Vice President of the Lakers, Magic Johnson is excited for the Los Angeles Lakers future, and who wouldn’t be at this point. They just hired Luke Walton (Mr. 24-0) as their new Head Coach, after firing Byron Scott, the Kobe Bryant era of basketball is over, and now the Lakers can finally focus on the future without anything holding them back.
With the youthful and fun roster that the Lakers possess, they are in a good position to sign a big free agent this year, and turn the fortune of their franchise around. legendary Laker Magic Johnson chimed in on who they should target on Twitter:
Coach Luke Walton will make the young players better and Free Agents will be excited to come play for Coach Walton and the Lakers!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 1, 2016
Laker Nation: DeMar DeRozan should be one of the free agents we go after this summer.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 2, 2016
Laker Nation: The first free agent the Lakers should go after is Kevin Durant.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 2, 2016
Laker Nation: I would love to see Kevin Durant in the Purple & Gold!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 2, 2016
Laker Nation: The Lakers should call LeBron James agent. We know he’s going stay in CLE but they should go after him just in case he leaves.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 2, 2016
I’m not sure if this is classified as tampering, because as Vice President, you can’t really mention who you want to target, until they’re actually free agents. So, Magic Johnson believes the Los Angeles Lakers should sign everyone in the offseason. There’s been tons of speculation on Kevin Durant wearing purple and gold next year, and possibly reuniting with Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles in 2017, but that is all speculation and rumors. DeMar DeRozan, who just advanced the Toronto Raptors into the 2nd round for just the 2nd time in team history, is a Los Angeles and Compton Native, can the Lakers persuade him to make a home-coming? Or will they ruin another home-coming and bring LeBron James to the city of angels? All of this is speculation, rumors, and Magic Johnson tweets for now, but don’t be surprised if one of those 3 do end up in Los Angeles next year. All 3 players would bring different dynamics to the team, and change the direction of the team. Another player that has been frequently mentioned in free agent talks with the Lakers is Hassan Whiteside. Although Magic Johnson didn’t mention him in his tweets, Whiteside’s abilities are much-needed in Los Angeles. With Roy Hibbert not coming back to Los Angeles, the Starting Center position is vacant for the Lakers. In my opinion, that is someone who they should target.
Overall, the Lakers have one busy summer ahead of them. With $60 Million in cap space, a new Head Coach, and a potential top-2 pick in this years draft, the Lakers are poised to change things around next year, and Magic Johnson knows that.
