Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson said Tuesday he will step down from his role if the Lakers fail to attract marquee players in the free-agency periods of 2018 and 2019.
“Next summer if nobody comes and I’m still sitting here like this, then it’s a failure,” Johnson said. “But if you judge us on one summer that’s ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn’t be in their roles. Because if we’re banking on one summer for the Lakers we’re in trouble, we’re in trouble. You have to give us time. This class, like I told you before I took the job and when I took the job, it’s going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers. This summer and next summer. That’s it.
If I can’t deliver I’m going to step down myself, she won’t have to fire me,” he said of controlling owner Jeanie Buss. “I’ll step away from it, because I can’t do this job.”
Johnson’s ultimatum is nothing new. Jim Buss, then the Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations, made a similar promise in 2014.
“If this doesn’t work in three to four years, if we’re not back on the top — and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship — then I will step down because that means I have failed,” Jim Buss told The Times in 2014.
Jim Buss is still a co-owner of the Lakers, but has no role in its basketball decisions after his sister fired him.
Free agency opens Saturday at 9:01 p.m. PDT and the Lakers will try to sign top free agents like Paul George and LeBron James. In past years, the Lakers have had trouble even getting top-tier free agents to consider their pitches. Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are expected to change that.
Johnson was asked if he feels pressure.
“Look, I have been playing … do you know how many Finals I have been in?” Johnson said. “So you think I am worried about this? I have played against Larry Bird in the Finals. I mean, come on man. I have been in nine Finals. I have been in college NCAA championships.”
“Next summer if nobody comes and I’m still sitting here like this, then it’s a failure,” Johnson said. “But if you judge us on one summer that’s ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn’t be in their roles. Because if we’re banking on one summer for the Lakers we’re in trouble, we’re in trouble. You have to give us time. This class, like I told you before I took the job and when I took the job, it’s going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers. This summer and next summer. That’s it.
If I can’t deliver I’m going to step down myself, she won’t have to fire me,” he said of controlling owner Jeanie Buss. “I’ll step away from it, because I can’t do this job.”
Johnson’s ultimatum is nothing new. Jim Buss, then the Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations, made a similar promise in 2014.
“If this doesn’t work in three to four years, if we’re not back on the top — and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship — then I will step down because that means I have failed,” Jim Buss told The Times in 2014.
Jim Buss is still a co-owner of the Lakers, but has no role in its basketball decisions after his sister fired him.
Free agency opens Saturday at 9:01 p.m. PDT and the Lakers will try to sign top free agents like Paul George and LeBron James. In past years, the Lakers have had trouble even getting top-tier free agents to consider their pitches. Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are expected to change that.
Johnson was asked if he feels pressure.
“Look, I have been playing … do you know how many Finals I have been in?” Johnson said. “So you think I am worried about this? I have played against Larry Bird in the Finals. I mean, come on man. I have been in nine Finals. I have been in college NCAA championships.”
