When you add LeBron James to a team, it doesn’t automatically mean the squad will instantly start winning and have no growing pains. Chances are, the Lakers will win more than they lose early on, but as new key players learn to play with each other, there will be winning streaks but also some losing. One step back, two steps forward, on and on. Here’s ESPN.com reporting that Magic Johnson understand this, and won’t hold it against head coach Luke Walton if there are some early-season bumps:
Saying he understands that the revamped Los Angeles Lakers will need time to mesh, Magic Johnson said he told head coach Luke Walton not to worry if the team gets off to a bumpy start this season.
“As I was talking to Luke [with GM Rob Pelinka], we said don’t worry about if we get out to a bad start,” Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, said Thursday as the team’s brass met with the media. “We have seen that with LeBron [James] going to Miami, and we have seen that when he came back to Cleveland. He is going to struggle because there are so many new moving parts. But eventually we are going to get it, and we are going to be really a good team.”
The Lakers added veterans such as James, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley in free agency to go with a young developing core of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. In addition to adding multiple players who have been at their best with the ball in their hands, the Lakers injected their locker room with some strong and unique personalities.
