The thing is, Lakers have always been that kind of team. They rarely build on their own rookies. I didn't mean that Ingram and Ball will have the ultimate challenge of fighting their spots with the likes of Rondo and Stephenson. I meant after this coming year, once Rondo and gang's contracts run off. Ingram and Ball will be evaluated and decided on their fate based on how they perform this year. If they rise up to the challenge, they'll be worthy of being Lebron's teammate. If not, then their hard work this year will be bargaining chips to trade for some win-now players. And if Rondo and gang end up doing really well with Lebron, they'll be kept as back up for whomever they try to lure into joining the year after next. Let it be Kawhi Leonard, or (dare I say) Kevin Durant...
Yeah, but the shine's mostly off that diamond. Free agents don't flock to LA the way they used to. Though many star talents prefer to play in big markets, the internet age has basically obliterated the necessity of those talents residing in LA or New York for the sake of visibility and "brand" management. The Lakers--mismanaged for a half-decade prior to the Magic/Pelinka partnership--had been shunned time and again across the last few seasons as a result.
Given this new reality for the Lakers, their revamped front office had initially seemed to be approaching their rebuild deliberately, with the intent to develop talent in-house. Though I'm not entirely convinced about Brandon Ingram's potential, and though I've never been Lonzo Ball's biggest fan, I'm annoyed to say that I thought the Lakers were on the right track. They were making smart moves with a long-term vision in mind. Undoing all of that for the sake of a bit of short-term, short-lived glory seems like a trainwreck waiting to happen, and I've got my tub of popcorn at the ready.
That said, you're absolutely right: with Lebron in tow, all it would take is Kawhi Leonard arriving in Los Angeles via free agency next offseason to return the Lakers to contender status. Personally, I do not think that the first year of the LAbron era is going to go particularly well. The Western Conference is a f***ing meat grinder compared to what the King was used to dealing with back East, and
Lebron & the Shaqtin'-A-Fool-All-Stars aren't going to make much of a dent in year one of this little experiment. Fortunately for the Lakers, Kawhi seems hell-bent on playing in his hometown, regardless of how well the team is constructed. If Toronto can't imitate Oklahoma City's success in retaining Paul George, then there's really no other team that's likely to sign Leonard except the Lakers.
In that scenario, Lebron would still be a year closer to retirement, but Leonard would be able to take much of the pressure off him, and Lebron could coast a bit, potentially prolonging his effectiveness. And when the playoffs finally rolled around, the time of the year when Lebron finally revs up his engines, they'd become the most devastating wing pairing... well, maybe ever.