Magic Johnson Says LeBron James is to Blame for the Lakers Not Signing DeMar DeRozan

During an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up, Magic Johnson was asked what was a fair criticism of LeBron James in regards to the Lakers’ disappointing season. Surprisingly, Johnson said James is to blame for Los Angeles not landing DeMar DeRozan in free agency.  

“The blame that he’s gotta take is the fact that DeRozan ended up in Chicago and not with the Lakers,” he said.

Johnson, who previously served as Lakers president of basketball operations, said that DeRozan’s agent called him to let him know that DeRozan wanted to join the Lakers this past offseason. Johnson then told Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. 

But instead of going with DeRozan in free agency, the team traded for Russell Westbrook, who was signed to the Wizards at the time. This is where the blame comes on James, Johnson said. James recruited Westbrook and the two were engaged in private conversations to coordinate the union, according to Johnson, and as a result DeRozan joined the Bulls, where he’s having the best year of his career. 

He’s averaging a career-high 28.0 points per game in Chicago and the team is right in the middle of the playoff mix as the No. 5 seed with a 45–33 record. Meanwhile, Westbrook is having one the worst years of his career. 

The Lakers are the No. 11 seed with a 31–47 record and are on the verge of being eliminated from making the play-in tournament and Westbrook’s struggles have been front and center. He’s averaging 18.4 points per game, his lowest mark since his second year in the NBA in 2010, while shooting 44% from the field and 29% from three-point range. He’s also sixth in turnovers per game at 3.8.

Johnson also made the point that if the Lakers hadn’t made the deal to acquire Westbrook, the team could have retained several key players along with DeRozan and they would be competing in the Western Conference championship this season. 

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