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Johnson declared Monday that he will step down as the Lakers’ president of basketball operations if he can’t persuade an elite free agent to sign with the 16-time NBA champions within the next two summers.

”Next summer Anthony Miller Color Rush Jersey , if nobody comes and I’m still sitting here like this, then it’s a failure,” Johnson said after a news conference to introduce draft picks Moe Wagner and Svi Mykhailiuk.

Johnson was put in charge of the Lakers’ front office by owner Jeanie Buss in February 2017, and the former superstar point guard immediately announced his plans to revive the struggling franchise by enticing the game’s best players to join as free agents.

With Paul George and potentially LeBron James headlining the market this summer, Johnson is leading the Lakers’ efforts to land both players this weekend. If they sign elsewhere, Johnson and the Lakers will pursue the large crop of 2019 free agents.

And if he strikes out with every big name, Johnson said he will quit.

”Like I told you when I took the job, it’s going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers,” Johnson said. ”This summer, and next summer, and that’s it. And if I can’t deliver, I’m going to step down myself. She won’t have to fire me. I’ll step away from it. Because then, I can’t do this job. But so far Authentic Tarvarius Moore Jersey , so good.”

Although the Lakers are mired in the worst five-year stretch in franchise history and haven’t made the playoffs since 2013, Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have been successful in achieving their initial goals since they took over 16 months ago.

They have solidified a decent core of talented young players – Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart – to provide their potential free-agent signees with support. They have made several slick trades and personnel moves to clear enough salary cap room to offer two mammoth free-agent contracts this summer.

Now comes the tough part: Persuading George or James or other big names to move to Hollywood. Johnson said he has no idea whether the Lakers’ pitch will be well-received, but he also feels confident in his task.

”I’m Magic Johnson,” he said with his ubiquitous smile. ”You know how many finals I’ve been in? So you think I’m worried about this? I played against Larry Bird in the Finals. I played in nine Finals.”

Johnson is the second straight basketball decision-maker for the Lakers to create a self-imposed deadline for success.

In 2014, co-owner Jim Buss told the Los Angeles Times that the Lakers had to be a contender within three to four years, or ”I will step down, because that means I have failed.”

The Lakers badly missed that deadline, and Buss’ sister fired him and general manager Mitch Kupchak in February 2017.

Johnson and Pelinka are spending this week honing and fine-tuning their free-agent pitches. They’ll show their plans to Jeanie Buss later in the week, along with numerous contingency plans for the short-term and long-term future.

”If we can sign somebody this summer, we’ll do that,” Johnson said. ”If it doesn’t happen Cheap Justin Jones Jersey , we’ve got to turn to next summer.”

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NEW ORLEANS — The playoffs essentially began a month ago for both the New Orleans Pelicans (47-34) and the San Antonio Spurs (47-34).

While both teams have clinched Western Conference playoff spots, Wednesday night’s regular-season finale at the Smoothie King Center is the finish line in a marathon race for playoff seeding.

Unless Memphis pulls off a monster upset and defeats the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road Wednesday, the Pelicans, currently the fifth seed, would finish anywhere from the fourth, fifth or sixth seed with a victory over the Spurs. The Pelicans would drop to the eighth seed with a loss, setting up a first-round matchup with the No. 1 Houston Rockets.

The Spurs also could fall anywhere from the fourth to the eighth seed, given a myriad of possibilities.

The only solace for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is that the Spurs, playing most of the season without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, have made the playoffs for the 21st consecutive season. That streak is 11 years longer than Popovich’s nearest competitor, Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat.

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Popovich said Cheap Ryan Jensen Jersey , using his characteristic deadpan delivery Monday night after the Spurs clinched their playoff spot with a 98-85 victory over Sacramento.

“They deserve a lot of credit, done a great job,” Popovich said of his players. “I’m real proud of them.”

The Pelicans have won four consecutive games to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Coach Alvin Gentry said there are so many possible playoff matchups that he wants his team to focus on what it can control.

“We’re just going to do the best we can do (to beat the Spurs), and whoever we play, we play,” Gentry said. ‘We just want to continue to play good basketball.”

The Pelicans’ four-game winning streak could not have been timelier, and forward Anthony Davis has been the catalyst during the streak. Davis, who has made the playoffs only once in his five NBA seasons, said he was proud the Pelicans did not collapse after the season-ending Achilles injury to center DeMarcus Cousins on Jan. 26.

“A lot of people counted us out when he went down, but we just kept fighting, changed the way we play a little bit,” Davis said. “We believed in ourselves — all the guys in this locker room. We just wanted to make sure no matter what happens with anybody else — that we were in. This whole road trip we came out aggressive.”

The Pelicans have won two of three against San Antonio this season, winning 107-90 at home on Nov. 22 and 121-116 in San Antonio on Feb. 28 and losing 98-93 in San Antonio on March 15. Davis had averaged 25.3 points on .509 shooting and 13.3 rebounds in the three games Robbie Grossman Minnesota Twins Jersey , while the Spurs have been led by Dejounte Murray with 16.7 points, including .667 from 3-point range and 8.0 rebounds.

The Spurs said Leonard would not be available to play against the Pelicans as he returns from a season-long quad injury.

Pelicans point guard Rajon Rondo, who delivered an off-the-backboard assist to Davis for a thunderous, one-handed dunk against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, said he likes what he sees in New Orleans’ recent play.

“I think if we come in with the right focus, the right mindset — obviously, you’ve got to make some shots — we can beat anyone,” Rondo said. “We know that as a team.”