reports were circling for a year. LeBron James has taken his talents to the City of Angels. If you have not heard that James is now on the Los Angeles Lakers, well, you’ve missed a whole lot.

The Lakers did not stop with James, either, as the team made other offseason additions after signing James.

Los Angeles brought in Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee while re-signing shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. All of those deals are for one season.

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Some have questioned the Los Angeles Lakers’ signings but the trend is obvious and simple to follow; the Lakers are still preparing for something big next summer. This summer is not the final dagger to dethrone the Golden State Warriors, it is only the first chapter in James’ book as a Laker.

This book will hopefully be filled with NBA Championships. However, starting right in LeBron and the Lakers’ way is the Warriors, who may be the most talented team of all-time. If DeMarcus Cousins comes back healthy and is even 80 percent of what he was before injury, the Warriors will have a starting five full of all-stars.

With that in mind, it is easy to doubt if the Lakers will even win an NBA Championship under LeBron or if we will continue to fall to the Warriors.

While the Warriors present a daunting task in year one, James and the Lakers will respond with three titles during their four-year partnership.

The Lakers will still make it to the Western Conference Finals this year before ultimately falling to the Golden State Warriors.

I think this version of the Los Angeles Lakers will closely represent what we see during the regular season. The common consensus is that the Lakers are the third-best team in the West, behind the Warriors and the Houston Rockets.

While the Lakers may finish third in the conference, the experience of LeBron James in the postseason will carry the team to the Conference Finals.

After that, though, the door swings wide open for the Lakers to take over the Western Conference. The Golden State Warriors will have both Klay Thompson and Cousins hitting the market as unrestricted free agents.

Kevin Durant also has a player option. Perhaps Durant gets his three rings and takes his talents home to the Washington Wizards to try and carry them to a championship.

Thompson may be content with four and move to a team that is willing to pay him a ton and play him as their number one star.

Cousins is obviously using the Warriors for the chance to win a title. If he plays well, he is undoubtedly going to take his payday elsewhere and take his ring with him. There is a realistic chance that the Warriors could lose all three players.

Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are probably not enough to beat this current version of the Los Angeles Lakers. With Kawhi Leonard more than likely signing with LA, the Lakers will be the clear-cut favorites.

With Leonard and James, the Lakers are going to be able to plug and place whatever talent and still be the best team in basketball. Los Angeles could trade for a big man, add depth pieces or simply keep the team exactly as is.

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Regardless, with the Warriors current contractual status and the Los Angeles Lakers’ impending future, chances are this team will have another three-peat from 2020-2022.

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