Can LeBron (or Kobe) Help the Lakers Lure Star Power This Summer?
LOS ANGELES — When Earvin "Magic" Johnson stepped down as Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations, with him the team lost its most visible, influential recruiting tool.
That role shifts to general manager Rob Pelinka, special adviser Kurt Rambis, head coach Frank Vogel and owner Jeanie Buss, but none has the presence of LeBron James, who may have to do the heavy lifting this summer when recruiting free agents.
Johnson was able to lure James to Los Angeles last summer. Would the All-Star forward have come to the Lakers regardless of who was heading the pitch? Maybe, but Johnson will always have the James blockbuster signing atop his resume.
Watching Johnson work behind the scenes at Staples Center the past two years, exchanging pleasantries with opposing players between the home and away locker rooms, what stood out was how the Hall of Fame point guard still resonated with today's players, even those far too young to have seen him light up the NBA with the Showtime Lakers in the '80s. Johnson, as always, remained larger than life.
But the team has taken a beating of late, specifically with Johnson undermining the front office and ownership. That could easily lead top free agents to steer clear of the Lakers. If Johnson doesn't trust them, why should one of this summer's star players?
The Lakers need a big personality to overcome the recent negativity, and it appears James is already on the case, reportedly recruiting Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler. On Friday, James liked an Instagram post showing Irving in a Lakers uniform. James and Irving have made amends since their partnership in Cleveland dissolved. Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, James has already contacted Leonard and Butler.
Never mind that's technically tampering. The league has been clear under Commissioner Adam Silver that it'll turn a blind eye to player-to-player tampering. It's when teams do it, like Johnson and Pelinka in pursuing Paul George last year, that the NBA steps in.
That's not to say that Pelinka, the Lakers' top basketball executive, won't actively recruit players. He just needs to wait until July.
Pelinka should have the advantage if the Lakers were to chase any of his ex-clients, who generally speak glowingly of their former agent, but the best of the lot this summer is probably Trevor Ariza. While he would round out the team's perimeter defense well, the Lakers need to chase higher-impact players to partner James with another star or two.
If Pelinka is willing to use all the assets at his disposal, he should turn to the biggest client of his career (and close friend), Kobe Bryant, who—like Johnson and James—is looked upon as basketball royalty. Bryant has shown no interest in actively working within the Lakers front office. If Johnson committed only part of his energies to the Lakers, Bryant has historically been an all-or-nothing operator.
Bryant wasn't exactly a big-time recruiter in his day, with more of an "if they don't want to play with me in Los Angeles, then they shouldn't be Lakers" attitude, but that was when he was a player. In his retirement, Bryant may be more open to helping Pelinka return the team to contention.
Pelinka doesn't need Bryant to have a day job in El Segundo, California, but he may need to lean on Bryant to actively recruit the likes of Irving and Leonard, along with the team's secondary options like Kemba Walker and Butler. Irving has long admired Bryant, their relationship developing with Team USA in 2012. Per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com in 2015, Bryant "was the first person" Irving called when he had knee issues.
Perhaps Bryant can even get in Kevin Durant's or Klay Thompson's ears while James doubles down with added peer pressure. If not, the Lakers may strike out with the summer's best free agents, at which point it's up to Pelinka to find trades for star power. Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies is believed to be available. The Washington Wizards still haven't hired a top basketball executive to decide on the fate of All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
James can influence the trade market as well, most notably in helping his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports land Anthony Davis last year, which led to Johnson and the Lakers unsuccessfully chasing the New Orleans Pelicans star before the February deadline. Expect that pursuit to resume near the draft next month, though it's entirely up to New Orleans if and where it deals Davis.
Per a "paranoid Berkeley shiksa feminista" on Twitter (@tashcoug), James dined with Davis and Russell Westbrook at Nobu in Malibu, California, on Wednesday night. Westbrook could be another trade target for the Lakers, though there's been no sign the Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to unload his contract, which still has four more years at $171.2 million (the last season is a $47.1 million player option).
It would seem that the Lakers are in good hands, in that James is aggressively networking to find a co-star in Los Angeles. The Lakers still have one of the NBA's largest fanbases worldwide, enough cap space to sign a maximum-salaried free agent, the No. 4 pick in the draft and several quality young players (to either help the team win on the court or as trade pieces).
The Lakers could be on the verge of building a superteam or failing to give James the help he needs to compete in the Western Conference.
Johnson may be gone, but James—with an assist from Bryant—should be more than enough to impress their top free-agent targets.
Is it enough to get a "yes"? The answer will be clear in the next six weeks.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
