Despite rumors the Los Angeles Lakers are actively seeking to add more players to join LeBron James, Magic Johnson has said the team is prepared to go to war next season with the players they currently have.
According to Johnson, the Lakers president of basketball operations, James' decision to come to LA brought the Lakers three-year rebuilding plan to a "whole 'nother level." Johnson said on Friday the organization will look more at the summer of 2019 to shape the club around the four-time NBA MVP.
ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk wrote that Magic only believes its best to really add players if the deal is great for the Lakers. He added, "If it's not, we have our team and we'll go to battle, go to war with this team. We feel really good about this team."
Johnson believes the summer of 2019 is when the club will have room to offer a max deal and the team has already started to put that strategy together. Most assume that strategy includes Kawhi Leonard who will be available in free agency next summer.
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After the Lakers lost out on Paul George and discovered Leonard may not be as easy to acquire by trade as some might have hoped, the Lakers refuse to panic. They've added veteran talent to the team on one-year deals and Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee can all be abandoned if LA wants to go a different direction.
So too, there has been speculation that LeBron has a great deal of say in this future planning. Johnson said James wow'd him during their meeting before James signed with the team and knew the roster better than anyone, including Johnson himself. Johnson said they will consult James on most big decisions. "We'll say to him what do you think about this guy? You know him. You play against him, you know the backstory and everything about the guy."
Johnson is confident in James suggestions and while Magic knows the ultimate decision is up to the Lakers and not LeBron, if James feels this team can compete with the guys they have now, they'll trust his opinion.