Podcast: Can Magic Johnson convince LeBron James to play center for the Lakers?

In the process leading up to eventually convincing LeBron James to come to the Los Angeles Lakers, one huge advantage the organizations was said to have was the new president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson.

Well, that speculation proved correct, but can the having Magic around be fruitful in other facets of the franchise?

In today’s Locked on Lakers, Jorge Sedano of ESPN (The Jump, ESPNLA Radio) and I discuss just that.

Before we get to where LeBron might be playing on the court, we start by discussing what his arrival might mean off of it.

Sedano was in Miami when James took his talents to South Beach. That was insane to watch from afar, so I couldn’t even imagine what it might’ve been like up-close-and-personal. To hear it from him, he had never seen anything like it before, and he hasn’t seen anything like it since. This makes sense, really. That Heatles team was insane.

We then start discussing the additions made after LeBron agreed to sign with the Lakers. Sedano and I share the same macro concern about the way this roster has come together, namely that the coaching staff might favor the veterans over the kids. What we’ve heard from the Lakers regarding this doesn’t exactly put my apprehensiveness to rest.

In terms of the pieces themselves, though, he does mostly like the signings.

We then get to the conversation we’ve all been waiting for: Based on what he’s seen from LeBron at his various stops since arriving in Miami, how open (if he’s open to it at all) will he be to playing center on a team that pretty obviously needs him to do so? And if he is to be convinced to play there, who is going to have to start that conversation? (Hint: It’s Magic)

As always, this is just a tidbit of the full context given in the show. Listen to the full discussion below and please check out old episodes or guarantee you won’t miss any ever again by subscribing on iTunes.