Lakers Rumors: LA Hasn't Gone After Warriors, Thunder GM Before Pursuing Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard

When Magic Johnson abruptly announced that he was stepping down as the Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations, several insiders speculated that the team would go after some of the best executives around the league. That has yet to happen with general manager Rob Pelinka running the show in L.A.

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, rival teams are very surprised that the Lakers haven't tried to pry away the likes of Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs’ R.C. Buford or Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are widely regarded as three of the best general managers in the NBA.

Myers helped build arguably the greatest team in NBA history. Buford has been part of the NBA's model franchise. The Thunder have missed the playoffs just once in the last decade.

Los Angeles is already in the process of making big decisions as they search for a new head coach. the team has three interviews scheduled after the Lakers and Luke Walton mutually agreed to part ways.

In a couple of months, the Lakers will face one of the biggest summers in team history. Los Angeles is desperately looking to pair another superstar with LeBron James, but there is concern that none of the top free agents will sign a max contract with LA.

The Lakers would gladly take Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard or Klay Thompson. You could even put Kyrie Irving in that group after he demanded to no longer be James’ teammate only two years ago.

If the rumors floating around are true, the Lakers aren't the first choice of any of those players. Los Angeles might not even be second on most of their lists.

Might hiring one of the league's most proven general managers change that fact? Probably not, but it's imperative that the Lakers have someone in charge that doesn't make the mistake of handing out bad contracts when they whiff on the only true superstars available.

Pelinka only has a short track record as a general manager, and it's not a very good one considering the disaster that was this past season for the Lakers. Johnson and Pelinka failed miserably in trying to build a roster that would complement James, and as the NBA's top star approaches his 35th birthday, Los Angeles can't afford to throw away any more seasons.

The Lakers could end up with a second-tier free agent like Jimmy Butler or Kemba Walker. They are also expected to resume trade talks with the New Orleans Pelicans about Anthony Davis, though they'd probably have to get lucky in the lottery in order to be able to pull off a deal.

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