Magic Johnson: 'I Hope the Lakers Lose Every Game' - East Idaho News
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Magic Johnson: ‘I Hope the Lakers Lose Every Game’

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Getty S 120311 Magic%20Johnson?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1418222527030Akpanudosen/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Hall of Famer Magic Johnson thinks the Lakers should cash it in this season and hope for a high draft pick.

“I hope the Lakers lose every game,” Johnson told reporters at a promotional event Tuesday in New York City. “Because if you’re going to lose, lose. And I’m serious.”

The Lakers are tied for the second worst record in the NBA and finished last year with a 27-55 record, which was the worst 82-game stretch in franchise history.

“I don’t see teams tanking. It doesn’t happen. Maybe there are certain teams in the league — and this is not one of them — where ownership sits up there in their office and they’re crossing their fingers quietly and hoping,” Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant said. “But the players themselves? Never. Players play. Players play and players try to win every single game. That’s just what we do.”

Lakers head coach Byron Scott played with Johnson and wasn’t looking too much into those comments.

“It’s more of a laughing matter to me than anything,” Scott said. “I know Ervin and how competitive he is and I understand where he’s coming from — ‘Yeah, lose every game and hopefully you’ll get the No. 1 pick.’ That doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to get the No. 1 pick. You go out here and try to win as much as you can to try to create that culture of winning again instead of having that loser’s mentality. That’s how I look at it.”


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