Mitch Kupchak

Joey Ramirez

With the goal to excel in the future, the Lakers have called upon a legend from the past.

Tuesday morning, it was announced that Earvin “Magic” Johnson has been named President of Basketball Operations, while also relieving General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Vice President of Basketball Operations Jim Buss from their duties as leaders of the front office.

The moves were made by Co-Owner and Governor Jeanie Buss, who joined Johnson — previously named an advisor to ownership early this month — on Spectrum SportsNet later in the day to discuss the future of the franchise.

Since Jim Buss was appointed to his position following the 2013 death of former Owner Dr. Jerry Buss, the Lakers have compiled an 84-220 record in three full seasons, plus the current one.

Thus, Jeanie Buss felt that a change of direction was needed to return the franchise to its winning ways.

“The purple and gold standard really dictated that the status quo wasn’t acceptable to go from (27) wins to 21 wins to 17 wins — to watch it erode like that wasn’t Lakers basketball,” Buss said. “It wasn’t wasn’t this organization stands for, so it was time for a change.”

That change has come in the form of Johnson — a five-time champion as a player and former minority owner and head coach of the Lakers.

With the trade deadline approaching Thursday, Johnson is handling calls from general managers from across the league regarding potential transactions.

He is also searching for the Lakers’ next GM, whom he says must have extensive knowledge of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and salary cap, as well as relationships with players, teams and agents across the league.

Johnson said that he is aiming for a fast process that will result in a new general manager before the end of the season

Meanwhile, Jeanie Buss said that Johnson’s hiring has much more to do with what he can do for the team’s future than the success he has guided in its past.

“This isn’t about going back to Showtime,” Buss said. “We’re not trying to turn back the clock. The Lakers have figured out how to win in every era. … This isn’t about going to the past and recreating Showtime, because you can’t recreate Showtime.

“That was a unique period in Lakers basketball. This is about the future and finding the right team for the style that Luke Walton wants to play.”

Both Buss and Johnson were complimentary of the work Walton has put in so far, as well as that of the team’s young players, specifically Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac.

“I think that (Walton) was the right pick,” Johnson said. “The guy is a gym rat. He knows basketball. He’s the right coach to develop our young players. We’re heading in the right direction with his leadership, and I wanted to work with him as well.”

Buss and Johnson expressed excitement about the future of the franchise, also relaying that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reached out to Buss to show his support of Johnson.

For the time being, Johnson acknowledges that returning the organization to contention for a 17th title will take some time. But, he said, it will be done in the correct manner.

“It’s gonna takes us a while,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to fool the fans. We’re gonna build this the right way. It’s not a quick fix — I’m not a quick fix. I’m can’t turn it around tomorrow or I really would be Magic.”

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Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson Talk New Leadership, GM Search and More

Hours after announcing that Magic Johnson had been named President of Basketball Operations — while simultaneously relieving General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Vice President of Basketball Operations Jim Buss of their duties — Lakers Co-Owner and Governor Jeanie Buss joined Johnson on Spectrum SportsNet to detail the new direction of the franchise.

Buss and Johnson touched on a variety of topics, including the performances of Kupchak and Jim Buss, the search for a new GM, the current state of the roster and much more.

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Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson Speak to Lakers' New Direction

When it comes to Halloween, the Lakers are as scary as they come in the NBA, having compiled a 11-4 record on October 31 since moving to Los Angeles in 1960.

The purple and gold enjoyed a six-game Halloween winning streak from 1980-2010, and many of the franchise’s top players have treated fans to some memorable holiday performances.

Lakers On Halloween (Since Moving to Los Angeles)

Here are the Lakers’ top Halloween displays that surely still haunt their opponents.

First In L.A. (1962)
Just two years after moving from Minneapolis, the Lakers played their first Halloween game against a struggling New York team that came in at 2-5. Knicks All-Star Johnny Green put up 28 points, but his efforts were dwarfed by the Hall of Fame combo of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. West dropped 35 on New York, while Baylor matched Green’s 28, and the Lakers rushed past the Knicks, 115-95.

Showtime Scary (1985)
Coming off the franchise’s ninth championship, the Lakers were absolutely terrifying in moving to 3-0 with a 144-107 rout of Phoenix. Seven Lakers scored double figures, including four off the bench. Byron Scott caught fire for 31 points on a hyper-efficient 11-of-13 shooting, while Larry Nance Jr.’s father, Larry Sr., led the Suns with 23 points.

Season-Opening Statement (1997)
Just a few months after Utah had bounced them in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Lakers sought to prove they could hang with the best on a Halloween Opening Night. Despite trailing by 12 at the end of the first quarter, the Lakers used a 61-42 second half to pull out a 104-87 victory led by 19-year-old Kobe Bryant, who scored a game-high 23 points off the bench thanks to a 13-of-14 free throw clip.

Nick Van Exel (22 points) helped counter a big night from Karl Malone (20 points, 14 rebounds), who played without legendary point guard John Stockton that night. But the Jazz took their revenge in the playoffs by sweeping Los Angeles in the Western Conference Finals.

Ghost of Postseason Past (2000)
Five months after rallying from a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit against Portland in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers mounted another late run to beat the Trail Blazers. Down by two at the start of the fourth quarter, current L.A. associate head coach Brian Shaw hit a 3-pointer to get his team going. He scored seven points during the Lakers’ ensuing 11-2 run, shocking the packed Oregon crowd on their way to a 96-86 win.

Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal was the monster under the bed for the majority of Opening Night, racking up 36 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, despite the Blazers trying a handful of defenders and double-teams against him.

Mamba Costume (2006)
With Bryant, the NBA’s reigning scoring champion, sidelined after knee surgery, Lamar Odom apparently decided to put on a Kobe Halloween costume, pushing his team to a 114-106 win with 34 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

At first, the Lakers appeared doomed without their star, as Phoenix made its first nine shots and rushed out to a 41-26 first-quarter lead. However, Odom and Andrew Bynum (18 points, nine rebounds) steadied the team from there, outscoring the Suns 61-38 in the middle quarters of the season opener, while current head coach Luke Walton provided 11 points.

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The Lakers' Top Halloween Moments

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Photos: 2016 Lakers Training Camp

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Lakers 2016 Training Camp: Sunday

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Training Camp: Mitch Kupchak (9/27/16)

SANTA BARBARA — Another season is officially underway as the Lakers begin training camp on Tuesday, and General Manager Mitch Kupchak has certain expectations for his roster.

Kupchak addressed the media before the first practice of camp at UC Santa Barbara and says that the Lakers “have to show progress” this year.

“From my point of view, I want this group to show great chemistry and, as the season goes on, get better and better,” Kupchak said, “and not only have fun playing but be fun to watch. And certainly the number of wins is a factor. We can’t continue to lose (so many)  games every year.”

The Lakers are hoping to wash away last season, which saw them finish with a franchise-worst 17-65 record.

Kupchak doesn’t want to give the team a number of wins to shoot for, but he did say that it needs to be more than the year before, and not just slightly.

However, he also keeps the perspective that this season will not be judged solely on the team’s amount of victories.

In particular, it’s about continuing to develop the team’s young core, featuring players like D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Brandon Ingram.

“We want these young players to get minutes to develop,” Kupchak said. “We think several of them can be starters and perhaps even leave an imprint on this league.”

Kupchak says that he expects Ingram, this year’s No. 2 overall draft pick, to play “a lot,” while Ivica Zubac, chosen 33rd, will not be anticipated to play a similar number of minutes.

Playing time should not be much of an issue for Russell, who shuttled from the starting lineup to the bench and back last year as a rookie under then-head coach Byron Scott.

Russell has been relentlessly positive under the tutelage of Scott’s replacement, Luke Walton, and Kupchak claims that his potential with the Lakers is “up to him.”

“Last year he had moments of brilliance, and then also moments that clearly showed he was a 19-year-old player playing for the first time in the NBA,” Kupchak said. “This offseason, which was very long, he was in the gym every day — not that he was the only one — but he seemed to have gotten a feel for what the first year is all about.”

To help groom the young guys like Russell and Ingram, Kupchak placed particular emphasis on acquiring veterans with reputations as intelligent, respected teammates, like Luol Deng and Jose Calderon.

“The guys we added, in particular Luol, I think — because he’s played a lot of minutes and proved himself in this league and his character on the court and in the locker room is impeccable,” Kupchak said. “So we felt that was a huge acquisition.”

While signing free agents like Deng and Timofey Mozgov, Kupchak kept an eye on the future, saying that he expects the team to have “significant cap flexibility” next offseason.

As for the rest of this year’s roster, he made a pair of somewhat surprising additions in Yi Jianlian and Metta World Peace — both of whom will need to make the roster by impressing at training camp, he said.

Kupchak noted that the Lakers have scouted Yi at several workouts over the last two years, but his popularity and financial compensation in China prevented them from making a run at him until the NBA salary cap significantly jumped this summer.

Meanwhile, World Peace — who was the final player to make last year’s roster — is aware that he will have to earn a spot once again over the next four weeks, according to the general manager.

“Those 28 days are going to pay huge dividends for this organization,” Kupchak said. “But we didn’t expect him to make the team last year and he made it, and the same thing can happen this year. I don’t expect if he makes the team that he’ll be in the rotation, but if he did make the team I know practices and the locker room would be a really good place.”

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Kupchak Evaluates Team Ahead of Training Camp

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SANTA BÁRBARA – El entusiasmo de cara a la próxima etapa en la historia de los Lakers también quedó en evidencia en el semblante de Mitch Kupchak.

El gerente general de los Lakers habló con los reporteros gráficos en el auditorio de la Universidad de California en Santa Bárbara y dejó en claro que espera ver un equipo con muestras de crecimiento, pero que a la vez sea placentero para los ojos y divertido.

“Para nosotros es un comienzo emocionante”, aseguró.

Kupchak describió las expectativas para varios de sus jugadores, comenzando con el más nuevo de todos, Brandon Ingram.

“Creo que será una temporada larga para un jugador joven que tiene que fortalecerse y mostrar que puede jugar 82 partidos”, opinó. “No anticipo que sea titular, no es algo que piense que deba suceder pese a que es la selección No. 2, pero eso dependerá de Luke y lo que él piense que es mejor para el equipo”.

El ejecutivo resaltó la base joven del plantel, y aunque no quiso ponerle demasiada presión al producto de Duke, él resaltó que esperan mucho de él.

“Como la selección No. 2, él debería jugar bien”, avisó. “Esas son las expectativas”.

Esas expectativas son mucho mayores para D’Angelo Russell, tras haber dejado atrás un tormentoso e irregular primer año.

“Dependerá de él”, observó. “El año pasado él tuvo momentos de brillo y momentos que mostraron claramente que era un jugador de 19 años jugando por primera vez en la NBA. Este verano, que fue muy largo, él estuvo en el gimnasio todos los días, y pareció haber entendido lo que fue el primer año, y ahora entiende la NBA…Creo que tendrá un muy buen año”.

Kupchak también reconoció que algunos de los veteranos que llegaron para esta temporada – entre ellos José Calderón, Timofey Mozgov y Luol Deng – lo hicieron para apuntalar a los más inexpertos de la nómina.

“Siempre es bueno tener jugadores que sepan jugar y sean buenos en el vestuario”, aclaró. “A veces uno debe conciliar con un jugador que es muy talentoso, y esas son las decisiones que uno debe tomar. Los jugadores que sumamos, particularmente Luol, porque ha jugado muchos minutos, ha demostrado en esta liga que su carácter dentro y fuera de la cancha es impecable”.

Otro de ellos es Metta World Peace, quien firmó a último momento, e intentará quedar entre los 15 jugadores para el debut ante Houston Rockets el 26 de octubre.

“Metta quería regresar”, compartió Kupchak. “Mantuvimos un cupo (abierto) pero deberá ganarse su lugar en el equipo, como hizo el año pasado. Como mínimo, sabemos que durante los próximos 28 días, él será un gran activo para el equipo…No esperábamos que quedara en el equipo el año pasado y lo hizo. Si queda en el equipo no esperamos que esté en la rotación, pero sé que en las prácticas y en el vestuario, él será un gran mentor”.

Finalmente, y entre otros temas discutidos, Kupchak avisó que Yi Jianlian tampoco tiene un lugar asegurado (pese a que contó que lo vienen siguiendo desde hace ya un par de años), y que no está seguro de que Ivica Zubac tenga muchos minutos esta temporada.