The Los Angeles Lakers made a bold move when they installed Magic Johnson as president of basketball operations. Now, one year later, we take a look at the moves he has made during his tenure running the team.
Johnson had to hit the ground running and adapt on the fly, taking over just days before the 2017 NBA trade deadline. He successfully completed two deals, kicking off his quest to bring the Lakers back to the top of the NBA mountain.
After that, an eventful summer saw the team pick up four new players in the 2017 NBA draft, but did they make the right selections?
Lonzo Ball has has shown flashes of brilliance, but the true genius in the Lakers’ draft just may have been the selections of Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, both snagged at the end of the first round.
Of course, we also can’t forget the much-debated trade that sent D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for big man Brook Lopez and a draft pick. How does that deal look now that the dust has somewhat settled?
Johnson also offered a big-money deal to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has proven to be a solid addition, and there just might be more than meets the eye here based on who Caldwell-Pope’s agent is. But was signing him worth losing David Nwaba?
We break down all those moves and more, plus get into a discussion with Nick Gelso of CLNS about his experience covering the newest Laker, Isaiah Thomas.
All that and more on this show, just click the player above.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE NEW LAKERSNATION FORUM CLUB