Too early to talk who will be the champion next season. Players are still weighing where or which team they will go. Still the Golden State Warriors will be the barometer of all the teams in the NBA. Lebron James will be recruiting an army of star players so he could dethrone the Warriors this year.
Lebron dont have a plan to defeat the GSW this year, as you can see, they're signing vet players for a 1 year contract. Next year there would be another set of superstars who will be on the free agency including Leonard. In 2019 the Lakers will have enough cap space to sign superstars. Just like Magic planned every step he can to bring back the Lake show on stage.
Probably this year will be a good test as to how Lakers team will blend in with Lebron as their leader. The team is very young but there are a lot of veterans like Rondo that can guide this youngsters. It they can get to the playoffs then it will be a big boost for them but I wouldn't be surprised in they don't pass the first one. As for the Magic's plan, it could work so let's see how the Lakers will be next season.