Legendary Magic Johnson talks about Los Angeles Lakers and the Pau Gasol trade – NBA News
The issue of Pau Gasol’s trade has become intense with time and has now reached a level, where if it is not solved quickly, can lead the Los Angeles Lakers to doom.
The leader of the team, Kobe Bryant has already made himself clear, that he does not want Gasol to be traded but on the other hand, teams General Manager Mitch Kupchak has declared that a team would explore its options and trade
Gasol if they deem appropriate.
All this has led to a rift between team management and the players. Few days ago, there was a players-only meeting to ensure that the issue does not affect the team’s performance; however was that enough remains to be the question.
Legendary Magic Johnson has been following these developments closely, has now intervened and asked Bryant to stay calm and not worry about Mitch’s statement and instead talk to the person who will be making the final decision
- team’s owner Jim Buss. According to Johnson, this is no one’s fault as everyone is doing his job.
Talking to ESPN, Johnson shed light on this issue. Fragment of his response read like this.
"[Kupchak is] not running the team," Johnson said. "Jim Buss is running the team. So, Mitch has to follow the direction of Jim Buss and what he wants. I wouldn't say Mitch is the problem or anything. He's going to do his job. I
think what Kobe really probably wants is just be informed. As a leader, as a future Hall of Famer, as a guy who has brought five championships to the Lakers and the fans of Los Angeles, he just wants to probably have more communication, probably like he did
when Phil Jackson was there and he worked well with Mitch”
Johnson also stressed upon the parties involved to talk on the issue and get it over with before it starts affecting the performance of the team in the business end of the regular season. The Lakers entered the All-Star break as
the fifth seeds in the Western Conference, but there are at least five teams which are breathing below their necks and one slump can ensure that they don't reach the playoff this time around.
The 15th March trade deadline is getting near with every passing day, and the fact that Pau Gasol’s game has suffered immensely because of the major distraction is known to everyone. The team now needs to decide quickly
whether they want to keep Gasol in the team or let him go. Kobe has already played his part in defending his friend but unfortunately, the final decision is not in his hands.
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