The Los Angeles Lakers jumped out to a 10-10 start this season and some thought the learning curve for the young core under Luke Walton might be quicker than anticipated. Now, after a 5-21 stretch to drop them to 15-31, the Lakers appear to be who we thought they were.
That isn’t dampening the spirits of the Lakers’ most famous supporter, Magic Johnson.
Johnson has never been shy about sharing his feelings on the Lakers, from actively campaigning for Mike D’Antoni to be let go and gleefully celebrating his resignation to tweeting about who the team should pursue in free agency (which led to him losing a figurehead role with the team). While he’s been critical of the Lakers in recent years while the team has struggled to compete in the waning years of Kobe Bryant’s career and after, Johnson seems downright optimistic about the future of his former franchise.
Johnson spoke with Mark Medina of the Orange County Register on Tuesday night and called for patience, as difficult as it may be, from the Lakers faithful.
“Fans have to be encouraged, but Lakers fans are tired of losing,” Johnson told Medina. “We’re trying as Lakers fans to still be patient. But it’s hard. We have to wait some more?”
Among the things that has Johnson most encouraged is the job done by first-year coach Luke Walton. Johnson has never been afraid to criticize a Lakers coach in the post-Phil Jackson era, so for him to have praise for Walton is something relatively significant.
“Luke has designed a really good offense to fit the talent that we have. Everybody can really flourish in his offense,” Johnson said. “He’s put a lot of trust in the young guys. For the young players, you can also see that they trust him.”
Johnson also has high hopes for the Lakers young point guard D’Angelo Russell, with the caveat that Russell has to take the next step as a leader to take full advantage of his skills.
“D’Angelo is so talented. I just hope he steps into a bigger leadership role,” he said of the second year point guard. “We need a leader and he has to step into that role as a point guard. What makes every team great is they have that one guy leading the team.”
Arguably the most surprising part of Johnson’s breakdown of the current Lakers was his assessment of Nick Young this year, who he complimented for becoming a smarter, better two-way player this season.
“It’s the best I’ve ever seen him play,” Johnson said of Young. “He’s played both ends of the court and has played smart. He’s played for the team.”
Johnson’s turn to a more patient approach may be out of necessity. With the Lakers unable to land a major free agent in recent years — especially this offseason — it’s clear that building through young players is the team’s best and probably only hope for a return to prominence in the near future. If the current core is able to improve and become something resembling a playoff team, then the bright lights of Los Angeles and the Lakers history can start becoming enticing again to star free agents.
Until then, Lakers fans should probably look to be like Magic and search for the positives and signs of growth coming out of another losing season.
