The cast for the upcoming season of The Real Lakers of Los Angeles promises to be their most absurd yet. After adding LeBron James, Lance Stephenson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they’ve added two-time NBA Champion and Shaqtin’ a Fool legend JaVale McGee. Sources: It’s a one-year, minimum deal to pry away the big man from Golden State. https://t.co/TU3NHrJ6Ri — Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 2, 2018 McGee started a few games for the Warriors during their sweep of LeBron’s Cavs in the 2018 Finals. McGee, while he has reputation for his worst moments, gives the Lakers a shot-blocker and gives James someone who he can throw lobs to for dunks. McGee can get caught out of position in his attempts to swat everything, but can be useful if deployed against the right team, at the right time. Apparently the Lakers and LeBron see something in him they think they can use. Aside from the content, anyway.<doc-sep>The Lakers are going to be a soap opera as much as they will be a basketball team this season. On the heels of agreeing to sign LeBron James to a four-year, $154 million deal, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka celebrated by handing out one-year deals to some of the most fascinating characters the NBA has to offer. First, there was the business move: The Lakers agreed to terms with Klutch Sports client Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on a one-year deal worth $12 million. A year ago, the Lakers signed KCP to a one-year deal that everyone assumed was laying the groundwork for Sunday’s deal with James. Pelinka even quoted the Bible in the introductory press conference. The Klutch connection paid off. After bringing KCP back, the Lakers’ front office then decided to throw up not one but two free-agency heat checks. The first was to agree to terms with Lance Stephenson. Yes, that Lance Stephenson, the one who blew in LeBron’s ear during a playoff series and plays like he’s constantly trying to crawl out of his own skin. He and the Lakers agreed to a one-year, $4.5 million deal. Well at least we finally know what Lance was saying. #RingerNBA pic.twitter.com/4hkUZV9FBB — The Ringer (@ringer) July 2, 2018 Then the Lakers stole JaVale McGee away from the Warriors with a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum. Can you say championship pedigree? Before you label Stephenson and McGee the new Showtime Stooges, think of the value both can bring to a LeBron-led team. While Stephenson has worn out his welcome with several organizations, including the Pacers twice, he has the potential to be a spark plug off the bench for a team that doesn’t have much shot creation on the roster after James and Lonzo Ball. And considering that Brook Lopez is a free agent, the center spot is ripe for McGee’s taking. The memes will flow, and LeBron may bark at the duo from time to time, but the Lakers scooped up at a minimal cost two players who had some impact on their teams this past postseason, plus another still young enough to improve. If there’s a larger takeaway from this deluge of post-LeBron deals, it’s that the summer of 2019 may still be an important one for the Lakers. LeBron’s choice to head west right away means they may be able to wait out the Spurs in Kawhi Leonard trade talks. And if Leonard remains in San Antonio for all of this season, or still plans to head to L.A. after getting traded elsewhere, one-year deals for JaVale, Lance, and KCP will allow the Lakers to open up space again to sign him — or make a run at a possible third star. (This could have been you, Paul George.) This strategy of handing out only one-year deals may also factor into how the Lakers will approach Julius Randle’s restricted free agency. To keep him and their precious 2019 cap space, the Lakers may have to entice him to turn down an offer sheet elsewhere in favor of one more season in L.A. for a hefty sum. That’s a tough ask considering what kind of money and long-term security Randle could get on the open market. And we all know how LeBron likes to be surrounded by as many shooters as possible, and Randle isn’t that; right now, the Lakers’ roster doesn’t have a dead-eye shooter and is led by a point guard with a funky shooting motion. The Lakers could try to sign DeMarcus Cousins, a capable 3-point shooter, to a similar deal should they have enough cap space left over, or by stretching Luol Deng’s contract. But Randle, 23, still hasn’t even reached his prime, and unlike Cousins, he’s not coming off a potentially career-altering injury. Put LeBron on any team and ring-chasers will flock to it; one located in sunny Los Angeles will only be more attractive. Caldwell-Pope, Stephenson, and McGee are only the introductory class of players looking to join LeBron’s Lakers. The longer he plays there, the more there will be.<doc-sep>
After securing LeBron James on a four-year deal worth $154 million, the Lakers agreed Sunday to one-year deals with three veterans. They will pay Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $12 million, Lance Stephenson $4.4 million and JaVale McGee $2.4 million, according to people not authorized to speak publicly. None of those deals can become official until Friday. Two contracts did become official. The Lakers signed first-round pick Moe Wagner, which means he can’t be traded for at least 30 days. They also signed Malik Newman, a rookie from Kansas, to a two-way deal. Caldwell-Pope spent last season with the Lakers on a one-year deal worth $18 million, after spending the first four years of his career with Detroit. By the end of the season, he had become a reliable starting guard for the Lakers and a good example for the young players, especially with his one-on-one defense. Caldwell-Pope made a career high 42.6% of his shots and was the Lakers’ best free-throw shooter at 78.9%. In part of December and January, Caldwell-Pope played on work release while serving a 25-day jail sentence that stemmed from a probation violation related to his arrest in March 2017 for allowing a person to drive his car while under the influence. McGee joins the Lakers from the Golden State Warriors, with whom he won two championships and guarded James fiercely in the Finals. The 7-footer played in 65 games for the Warriors last season, starting 17, including three games in the Finals. He averaged 9.5 minutes and 4.8 points a game last season. Stephenson began his career with the Indiana Pacers, then played for Charlotte, the Clippers, Memphis and Minnesota before returning to Indiana last year, where he averaged 9.2 points mostly off the bench. “While I couldn’t be more excited to join the Los Angeles Lakers, I first need to thank Pacer nation for all of the love and support over the years,” Stephenson wrote in a post on Instagram. “… The entire organization stood with me through all of the ups and downs of my career and have played a crucial role in molding me into the man and player I am today.” Stephenson has a particularly close relationship with Brian Shaw, the Lakers associate head coach who held the same role in Indiana. tania.ganguli@latimes.com Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli