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NBA Free Agency Rumors: Lakers hiring Magic Johnson made Paul George want to join them more

Oh, ho, ho, it’s Magic!

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MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Paul George to the Los Angeles Lakers feels more inevitable than ever, as they and the Indiana Pacers have reportedly opened up trade negotiations.

George’s interest in coming to L.A. has never been a particularly well-kept secret, and that desire seems to have been all the more pronounced when the front office made its major changes during last season.

Sam Amick of USA Today sports hopped on the Ringer NBA Show to give the latest on the Paul George-to-L.A. drama and provided a nice little nugget into what’s made him all the more intent upon playing near his hometown.

“The day the Lakers got Magic Johnson, I was told by one of Paul’s people that Paul wanted to go to the Lakers,” Amick said. “Like now he wants to go even worse. That resonates.”

When Johnson was hired as the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, one of the selling points was the cache that he would immediately bring. This sounds like a great example of just that.

Whether or not Magic winking like a crazy person had a direct effect on all this, we’ll never know.

Quote via Lakers Outsiders.

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