ESPN 5 On 5: What Should Magic Do

5-on-5: What should Magic do? How many stars do the Lakers have?
How should Magic Johnson fix the Los Angeles Lakers? What about his new general manager?
How many future stars are already on the Lakers' roster?

Our NBA Insiders debate.

1. What five words best describe the news that Magic is taking over the Lakers?
J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: "Back to back! Yeah! YEAH!"

Those are five words I have associated with Magic ever since I saw this video clip in 1988. It's hard not to think of the 1980s when you see Magic with the Lakers, but since he spent half of Tuesday trying to leave the deep past in the past maybe we can, too. After all, as an executive he just won a WNBA championship with the Sparks and came within two games of the World Series with the Dodgers in 2016.

Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Let's see what happens next.

The Lakers definitely needed to move on from the Jim Buss era, but Magic taking over does not magically (pun intended) make the Lakers into contenders overnight. There's a lot of work left to be done, and he will need experienced advisers surrounding him.

Baxter Holmes, ESPN.com: Dramatic. Showtime. History. Iconic. Starpower. (OK, that last one is actually spelled as two words.)

In a Hollywood-dominated market, the Lakers love splashy headlines and the spotlight, love to hire familiar faces from their illustrious past and are as star-crazed as any franchise in professional sports, if not more so. They also love being dramatic, such as making a momentous move like this one two days before the trade deadline. Hiring Magic Johnson in his new role checks all these boxes. It is a very Lakers thing to do.

David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: (1)Brand: The Lakers have an immediate identity, for better or worse. (2) Fool's gold: Magic's brand means zilch to winning transactions or developing talent, which is where the franchise has been taking a pounding over recent years. (3) Caution: Former players like to go with their gut, letting their eyes dictate policy. That's a mistake. (4) Dreams: If Magic can build for the franchise what he did for his own brand, it is fair for Lakers fans to feel optimism regarding their future. (5) Losses: No description needed.

Chad Ford, ESPN Insider: About time for Showtime's return.

The Lakers have been in decline for some time and a bit rudderless. Jeanie Buss should've made this move last season. Magic is ideal for this role. He's highly intelligent, he understands the culture of the team and he makes a much better face of the franchise than anyone else they were going to get. And his decision to bring in Rob Pelinka to work on the day-to-day stuff shows wisdom as well. Magic has too much on his plate and too little experience to take on those responsibilities by himself.

2. Jeanie Buss evidently saw the Jim Buss-Mitch Kupchak regime as a failure. Do you agree with her?
Adande: Hard not to when they presided over the worst stretch in franchise history. The biggest problem was matching the coach to the roster, even when they had star players. The worst was when they rushed to hire uptempo maestro Mike D'Antoni to take over a big, slow team while he was too wobbly from knee surgery to even start the job. They also tried for too many metaphorical 3-pointers in free agency when midrange jumpers would've worked fine.

Elhassan: I do agree. All indications are that there was a fractured approach toward the direction of the basketball operations department, with several high-profile missteps outweighing whatever small victories they have amassed. But more importantly, Jim Buss was the one who put the artificial timeline on his job security. So in a way, Jeanie didn't do it, he did it to himself.

Ford: Yes. In recent years they couldn't figure out a way to put a contender around Kobe Bryant, nor would they commit to the full rebuilding process. The horrible Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov contracts combined with their inability to land a marquee free agent -- or DeMarcus Cousins, for that matter -- were the final blows to their Lakers tenure.

The middle road is usually the worst path in the NBA. Buss and Kupchak were following it and it has led them here.

Thorpe: It's hard to say -- seems like until Kobe retired their hands were tied. I like their talent and their coach. Thus, I like their future. My guess is there were deep chasms between sides inside the organization.

Holmes: Given the Lakers' abysmal record and the laundry list of terrible moves that led them here, it's clear that Buss and Kupchak failed, but so too did others in the organization. Kobe Bryant's controversial $48.5 million, two-year deal did Kupchak & Co. no favors, as it limited their financial flexibility.

But there were too many mistakes to overlook, from swinging and missing on countless free agents (not to mention bumbling through the LaMarcus Aldridge sit-down) to not drafting Kristaps Porzingis, to the signings of Mozgov and Deng. There are surely more from which to choose. But simply put, the Lakers have only gotten worse in recent years, and someone had to take the fall.

Golden State Warriors, then they mimic the Warriors by hiring a powerful agent as their GM. This outside-the-box move is another sign that the Lakers are hoping to duplicate the Warriors' model.

It's unclear how Pelinka might fare, but he knows the Lakers well, having been Kobe Bryant's longtime agent. He has strong ties with players, executives and teams around the NBA. Those edges alone make him a quality hire, even if he lacks front-office experience.

Adande: It speaks to Kobe's influence more than involvement. Nothing indicates a desire to not be bothered like saying, "Let my agent handle it." But Magic and Jeanie obviously valued Kobe's input. Maybe they can have him work out with current or prospective players and get his feedback. On second thought, we've already seen how that goes.

4. How many future stars do the Lakers have?
Thorpe: Three as of today, meaning Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram and D'Angelo Russell have All-Star talent and upside. They need lots of work, a better culture, more experienced teammates, etc. -- but the raw talent is there.

The league is full of great players who were not great initially. It is a mistake to think those three guys can't be special. Example: Paul George and Klay Thompson didn't have a player efficiency rating over 20 until their fourth seasons.

Adande: They had two players in the Rising Stars game. Do we count that? We should, because none of the players on the current roster will be an All-Star soon.

The Lakers might not have a player on the court on Sunday at next year's All-Star game in Staples Center, which never happened in the five previous times Los Angeles hosted the event. Magic might have to make a big trade just to keep the streak alive.

Holmes: The Lakers have some promising young talent, but, at the moment, none of their players are in the same category as Porzingis, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Karl-Anthony Towns. Which is to say, the Lakers don't have any obvious franchise stars that they can build around for the next decade or so.

They hope that Ingram will blossom into a star within a few years, and it will likely take him that long to even know, given how much he needs to physically develop. But Ingram seems like the most likely candidate. Russell has shown flashes, but his frequent knee injuries are troublesome. Randle or Jordan Clarkson have talent, but it's unclear whether they have star potential.

Ford: I'm not sure they have any right now. Their best bet will be landing a top-three pick in this year's draft. All three of the top players on my Big Board -- Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson -- have higher ceilings than anyone currently on the roster. As for current Lakers, I'm still a believer in Ingram, but it's clearly going to take awhile.

Elhassan: Maybe two? Russell and Ingram both have potential, but they're both pretty far off from realizing it.

5. What advice would you give to Magic?
Adande: Delegate. It's something he always did well, anyway -- in business and running sports franchises. Maybe you can't point to specific transactions he was behind with the Dodgers and Sparks, but you also can't find examples of him meddling. He also needs to be more visible and accountable than Jim Buss was. Pretty sure he can clear that bar.

Elhassan: Surround yourself with smart people and listen to what they have to say. When I was working in the league, I always felt my responsibility was to provide the people I worked for with all the information they needed to make an informed decision. Whether or not they followed my recommendation was inconsequential compared to the idea that they were fully equipped to make an educated decision.

Thorpe: Hire Tommy Sheppard from the Wizards, if you can. He is more experienced than pretty much anyone not currently a GM today at how to run a franchise from A to Z. The game is evolving so fast and we see how Washington has become a successful program, with good drafting, smart acquisitions and a very good coach who was supported fully after a rough start. He is a wheeler-and-dealer who also can work well behind the scenes.

Ford: Follow the game plan of your arch-nemesis, the C Bags. Keep collecting assets. Let your young players develop. Don't rush to put a contender out there. As your pieces grow, look for advantageous deals. Don't let the lure of L.A. be your blueprint. If the Lakers keep their pick this year, they'll be in very good shape going forward as long as Magic doesn't get trigger happy.

Holmes: Do not dwell on the Lakers' glorious history. Instead, focus on the nuances of the new CBA, how globalization and technology have affected the reach of big-market teams and how analytics, biometrics and more can help give you an edge in the modern game.

For too long, the Lakers have been stuck in the past. Magic Johnson was one of the brightest lights in that glorious past, but unless they want to stay irrelevant for years to come, Magic and the Lakers need to look ahead and appreciate how much has changed and how much they'll need to change to be contenders again.

 

The fact that everybody says "Magic needs to get competent people around him" shows that Magic himself has no idea what to do.

One can just hope he doesn't overrate himself and turn into another Isiah Thomas or Michael Jordan.

 

Magic is heavily relying on the young Buss kids and the young West. He's empowering a smart, progressive person like Rob Pelinka as our GM. He has made it clear that he is here to evaluate our young talent before trying to move them. So far he's made all the right moves.

I'm not saying he's definitely a good choice or that we're all better now. Far from it. So far though he's done well and that's all we can judge him on.

 

Magic probably spent more time with Dr Buss than his own kids. He knows how to empower people and hold them responsible. I'm not Magic's biggest fan off the court, but so far he's said and done everything right. Dr Buss taught him well.

 

Yes, this. Nobody was saying we should pick him before the draft, it was all Okafor and Russell talk. People laughed at the Knicks for taking him 4th, and even Phil Jackson was reportedly trying to trade the pick instead of take him, and proceeded to talk crap about him being Shawn Bradley or something shortly after. If you want to say we missed on Porzingis, fine, but don't act like you were saying on draft day that we should take him, and also point out that Philly missed out on him if he's so great, because Okafor isn't so great.

 

Exactly. Also, let's not forget the "New York Bounce" he is getting.

 

I think it's natural to have some skepticism and doubts regarding a brand new front office. Especially as this will be Magic's first time as President of ops and Pelinka's first time as a GM. But I'm personally fine with the change. I always felt like Jim on his own without his father was pretty clueless and just didn't have a good feel or plan for what he was doing. I thought he was winging it and if you look at the track record I think that's the case. He could never come close to landing multiple star free agents as he promised, let alone even one. He couldn't even keep Dwight Howard here. His tenure was a failure and he left us with two bad albatross contracts with Deng and Moz.

It's time to move on and we can't do much worse than the last four years. I think Magic and Pelinka will do better.

 

New to the internet are you?

 

You spelled "minutes" wrong.

 

In his interview with Spectrum Magic said he believed Clarkson can become one of the best defenders in the league. Thats when I knew he has no idea about this team.