Report: Lakers won't replace Magic Johnson, but will still let him recruit players to the team
Magic Johnson may no longer be the president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he’s still going to help out the team. Johnson will reportedly be part of the Lakers’ recruiting process over the summer, according to the Los Angeles Times.
That may come as a surprise considering Johnson’s exit from the team. Johnson held an impromptu news conference announcing his resignation. During that conference, the 59-year-old Johnson admitted he had not told Lakers owner Jeanie Buss about his decision to leave.
The Lakers are not looking to replace Johnson during the offseason.
Despite his exit, the team will allow Johnson to help the team bring in another star player during the offseason, according to the Times.
“Buss has no plans to hire someone to replace Johnson, who is still expected to be part of the Lakers’ free-agent recruiting this summer in some capacity,” the Times reported.
The Lakers are expected to be active during the summer. The team has been rumored to be in the hunt for another superstar, and could pursue Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson. The team may also try (again) to acquire New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis in a trade.
On top of that, the Lakers are still in the middle of a coaching search. Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams have already been interviewed, and both will receive a second interview, according to the Times. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka will also meet with Juwan Howard for the position.
During his tenure as team president, Johnson was fined a number of times for commenting on other players. He cited being able to engage in conversation freely as a reason for submitting his resignation.
Johnson won’t have to worry about that if he’s simply recruiting players to the Lakers. Given his star power, Johnson might be more well suited for this role than he was as team president.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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