Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson plans to fly to Philadelphia to meet with his team after missing out on the chance to trade for Anthony Davis before the trade deadline, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
“Johnson wants to encourage the Lakers to stay the course and to focus on the task ahead with 27 regular-season games left to play, one person said.”
L.A. plays the Sixers on Sunday, the first of 27 games as they have concluded the first two-thirds of the season with a 28-27 record, good for 10th place in a ruthless Western Conference. Johnson is hoping to calm the waters and do some damage control, after the front office put nearly the entire roster on the trade block to acquire Davis, a gambit that went public.
The Lakers put nearly all their chips on the table trying to trade for Davis, but still salvaged two trades to give the team a better output in the season, acquiring Reggie Bullock from the Detroit Pistons (sent back rookie Svi Mykhailiuk) and Mike Muscala from the L.A. Clippers, sending back center Ivica Zubac and forward Michael Beasley.
Both moves were made in hopes to acquire players that can stretch the floor from different positions, something the team severely lacked heading into the start of the season.
Bullock and Muscala won't see too much playing time, but they will help the Lakers cure a disease that has plagued them the entire season, with two non-shooting point guards in Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball.
Whether Johnson will be successful in steering this roster into a playoff push remains to be seen, but the failure to acquire Davis has certainly made his job that much tougher for the next two months.
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