Over the past few weeks, Magic Johnson has publicly criticized the Los Angeles Lakers for a number of different reasons. It may be easy to criticize the reeling Lakers right now with the team currently sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but Magic didn’t hold anything back on a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Shortly after receiving backlash from Lakers fans for comments made about the team, Magic said he’ll dial back the criticism of his former team. The NBA Hall of Famer has vowed to stop criticizing the team moving forward.
Along with no longer criticizing the storied franchise, Magic has offered his services to GM Mitch Kupchak to help recruit free agents in the off-season according to Jill Painter of L.A. Daily News:
.@MagicJohnson “I told mitch the other day if you want me to recruit this summer..People dont know that was my role with dr. buss for while
— Jill Painter Lopez (@jillpainter) February 5, 2014
More @MagicJohnson : “I was the first to call Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, all these guys, that was my job, calling them and recruiting them.”
— Jill Painter Lopez (@jillpainter) February 5, 2014
With the upcoming NBA free agent market potentially jam packed with talent, Magic’s recruiting services may come in handy. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh may become available this summer if they opt-out of their deals, but there are also a few other free agents that might also intrigue the Lakers.
Among the players set to become unrestricted free agents this summer are Luol Deng, Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyle Lowry, Danny Granger, Ray Allen and Pau Gasol. Of the names mentioned above, Deng and Lowry might be the most likely to sign with the Lakers, but it’s still too early to speculation on their potential free agent destination.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Lakers Nation Exclusive: VIP Viewing Party For Backstage: Lakers On Time Warner Cable SportsNet
