Magic Johnson recently stated that LeBron James should blame himself for DeMar DeRozan not ending up with the Lakers.
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It is no news that the Los Angeles Lakers had a golden opportunity to acquire DeMar DeRozan this past offseason. Instead, the team ended up adding Russell Westbrook to the roster in hopes to win their 18th championship alongside the All-Star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
According to Magic Johnson, Bron had no one else to blame for the same, other than himself. On a recent episode of ESPN’s “Get Up”, Johnson had stated:
“The blame that he’s (LeBron James) gotta take is the fact that DeRozan ended up in Chicago and not with the Lakers. You know, because DeRozan wanted to play for the Lakers and when I got the call from his agent, I called the Lakers and said ‘hey, he (DeMar) wants to come home’. And DeRozan could’ve been a Laker instead of a Bull. We could’ve made that deal. But when Russell and LeBron they start talking, that’s when they nixed that deal and went with Westbrook and he became a Laker instead of DeRozan.”
Also Read: Footage of the Lakers legend getting dunked on by Kobe Bryant’s father
Shannon Sharpe is one such person who doesn’t agree with the former NBA legend with his recent-most take.
“Jeanie Buss put Rob Pelinka in charge, not LeBron James”: Shannon Sharpe
According to Shannon, it was Rob Pelinka who called the shots for the Lakers and not The King. Sharpe continued:
“Skip look, and I get what Magic is saying. But it’s hard for me to see a scenario where I’m gonna place the blame at LeBron’s feet because, at the end of the day, general manager and player personnel directors and presidents don’t call LeBron, they call Rob Pelinka. And I understand that it’s hard to tell a guy like LeBron James ‘No’. But Jerry Krause did it and it was very successful. Every person that Michael Jordan wanted, Jerry Krause went in the opposite direction and it was the best move.
Even if LeBron said ‘yes’, I think that DeRozan had more to do with that 3rd year as opposed to, you know, Russ getting involved cause Chicago is willing to guarantee the third year at 30 million. And the Lakers were not willing to guarantee a third year at all. It makes it very very easy for DeMar DeRozan ‘okay Chicago, here I come’. Did people forget, DeMar DeRozan is from LA? He went to USC, just like Russ is from LA, and went to UCLA. He’s a hometown kid too. Straight out of Compton.”
“Jeanie Buss put him (Rob Pelinka) in charge, not LeBron. And I know it’s hard to tell these superstars no, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to do what’s best for the team, not the best interest for one individual.”
.@ShannonSharpe on Magic Johnson saying LeBron is to blame for Lakers passing on DeRozan:
“At the end of the day player personnel doesn’t call LeBron, they call Rob Pelinka. It’s hard to tell superstars no, but you’ve got to do what’s best for the team, not one individual.” pic.twitter.com/U7CqpwrCRF
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 5, 2022
Also Read: Skip Bayless gives his take on Magic Johnson blaming the Lakers’ superstar for the Russ trade
Well, what done is done. The Lakers are a game away from failing to advance to the postseason. Hopefully, Bron and the front office make a few decisions that help the LA-based team be a better squad for next season.
