Former Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson blames owner Jim Buss for the team's recent woes. Johnson believes Buss's ego and string of questionable decisions are deterring free agents from wanting to sign with the Lakers, the L.A. Times reports.
The Lakers are no longer the powerhouse they once were. Los Angeles has struggled over the past couple seasons with early exits from the playoffs, and Johnson believes Buss is the reason for it.
"This is what happens when you make the wrong decisions, two coaching wrong decisions, giving Steve Nash that deal, it's backfired," Johnson told The Times on Wednesday. "... (Buss has) got to quit trying to prove a point to everybody that he can do it on his own, get his ego out of it, and just say, 'Let me get someone beside me to help achieve the goals I want.'"
Johnson commended Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak for doing a good job, but the NBA Hall of Famer said Kupchak "doesn't have the power" to turn the franchise around. Because of that, Johnson argued, free agents are wary sign with the Lakeshow.
"Everybody's telling me free agents don't want to sign [with the Lakers]. ... They're looking at the Lakers now as a team that's dysfunctional; who's their leader, who's the guy?"
Johnson's solution is to hire someone like Jerry West, who was the general manager of the Lakers from 1982 to 2000, to be the face of the franchise.
"Dr. Buss (Jim's father) was smart," said Johnson. "He said, 'I'm going to get the best dude, Jerry West, and he helped me achieve my goals. Then I went and got the best coach [Phil Jackson].' He wanted to work with the best."
Because of the missing pieces on the Lakers' roster, Johnson also believes Lakers star Kobe Bryant should sit out the rest of the season.
"He's got to," Johnson said. "What is he coming back to? He's not going to be able to stop the pick and roll, all the layups the Lakers are giving up. He's been hurt twice, give him the whole year to get healthy."
Injuries haven't made things easier for Los Angeles. The Lakers are still without Bryant, Nash Steve Blake, Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar.
