When Magic Johnson became President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, it seemed that the Lakers losing seasons was coming to an end.
Magic Johnson drafted Lonzo Ball with the number 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Magic also traded D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets to get rid of a bad contract and create cap space which in turn delivered the 27th pick in Kyle Kuzma. Magic Johnson did everything right in order to sign one of the best players ever in LeBron James.
This season has not played out how Magic and Laker fans pictured it. A season filled with injuries to multiple starters and trade rumors ruined the Lakers chances of making a playoff run. This will be the sixth consecutive season that the Lakers will miss the playoffs and the first for LeBron James since 2004-2005 season.
Clearly the roster needs to be rebuilt during the summer. Magic can start with looking for a max player that wants to join the Laker tradition and win a championship. There are only special players that fit the Laker tradition and LeBron is one of them. I believe Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, and Demarcus Cousins are the players that the Lakers have a great chance to sign this summer. After that Magic must sign 3 and D players to compliment LeBron’s style of play.
Magic Johnson and Jeanie Buss are going to have to sit down and discuss whether Luke Walton will return to coach the Lakers. Jeanie Buss has been very supportive of Luke Walton and would like to see him continue to coach the team.
The problem is can Luke Walton lead the Lakers to a championship? If Magic and Jeanie agree that he may not be the right guy for the job then hiring the correct coach for the Lakers is extremely important. The coach is a huge component to building a culture and a style of play that translates with the players and is exciting for the fans.
Whoever the coach may be will have a lot of pressure to bring the Lakers back to the playoffs and win a championship.
This summer is extremely important for the Los Angeles Lakers. Winning is the only thing that matters and the Lakers must begin to win and develop a culture that is fun to watch. Magic Johnson must make the necessary changes for the Lakers to win next year and be a championship contender. Whether it’s a trade or through free agency, the Lakers roster needs to improve immediately in order to achieve the goals that Magic Johnson and Jeanie Buss set out to begin their partnership.
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