Like Magic, Lakers Plan to Return

Let’s get the silliness out of the way. Magic Johnson is not retiring. Therefore, the Lakers likely may be back in the NBA Finals next year and in years to come.

Los Angeles’ 4-1 series loss to the Chicago Bulls was disheartening to the Lakers only when they had to compare their performance with the Bulls’. Otherwise, the Lakers accomplished much in a season that was supposed to mark the true beginning of the end of their championship runs.

They thundered to the finals with impressive series wins over Houston, Golden State and Portland, belying their age and the youth of their opponents. But for the second straight time in the finals, they were derailed by injuries and hunted down by a hungry opponent.

James Worthy never really recovered from the sprained ankle suffered in the Portland series. Johnson’s tendinitis flared up, and Byron Scott’s sore right shoulder turned out to be a tear of the rotator cuff.

Injuries heal. Johnson’s departure would mean long-term distress. But he took care of that after Game 5 Wednesday.

“I’m sure I’ll be back,” said Johnson, who indicated that he would evaluate his future after the finals, as he does every season, and his statement somehow was transformed into a declaration of retirement.

“Any time you’ve had a hard, tough season like this, you want to get back and try to come back and be on the other side of it. This wasn’t meant to be for us. Chicago all year had a great year and a great season, and they just did it in the championship series as well.”

“I expect Earvin to be here until I leave,” Scott said. “I understood what he was saying. I think most of it was out of frustration because of the way the series has run.

“He’s kept it pretty quiet, but he’s hurting also. His Achilles’ was bothering him every day.”

If they can resist the temptation to trade players for a chance to get an early first-round pick in the June 26 draft, the Lakers still seem set for future championships runs. They have Johnson, still at the height of his creative powers at 32. They have an emerging star in center Vlade Divac, who averaged 18.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and shot 57 percent in the championship series. And then there’s the deadly forward duo of Worthy, who had his highest scoring average this season, and Sam Perkins, who blossomed in his first year here.

Scott suffered through a horrid finals, making only five of 18 shots (28 percent) and averaging 4.5 points. But he was 92 for 168 (55 percent) in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

And the marriage of low-post play, fast breaks and defense by Coach Mike Dunleavy could add years to some aging legs.

“There was a big learning curve here,” Dunleavy said. “I’ve played against a lot of them but I didn’t know individually what they can and can’t do. So there was that process there. Then there was the process of learning the Western Conference. I had been a coach in the East and I played in the East.”

Los Angeles also got a look at part of its future Wednesday with the performances of rookies Elden Campbell and Tony Smith. Totaling 57 minutes because of the injuries to Worthy and Scott, Campbell and Smith combined for 33 points.

“I’ve felt good about Elden and Tony all year long,” Dunleavy said. “Elden started off very slowly because it was difficult for him to play the positions, but as the year went on he became more intelligent as far as what we’re trying to do.”

It’s more likely that Campbell, a forward from Clemson, will make an impact sooner than Smith, who will back up Johnson next season even if veteran guard Larry Drew plays elsewhere.

“I suppose you could say” he is part of the Lakers’ future, Smith said. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen, but if it is I think we’re going to be all right down the road. We played during the year, and that helps ... (but) I would have traded this game for a ring.”

Campbell, whose talent was never in dispute, lasted until the 27th pick last year because teams were scared off by his inconsistent play at Clemson. But with Johnson yelling in one ear and Dunleavy in the other, Campbell came on at the end of the season.

Drew and veteran center Mychal Thompson don’t seem likely to be part of the Lakers’ future, but top-flight newcomers may be hard to find. The Lakers have the 52nd pick in the draft -- their first-round pick went to Golden State for Terry Teagle -- and they may not even have that. Miami has the option of taking either the Lakers’ second-round choice this year or next year as part of long-ago compensation for not selecting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the expansion draft four years ago.

But General Manager Jerry West has a history of contriving ways to get more talent. If he wants to trade into the first round, there are players who could be traded to get him there.

The biggest part of the team, Johnson, will still be around.

“If I wasn’t hungry, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” he said. “Portland would be. That’s why I play. I’m always hungry. Everybody’s hungry. That’s why we play, because we all want to win a championship.”