Magic Johnson 'hopes the Lakers lose every game'

Legendary former Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson has somewhat shockingly become the most recent analyst to chime in as an advocate of the Lakers tanking, telling Newsday:

"I hope the Lakers lose every game. Because if you're going to lose, lose. I'm serious... If you're going to lose, you have to lose because you can't be in the middle of the pack... You either have to be great or you have to be bad to get a good [draft] pick."

This is a fairly abrupt and surprising reversal of course for Magic, who just a few months ago at Byron Scott's introductory press conference was saying things like this:

"Showtime's back, baby," Johnson said while pulling Scott in for a hug... "We came here today to support our brother and our former teammate and champion Byron Scott and also we're here to support the Laker organization... This is a great day for all the former Lakers as well as Lakers fans all over the world. We're just excited for what Byron will bring to the table and get back to playing Laker basketball. ... We wish we could put on a uniform for you and help you, but we're here supporting you and will support you throughout. Again, congrats to the Laker organization. You chose the right guy."

Just because Johnson now wants the Lakers to lose does not mean that he feels that things are all doom and gloom, as he continued on to say:

"The Lakers are in a good space, too, next summer if they can sign or trade for a talented guy. I'd rather be all the way bad than be in the middle."

It will be interesting to see if more fans follow along with the line of thinking that losing is the best option for the Lakers now that such a widely beloved former Laker is pushing it.