The Storm Before Eighty-Two
After an extremely successful offseason, the 2017-18 Los Angeles Lakers, who are less than two months shy of a highly anticipated season, are potentially in a heap of trouble. On the heels of a fourth straight year with a losing record (91-237), the pieces that have been developed by the Lakers, and seemingly arriving at the beginning stages of fulfillment, may see a drastic halt in progress.
The Lakers’ 2017 first round draft pick, Lonzo Ball, dazzled audiences throughout the NBA Summer League, earning MVP honors of the tournament. A mix of developing players, and a young but experienced coaching staff await eagerly as the season approaches. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, now appointed to steer the ship, has instilled within the team a sense of direction.
Seamlessly, they also find themselves accountable for the trouble the Lakers might be in.
On August 20, 2017, the Indiana Pacers had asked the NBA to investigate the Lakers and Magic Johnson of tampering, concluding that the President of Basketball operations may have coerced Paul George to make a decision to not resign with the Pacers and join the Lakers as a free agent in the summer of 2018.
Aside from emails and potential phone conversations that are being investigated by the NBA’s legal team, the most publicized attempt of the claimed infraction was during an interview Magic had with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel in April. In the interview, Kimmel, obviously joking, asked Johnson if he were able to speak to Paul George about the situation without breaking rules set by the NBA. Johnson responded, “We’re going to say hi, because we know each other,” yet followed up with a rather jovial, but improper “wink-wink.”
Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated states:
"As evidenced by his own hearty laughing, Johnson clearly assumed his answer was in good fun and that his “wink-winking” line was a physical form of sarcasm."
If found guilty of tampering, the Lakers may fall penalty to hefty fines, a suspension of Johnson, forfeiting of potential draft picks, and/or barring the Lakers from signing Paul George.
Losing Paul George in free agency was probably inevitable for the Pacers, especially with George declaring his desire to leave Indiana following the 2016-17 season. Kevin Pritchard, President of Basketball Operations for the Indiana Pacers, had to make a move that would at least appease his organization and the Indiana fans —send Paul George to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. While this trade may go down as one the worst trades in the NBA history, it was a move that seemed to spite both the Lakers and Paul George in one decisive blow.
The Lakers even offered a poor mans version of a king’s ransom — allegedly offering Indiana the 27th and 28th picks in the 2017 NBA Draft along with Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson. Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation tweeted ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne’s reasoning behind Indiana declining that trade:
"“Ramona on ESPN saying IND didn’t take LAL trade bc they likely didn’t want to give PG what he wanted w/out winning the trade.”"
This speculation, although just one’s opinion, might shed some light on how the Lakers are viewed in the eyes of other organizations. This situation does not represent how the other 28 teams may feel about the Lakers, but this instance certainly hasn’t been the only time opposing owners have tried to thwart the Lakers’ future.