2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions: Kobe Bryant Recruiting Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James; Will The Lakers End Up Empty-Handed?

The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions have started and the biggest names in the NBA are now free agents creating the craziest offseason ever! With the Lakers devoid of an actual roster, expect the face of the franchise to flex his recruiting muscles.

It's going to be a long shot, as the Lakers hardly have a roster in place.  But Kobe has taken so many impossible shots in his career.

The recruitment effort was confirmed by ESPN:

"Though the Los Angeles Lakers are not on Anthony's current list, Kobe Bryant plans to recruit him to the team. Bryant, who is close with Anthony, spoke to him by telephone when they were in separate parts of Europe earlier this week.

Bryant told ESPN.com in a text message that he plans to meet with Anthony, as well."

Bryant did not speak about LeBron James in particular, but it is believed that he would recruit his rival as well.

A report from ESPN LA has the Lakers management also making its due diligence in clearing up cap space for the two superstars:

"The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, had begun exploring such machinations even before the opt outs of James and Anthony had become known, according to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne.

The Lakers have been trying in recent days to package the No. 7 overall pick in Thursday's draft with the expiring contract of Steve Nash (who's owed $9.7 million next season) to free up enough room to offer James and Anthony at least $16 million each next season to join forces with Kobe Bryant, Shelburne reported."

The Lakers are definitely the underdogs in this game. One of the biggest deterrents to their effort is actually Bryant's huge contract extension that amounts to $ 48.5 million for 2 years. It limits their effort to sign quality players.

It is a mystery on how Kobe will sell the Lakers to these two, but the team is the most popular on a global scale as well as a rich, winning tradition. How much weight that carries for LeBron and Melo is a big question.