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The Los Angeles Lakers are a team determined to right the ship immediately this summer. Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka will be going all out in their attempts to upgrade the roster with superstar talent in NBA free agency with LeBron James and Paul George expected to be in their crosshairs.
Although this summer will be huge for Los Angeles in terms of the players available on the open market, next year will also have a talented crop potentially there for the taking. At this point, the Lakers seem to have favorable odds to land LeBron as well as George with viable options a year from now as well with Johnson as confident as ever in the team's ability to bring in superstar talent, via ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
“No, because I told you this is [about] two summers,” Johnson said when asked if it will be a failure if the Lakers don't land a max star like LeBron James or Paul George in free agency next month. “We don't know what people are going to decide. And we can't control that so 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. But if you judge us on one summer that's ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn't be in their roles. Because if we're banking on one summer for the Lakers, we're in trouble.”
Johnson is ironically taking the same approach to the team's attempt to rebuild the franchise into a contender as the previous did. Jim Buss promised to make the team a contender with a timeline which never panned out and now Magic is taking the same route, but with arguably a much better chance of succeeding.
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“You have to give us time,” Johnson continued. “… Like I told you before I took the job and when I took the job, it's going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers. This summer and next summer. That's it. If I can't deliver I'm going to step down myself. She [team controlling owner Jeanie Buss] won't have to fire me, I'll step away from it, because [then] I can't do this job.”
As of right now, LeBron has seemingly narrowed his options in free agency to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lakers. Landing three-time NBA champion would be a huge win for the franchise and would instantly get Magic off the hook for the time being. George may also follow James to Los Angeles, therefore, increasing the team's chances of being a title contender while also making Johnson and Pelinka look like the right men for the job of turning this franchise around.
If the team strikes out in free agency this year, the Lakers can pursue Kawhi Leonard and or Klay Thompson next summer if they don't end up signing an extension with their current teams. Leonard seems like the most likely candidate to land in Los Angeles if things don't work out with the San Antonio Spurs.
