By Brandon HENSLEY

Even in down years, there’s no denying the sense of drama the Los Angeles Lakers attract. The team hasn’t made the playoffs in five years, and yet, there’s always something to talk about.

In the case with the Lakers this summer, there are many things to talk about. The team is coming off yet another losing season, but the core young players, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuza and, to a lesser extent, Lonzo Ball, played together well enough that it’s not a stretch to say they could be a dangerous playoff team next season.

Of course, some of those players could be gone by the time training camp opens, which means the Lakers will have pulled off something extreme. Team President Magic Johnson said this week he’ll step down if he’s not able to lure big names over the next two summers. It’s a seemingly bold declaration, though it doesn’t feel out of place coming from a legendary winner such as Johnson. It also doesn’t feel bold because almost everyone in the basketball world expects the Lakers to land some combination of Cleveland’s LeBron James, Oklahoma City’s Paul George and San Antonio’s Kawahi Leonard.

Leonard, who wants to play in LA, is under contract for another year with the Spurs, but his public feud with the team over how his in-season leg injury was handled might force the Spurs to trade him now, and the Lakers are chomping at the bit to acquire him. James is a free agent, the best player in the world, and we’ve been hearing about him coming here for the past two years.

Like Leonard, George, a free agent, has made no secret of his preference to play for the Lakers (he’s from nearby Palmdale).

The question is, how much do you want to give up for these players? And when? James will go down as arguably the best player of all time when he’s done, but for him to leave Cleveland a second time, become a full-on mercenary, and someone you must stop everything for to cater to his every whim, isn’t a becoming look. After a year or two in LA, James, who is 33, still might not win any more titles, and then what? The Lakers will have thrown away building a great foundation for a couple of seasons from a guy who will never be considered a true Laker.

Trading for Leonard (27) and signing George (28) are moves no one can argue with, even if a rising star like Kuzma has to go. In a perfect world, George signs here next month, Leonard signs as a free agent next year, LeBron stays in Cleveland, and the Lakers go forward with two of the best 15 players in the game, and a young core that is allowed grow together. That won’t happen with James in the picture.

  Brandon Hensley