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When asked by reporters Tuesday if it will be a
failure if the Lakers don't sign a star like LeBron James or
Paul George next month, Johnson responded, "No, because I told
you this is two summers."
"We don't know what people are going to decide," he continued.
"And we can't control that so if guys decide not to come here,
it's not a failure, we turn to next summer.
"Next summer if nobody comes and I'm still sitting here like
this, then it's a failure. But if you judge us on one summer
that's ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn't be in their
roles. Because if we're banking on one summer for the Lakers,
we're in trouble."
Johnson, who was named president of basketball operations in
March of 2017, then went a step further and seemingly placed a
ticking clock on himself.
"You have to give us time," he said. "This class, like I told
you before I took the job and when I took the job, it's going to
be a two-summer thing for the Lakers. This summer and next
summer. That's it.
"If I can't deliver, I'm going to step down myself. [Controlling
owner Jeanie Buss] won't have to fire me, I'll step away from
it, because I can't do this job."
A team source told ESPN Tuesday that the Lakers did not know
Johnson was going to make that sort of statement, calling it an
example of his "competitiveness."
L.A. has spent much Johnson's tenure in charge clearing future
salary to make a run at signing big-name players like James and
George, who are both expected to be available this summer. The
Lakers have the cap flexibility to sign two players to max-level
contracts once free agency opens on Sunday.
ESPN reported last week that the team recently held a meeting to
warn all employees about the possibility of tampering ahead of
the opening of free agency.
--Field Level Media
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