Sa draft ng All-Star teams, ilan sa kinuha ni captain LeBron James sina Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis at Klay Thompson.
Ang apat sa kanila, free agents na sa July maliban kay Davis pero nagpapa-trade na rin ito mula sa New Orleans Pelicans. Sa 2020 pa magiging free agent si Davis, at hindi lingid na isa sa mga humahabol sa kanya ang Los Angeles Lakers ni LeBron.
Marami agad ang nagbigay ng konklusyon na hinugot ni James ang lima para i-recruit sa Lakers. Agad itong binaril ng superstar.
“I picked according to my draft board, and I picked according to who was the best available,” pahayag ni James, ayon kay Dave McMenamin ng ESPN.
“It just so happened that I had KD (first pick overall) who’s a pending free agent, and Kyrie, who’s a pending free agent. James (Harden) is under contract until 2030. Kawhi’s a free agent.”
Puro ispekulasyon lang umano ang lumalabas, wala siyang balak i-recruit ang mga napipintong free agents.
“Everyone kind of gets up for fantasy basketball talk,” dagdag ng Lakers star. “Guys that are restricted free agents, that are free agents, I don’t know, player options. That’s all part of speculation that continues to drive our sport.”