Another lost season in Lakerdom ... please.
Inexperienced as the new sheriff in town is, Magic Johnson is a quick study. It took 11 days from the day his involvement was announced for him to tell “CBS This Morning” it would take three to five years to get the team “back rolling again.”
Forward, he means. They’ve already rolled backward about as far as they can go.
That’s the good part about having Magic involved. If he’s long been known in the organization as a loose cannon, fans get told the truth.
We’ll find out more about what they’re up to at Thursday’s trade deadline with low-key General Manager Mitch Kupchak striking an uncharacteristically aggressive, Magic Era posture, noting they will be active and have a lot of players who teams want “compared to the last three or four years.”
Magic might have said “the last three or four sorry years” but you get the idea.
Kupchak means Nick Young and especially Lou Williams, who have pre-cap explosion salaries (Sweet Lou makes $7 million, Swaggy P $5.4 million). If they can off-load either Timofey Mozgov or Luol Deng, so much the better.
Like everyone else, the Lakers want draft picks with Johnson recognizing that free agency has become much harder under the new rules when they no longer have all the money, glitz and cachet.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they still owe that No. 1 from the 2011 Steve Nash trade ... going into one of the deepest drafts in years, starting with Washington’s Markelle Fultz.
For the other non-playoff teams, it’s a question of where they draft in the lottery. For the Lakers, it’s a question of whether they draft in the first round.
Awful as the trade turned out with Nash missing 181 of 246 games, Kupchak at least got so much protection, we’re still talking about when this pick will be conveyed six years later.
Happily for the Lakers, this spring’s pick is still protected.
Unhappily for the Lakers, it’s only top-three protected.
Happily for the Lakers, they’re in the bottom three, if not by a lot, two games worse than fourth-worst Orlando.
Unhappily for the Lakers, a third-worst finish means less than a 50 percent chance – 46.8, actually – of drawing a top-three pick in the lottery. Finishing second-worst would boost their chances to 58.6 percent, so it’s definitely the way to go.
Teams, including the Magic, are already gearing up, or down.
Orlando GM Rob Henigan traded Serge Ibaka to Toronto for reserve Terrence Ross and a No. 1 ... after dealing arguably his top prospect, Victor Oladipo, for Ibaka.
If Henigan is deservedly under the gun, Portland’s Neil Olshey, the ace who drafted Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum when they were afterthoughts and DeAndre Jordan in the second round when he was with the Clippers, just bailed on his team’s disappointing season, sending Mason Plumlee to Denver for Jusuf Nurkic and a No. 1, the Trail Blazers’ third, noting, “It’s a big-time draft. It’s got incredible depth.”
Unhappily for the Lakers (19-39), the Nets (9-47) and Suns (18-39) are capable of staying below them and the 21-37 Magic is capable of getting below them.
Happily for the Lakers, aside from that, the usual suspects in striking range aren’t tanking yet.
The 76ers (21-35) are trying to win with Sam Hinkie gone and – surprise! – doing OK at it, going 14-11 after a 7-24 start.
The Timberwolves (22-35) are so loaded (Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach Lavine, et al.), they’re above tanking. Now they have to win, which is proving trickier for Coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Mavericks (22-34) started 6-20 but owner Mark Cuban promised they’ll try to claw their way into the playoffs, even if their fans don’t want them to.
“There are so many teams that became four years away from four years away because guys just learned how to lose,” Cuban said.
I always thought that, but look at the Sixers revival. Nevertheless, it’s so refreshing, it would be great if he can make it work.
The Pelicans (23-34) could fire Coach Alvin Gentry at any time so he’s not tanking and management isn’t decisive enough under 89-year-old owner Tom Benson, who just survived a legal challenge alleging he was incompetent by his daughter, whom he disinherited.
The Knicks (23-34) should tank ... except James Dolan, who has messed up everything he touched as owner, might be involved.
Dolan cares more about his standing among Knicks fans – abysmal as that is – which is why he might not let defrocked savior Phil Jackson trade Carmelo Anthony after turning him into a sympathetic figure.
Dolan, of course, just embarrassed not only the Knicks but the entire NBA with his show of fake compassion, portraying Charles Oakley as an alcoholic who needs help to explain why Dolan’s security wrestled him out of the arena and had police take him away in handcuffs.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver handled it deftly, summoning both to his office to make up – obliging Dolan to endorse the notion that Oakley did nothing wrong.
Now Dolan is free to go back to screwing up his team!
Olshey would have to trade Lillard and McCollum for the Trail Blazers (23-33) to fall into the bottom three and he needs them in the future.
The Kings (24-33) would like to make the playoffs for the first time in Boogie Cousins’ seven seasons, although it would help if he stops drawing technical fouls and getting suspended.
The Lakers, of course, are 9-29 since their 10-10 start so staying in the bottom three is doable.
After that, Johnson had better practice drawing top picks in the lottery. Laker fans had better hope he’s not called Magic for nothing.
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