Lakers celebrity magic Johnson gave a radio interview today, during which he reviewed the Lakers' operational errors last offseason. Regarding DeMar DeRozan's original intention to join the Lakers, the Magician said: "I don't look at people passing! I said, 'Hey, talk to Aaron [Goodwin, DeRozan's agent], you guys fix it, I'm not going to do it now.' But that didn't happen. But they are negotiating. Then the Westbrook deal popped up. ”
The Magic said the Lakers could have completed the deRozan and Buddy Hield trades at the same time: "You put yourself in a position, not only for this season, but you also prepare for next season and the following season, because these two guys are young people and we need to bring some young players, which will keep LeBron (James) and AD (Anthony Davis) physically fit, and then if someone is injured, you know, you can count on DeRozan right now, he can score 40 points." That's how he hit bulls.
"So that's what really hurt the Lakers, not those two strokes." You know what...... We can leave Caruso! We can keep Pop. They are our best defensive players. They can lock in opponents. I was doing interviews with Stephen-A and I said, 'Man, they can't get Caruso to leave.' And then what happened? They let him go. He is selfless and doesn't care about the chance of a shot. His steals and interceptions are in the league's top ten. Caruso? He can change the game, he creates offensive fouls. This can turn a team around, which gives you a chance to win a basketball game.
"But we don't have anyone like that. No, we've brought in so many guys who can only attack. So you know what's going on, man. If they don't shoot accurately, they can't give you anything else! ”
However, the Lakers information website SSR wrote that the Magician's remarks show that he does not understand the CBA (collective agreement) rules at all, unless DeRozan is willing to accept a sharp salary cut (and he has said that he is not willing), then the Lakers can not be in the case of signing deRozan and trading Hield's salary chips at the same time. In addition, Pope was originally sent to the Spurs as a trading chip for the match, and due to the hard salary cap restriction triggered by DeRozan's trade, the Lakers will not be able to renew Caruso.
In addition, the Magic had the first time to tweet a welcome when the Westbrook deal was reached, also writing: "This deal makes the Lakers a championship team." ”