The Los Angeles Lakers are on the cusp of a crucial offseason. Depending on how lucky they get in the lottery, they’ll either have a high draft pick to complement youngsters D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle, or they won’t have a first-round pick at all. Even if they do keep their pick, their roster will still be bare of solid veteran contributors, let alone cornerstone superstars. GM Mitch Kupchak has his work cut out of him, but for Lakers legend Magic Johnson, the strategy is simple: Just go get the best players in the NBA!
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
Why, of course! The Lakers badly need a centerpiece around which to rebuild their squad in the aftermath of the Kobe Bryant era, and while D’Angelo Russell may still turn into that, why bother waiting around when Kevin Durant is hitting the open market? And while we’re at it, if the Cavs hit disaster in the Eastern Conference playoffs and LeBron James has a sour taste in his mouth, why not lure him away, as well? It’s amazing Kupchak didn’t think of that — what’s that? You’re saying those are crushingly obvious suggestions that make a mockery of the intricacies of NBA free agency? Well, color me shocked that Magic has a naive outlook on such things.
Then again, we’ll check back on this comment section to take our lumps from Lakers fans if Los Angeles has the greatest offseason in NBA history. That is, if hell hasn’t frozen over and taken out our Internet access.