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Magic Johnson Throws LeBron James Completely Under the Bus

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Magic Johnson in the Michigan State fan section during a Div 1 Men's championship - elite eight game between Duke and Michigan State, on March 31, 2019, at Capital One Arena, in Washington D.C. (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire)

Looks like Magic isn’t so happy with the Lakers right now.

Speaking to Mike Greenberg during Get Up, former Lakers exec Magic Johnson is taking shots at roster moves the Lakers made this past offseason. Magic revealed the Lakers had DeMar Derozan in their sights, but the potential deal was taken off the table once LeBron James and Russell Westbrook started talking about playing together.

“Derozan wanted to play for the Lakers,” Magic explained. “And when I got the call from his agent, I called the Lakers and said ‘Hey, he wants to come home,’ and Derozan could’ve been a Laker instead of a Bull … but when Russell and LeBron and them started talking … they went with Westbrook and he became a Laker instead of Derozan.”

DeRozan was not only interested in playing for the Purple and Gold, but he also thought it was a “done deal.”

Via Yahoo Sports:

“I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and that we were going to figure it out. I was going to come home,” DeRozan said in November. “The business side of things just didn’t work out. A couple of things didn’t align. It didn’t work out. It’s just part of the business, part of the game.”

Just imagine if they didn’t opt for Westbrook. Hard to know for sure, but I’m pretty sure the season wouldn’t have unfolded like this one has.

Magic really put the onus on LeBron for screwing the pooch.


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