If there isn’t a superstar playing for Los Angeles next summer, Lakers team president Magic Johnson said he won’t be with the team either.
While introducing draft picks Moe Wagner from Michigan and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk from Kansas on Tuesday, Johnson set a timeline for himself to bring a marquee player to L.A.
According to Johnson, it won’t be a failure if the Lakers can’t attract a star free agent this summer, but it will be a massive malfunction if the team doesn’t have a superstar by the start of the 2019–20 season.
“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,” Johnson said. “This summer and next summer. That’s it. If I can’t deliver I’m going to step down myself. She [team controlling owner Jeanie Buss] won’t have to fire me, I’ll step away from it, because [then] I can’t do this job.”
This summer, the Lakers are expected to be in play for acquiring stars like LeBron James, Paul George, and DeMarcus Cousins. Next year, all-star players like Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Kawhi Leonard could be available in free agency.
The Lakers did not ask Johnson to install such a hard-line ultimatum on himself, ESPN reported.
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