Magic Johnson Says Lakers Should Chase LeBron James, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson has gaudy standards for who the storied franchise should chase on the free-agent market this summer.   

Johnson took to Twitter Monday with some advice for the Lakers as they try to retool their roster after an unprecedentedly bad 17-65 season. He mentioned Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant as the player L.A. should go after first.

But it didn't stop there. Johnson also tweeted, "The Lakers should call LeBron James agent. We know he's going stay in CLE but they should go after him just in case he leaves."

Beyond those two prime options, Johnson suggested Toronto Raptors2-guard DeMar DeRozan as another possibility.

Whereas James is likely to remain with his home-state squad, Durant and DeRozan at least seem to be somewhat realistic possibilities.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported back in September that the Lakers were Durant's preferred landing spot on the open market (h/t Larry Brown Sports). Although Durant denied it and said Smith was "lying," he's been linked to L.A. before.

DeRozan makes the most sense on paper. He isn't the caliber of player James and Durant are, but he was born in Compton, California, and played college basketball at USC. Signing with the Lakers would present DeRozan with an alluring homecoming opportunity.

The Lakers have a new coach in Luke Walton, who Bleacher Report'sKevin Ding called the team's dream choice to fill the position just before he was hired. Ding also mentioned Durant as the Lakers' ideal open-market target.

Walton will have to sell the big names on the direction the team is going, though, be it Durant or anyone else. His predecessor, Byron Scott, just guided the Lakers to their worst regular-season record in franchise history.

A drastic turnaround is necessary, and L.A.'s glory days of the past can only go so far in a free-agent pitch.

Now that Kobe Bryant is retiring and the NBA's salary cap is slated to increase, there's plenty of room for the Lakers to upgrade their talent. A stud free agent or two and a hit on their impending lottery draft pick could be enough for the Lakers to show marked improvement in 2016-17.

My Thoughts

Losing Kobe is a big blow for the Lakers. He's been a huge icon for the team. The fact that the Lakers have had an embarrassing season shows that the team definitely needs new big name players. Shaq played for the Lakers a long time and he knows his ball. I agree that together Durant, Lebron and DeRozan would pick the Lakers back up and give them new opportunities to advance further.