The Los Angeles Lakers are heading in the right direction

With Magic Johnson now calling the shots, the Los Angeles Lakers are headed in the right direction ahead of the 2017-18 NBA season

It is truly amazing how impactful Magic Johnson has been since he became President of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers. After a couple years of floundering, they are absolutely heading in a positive direction now.

Magic had two horrendous contracts to deal with, and he was able to get rid of one of them by dealing Timofey Mozgov to the Nets. He shed the four-year, $64 million contract, one of the worst in the NBA (Perhaps Magic will find a suitor for Luol Deng at some point). Additionally, D’Angelo Russell was also dealt to Brooklyn, paving the way perfectly for Lonzo Ball, who was selected second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Now, there are no questions as to who has the keys to this franchise. With Russell no longer a Laker, there is a fresh start at the point guard position. Any prior chemistry issues from the Russell era are now out the window.

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In exchange for Mozgov and Russell, the Lakers received Brook Lopez, and the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft (Kyle Kuzma). Lopez is as gifted on the offensive end as they come at the center position. He has a terrific offensive package, and can score 20 points easily on any given night. His contract also expires after this season.

Lopez has also started to expand his shooting range to the 3-point line, adding another weapon to his arsenal. After only attempting 31 3-pointers in his first eight seasons, Lopez attempted 387 this past year. This will be a huge asset to this Lakers’ team. With the 27th pick, the Lakers took one of the steals in the draft. They selected Kyle Kuzma out of Utah, who is a very versatile forward.

As it is with both Nance and Randle, Kuzma brings a lot to the table, and can play in a multitude of different lineups. He averaged just under 22 points per game for the Las Vegas Summer League, and won the MVP of the championship game, recording 30 points and 10 boards.

As mentioned above, the Lakers took Ball with the second pick. We all know about his sensational court vision, basketball IQ, and star-potential. He won MVP honors for the Las Vegas Summer League, he filled up the stat sheet with triple doubles, and produced highlight after highlight when leading the transition offense. We saw him produce quite a chemistry with Kuzma. Many knew he was bound to be a Laker, but now we wait to see how he plays against real NBA competition night after night. Will showtime be back?

The Lakers also selected Josh Hart later in the first round, and Thomas Bryant in the second round. Hart is a straight up winner, competitor, and ultimate teammate. He defends, rebounds as well as any guard, and can score in different ways. His presence will be a great asset to the locker room. He knows what it takes to win, and he knows what it means to be a leader. Bryant adds depth behind Lopez and Zubac, and he is another great kid to have on your roster.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Lakers, which inserts him into the lineup as the starting shooting guard. A perfect 3&D guy, KCP was a great pickup for Magic. He will fit very nicely next to the Lonzo in the backcourt.

This Lakers team is young, exciting, and on the rise. It will take a few years for them to be relevant again (by their standards) in such a powerful Western Conference. However, Magic has done a superb job thus far, jumpstarting the process. Lonzo Ball will be a huge difference maker.

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In the transition game, you can just picture him throwing lobs up to the versatile forwards running the floor, hitting KCP on the wing, delivering to a cutting Ingram, or feeding Lopez. The Los Angeles Lakers are finally building themselves backup again, and Magic deserves an unbelievable amount of credit.