Johnson's hard-line ultimatum could be a sign of his competitive natureNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson "set a timeline for himself" in that if the team fails to "attract top players in the free-agency periods of this summer or next summer," he would resign, according to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. TIMES. Johnson said, "This summer and next summer. That's it. If I can't deliver I'm going to step down myself, [Lakers President Jeanie Buss] won't have to fire me. I'll step away from it, because I can't do this job." Former Lakers Exec VP/Basketball Operations Jim Buss "made a similar promise" in '14, and while he is still a co-Owner of the Lakers, he "has no role in its basketball decisions." Free agency begins Sunday at midnight, and the Lakers are said to be interested in Fs Paul George and LeBron James. SI earlier this week "leaked part of a voiceover script for a presentation to George" that "aimed to sell George on his dreams of becoming a star" in L.A. (L.A. TIMES, 6/27). In L.A., Elliott Teaford notes Johnson "cautioned against expecting too much from free agency this summer." Johnson: "If guys decide not to come here, it's not a failure. We turn to next summer. Next summer, if nobody comes and I'm still sitting here like this, then it's a failure. If you judge us on one summer, that's ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn't be in their roles." Johnson also "repeated his plea for patience from everyone in Lakerland." Johnson said, "You've got to give us a couple of years to turn it around. We already told you when I took the job it wasn't going to be an easy turnaround. We've already done things to make the trades we've made and to bring the people we've brought in. Everything is already different. We're moving in the right direction. I'm going to try to stay disciplined and patient" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/27). ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk noted the Lakers "had no idea that Johnson was going to place such a hard-line ultimatum on himself" (ESPN.com, 6/26).
SURPRISING COMMENTS: In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes Johnson's proclamation was "surprising, unsettling, and downright cryptic." Johnson either "could be talking like someone who knows he will bring in George and James in the next couple of weeks" or like someone "who is buying time because he doesn't think he can bring in any big shot this summer, at which point his reputation as a basketball executive will take a sizable hit." Whatever it was, his "emotional responses were everything that everybody loved about Johnson as a player, and everything that made some folks squeamish about the idea of him as a boss." The Lakers "can only hope that, in an era when mercurial players seek front office stability, his passion will sell" (L.A. TIMES, 6/27). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said the "only reason" Johnson is with the Lakers is to attract big-name free agents. Greenberg: "They didn't bring in Magic Johnson to go through the painstaking work of scouting high school kids in Europe. They brought Magic Johnson there because they think that someone like LeBron James and the other big names will give him respect and be interested in potentially joining up with him." ESPN's Jalen Rose: "Look back at all of the articles when one Michael Jordan became owner of (the Hornets). All media members felt that each player would flock down there to go play with him. It does not work that way" ("Get Up!," ESPN, 6/27).
NOT A SMOOTH TRANSITION: NBC Sports Bay Area's Kelli Johnson said Johnson is "as good of a basketball mind as we've seen, but you don't know how it translates in the front office role." She added Johnson's decree is an "interesting little positioning move ... to send a message to LeBron saying, 'We want you, but we're not just focused on this summer.'" NBC Sports Bay Area's Ray Ratto: "The problem that Magic Johnson has is that he has wrapped himself up in that Laker royalty, basically saying, 'We're the Lakers. We're special. We're above and beyond everybody else,' but the last five years have turned that into a lie. They are like everybody else. You make enough stupid moves and you waste enough money on players past their prime, you will eat it and if LeBron doesn't come, I don't know how they get out of this rut that they're in" ("The Happy Hour," NBC Sports Bay Area, 6/26).
L.A. OR BUST: In DC, Tim Bontemps noted as the official start to NBA free agency approaches, the Lakers will "have a fresh chance to prove that, finally, they are capable of reclaiming their previous stature in the league." Nothing will do that "more forcefully than a successful recruitment" of James. Now, it "seems the Lakers might actually be back in the game." Whether James "chooses to join them or not, they are universally considered to be on his short list." George and Spurs F Kawhi Leonard have also "been said to favor them as a preferred destination via trade." There is a "realistic understanding" that for the first time in years, the Lakers are "back among the true potential destinations for some of the game's best players" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 6/26). ESPN's Mike Golic Jr. wondered how much the "storied history of a franchise like the Lakers actually factor" into a free agent's decision to sign with that team. Golic: "Especially when it's somebody like LeBron James, who himself is probably more famous and more renowned than any one franchise" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 6/27).
