The Los Angeles Lakers are dreaming big as Magic Johnson leads the team with a new vision, and the summer of 2018 figures to be huge for the franchise.

There's been no mystery about what Johnson hopes to accomplish in Los Angeles by next summer. The Lakers have been working to create salary cap space to acquire at least two maximum-contract level players next offseason.

Their eyes are on the biggest prize of all: LeBron James. Whether they can lure LeBron to Los Angeles or not, the Lakers are going to do all they can to give themselves the best chance possible. That's why the franchise was interested in landing one of LeBron's closest former teammates this summer.

The Lakers have rounded out their roster, but they were reportedly considering ways to land Dwyane Wade after the Chicago Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN

“After Dwyane Wade opted back into his contract for this year and then Jimmy Butler got traded, and Dwyane was trying to figure out are we going to go forward together here in Chicago...

“The Lakers had interest if Chicago was A) willing to potentially trade him or if Dwyane got a buyout in Chicago, the Lakers absolutely would've had interest in signing him,” Wojnarowski told Rachel Nichols during an episode of The Jump.

The deal never went down, but the Lakers made another strategic move instead. The signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was important to LA for reasons beyond how good of a fit he should be as their backcourt defensive specialist. 

Caldwell-Pope is represented by agent Rich Paul, who happens to be James' agent as well. The Lakers wanted KCP as an upgrade to their team in the present, but it was also a way to establish a connection with Paul ahead of LeBron's impending free agency.

"From the moment Detroit renounced Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the moment I reported they renounced him and he was now an unrestricted free agent, the Lakers were already on that,” Wojnarowski said.

President of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are all-in on trying to land LeBron. Everything they're doing points to them doing all they can to prepare for a shot at James next summer.

“This is all part of the greater LeBron conversation, and the Lakers are going to be, just like they're in full Paul George mode from now until July 1 next year, the LeBron has started. And it started the day they took over,” Wojnarowski said.