If the Los Angeles Lakers are dedicated to becoming a free-agent destination again, they made the right move in canning Mitch Kupchak and demoting Jerry Buss in favor of offering more power to Magic Johnson.
During an interview with CBS Sacramento’s the Lo-Down radio show, USA Today‘s Sam Amick suggested stars around the league wouldn’t have as much pause about signing in Hollywood after the current restructuring (via HoopsHype):
Sam Amick on Paul George and the Lakers: I guarantee you he feels a lot better now because Magic is there. The problem they had before, these guys like Russell Westbrook and Paul George who grew up Lakers fans, they would see the purple and gold logo and the Staples Center, then they would see Jim Buss in an arena or on a picture on the Internet and they would just kind of go ‘Oh boy.’ He just doesn’t have a resume.
There’s almost no question this is true. Sales pitches matter in free agency, and the Lakers have failed to wow for a while. It’s clear that Kobe Bryant’s protracted farewell song wasn’t the only deterrent in offseason superstar pursuits.
Still, winning matters. So while the Lakers loom as potential Paul George and Russell Westbrook bugaboos when both hit the open market in 2018—provided they don’t sign extensions beforehand—it’s a little tough to imagine All-NBA talents in their prime abandoning better situations to join the Purple and Gold’s rebuilding cause.
The Lakers, more than anything, need to show real progress on the development front before these superstar chases become more than pipe dreams.
