Magic

Johnson

This comes out of nowhere but the Lakers should be better off. Magic Johnson pushed D’Angelo Russell away from the team, let go of Thomas Bryant and Ivica Zubac and then surrounded LeBron James with a joke of a supporting cast after striking out on the Paul George sweepstakes. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi, Johnson never fully committed to the job, his office hours were limited and he didn’t spend much time scouting.

The team said that the change is to clarify any confusion over Johnson’s representation with the team. The Hall of Famer has been a little more vocal about other teams on his Twitter account and other mediums, so that’s the reasoning here.

“First call I make if I’m in charge? Kobe Bryant,” Johnson said Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “Because Kobe understands winning. He understands, also, these players. So I would call, ‘What role you want? If you’ve got a day, just give me that day. I’ll take that. Whatever time he has, I want him to come and be a part of it.” Johnson is currently serving in an advisory role with the Lakers, but there’s been some speculation that he may take over as GM if Mitch Kupchak is fired.

The team also announced that GM Mitch Kupchak has been relieved of his duties and that Jim Buss will no longer hold his role as Lakers Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. It’s obviously a major shakeup within the Lakers organization. The press release quotes Jeanie Buss as declaring: “Our search for a new General Manager to work with Earvin and Coach Luke Walton is well underway and we hope to announce a new General Manager in short order.”

The agent-to-GM move worked out pretty well for the Warriors, so the Lakers will try and replicate that success by bringing in Pelinka, who is a well-respected agent around the league. He still needs to divest from his agency, so it could take a couple days before this thing becomes official.

Pelinka represented Kobe Bryant during his time in the league, and he has also represented guys like James Harden, Andre Iguodala and Andre Drummond to name a few. That being said, Pelinka is the president and CEO of Landmark Sports Agency, and for the Lakers to bring him on as their new GM he’d need to divest from his agency which is not a process that can happen overnight. As for the trade front with Magic in charge, he said he’s already been in contact with five GMs and that he’ll be handling the Lakers trade inquiries as the trade deadline approaches.

The Lakers reportedly struck a deal with Pelinka a couple weeks ago, but he needed to divest from his agency before things could become official. It’ll be interesting to see if the Lakers’ new front office duo of Magic Johnson and Pelinca are able to have more success at attracting free agents to the Los Angeles franchise.

“It’s going to take three to five years to get them back rolling again,” Johnson said. “If we’re patient and we develop our own players.” Johnson now holds an advisory role with the Lakers, and some speculate that Magic’s return to the front office could queue the end for GM Mitch Kupchak and executive VP Jim Buss’ tenure with the franchise.

He said he wants to save some cap space this summer to help his pitch in 2018. In other words, the Lakers may have one more year in their rebuild, and this may have something to do with Paul George. The Lakers have a huge night coming up on Tuesday when they hope to land a top-three pick in the draft lottery.

The Lakers only had a 46.9 percent chance of keeping their pick, as they would’ve had to send their pick to Philly if it fell out of the top three. This is a huge relief for the franchise and also means they will keep their 2019 first rounder, but it does mean their first round pick in 2018 will go to Philly no matter what. The 76ers will pick at No. 3 in 2017, followed by the Suns (No. 4), Kings (No. 5), Magic (No. 6), Wolves (No. 7), Knicks (No. 8), Mavericks (No. 9), Kings (No. 10), Hornets (No. 11), Pistons (No. 12), Nuggets (No. 13) and Heat (No. 14).