Lakers News: Magic Johnson Weighs In On Phoenix After Deandre Ayton Trade

A shakeup out West.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson's Twitter account continues to state the obvious on the latest NBA news and Thursday marked more of the same. 

Though Pacific division rival Phoenix added their hat as the third team in the Damian Lillard trade to the Bucks, the Hall of Famer still picked his old team as the best in the West. 

The Phoenix Suns got a lot better and a much deeper roster with Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson. The Lakers are the best in the West followed by Phoenix and Denver behind them.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 27, 2023

Suns GM James Jones shipped out disgruntled former no. 1 draft pick Deandre Ayton and turned his big extension into four rotational pieces. 

Ayton now joins a Portland squad in rebuild mode after they dealt their franchise icon to the surprise winner of the Dame sweepstakes in Milwaukee. 

New Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia wanted to make a splash and his new Big 3 of Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker surely make them Finals contenders this season. 

Denver absolutely can't be ignored in this discourse either as the defending champions from 2023 in one of the most dominating playoff runs the league has ever seen. 

Guided by reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and playoff riser Jamal Murray, the Nuggets are also poised for another run at Larry O'Brien. 

The West continues to get tougher for LA even after their successful offseason that prioritized a return for most of their 2023 Western Conference Finals team. 

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka re-signed Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell after their contributions to last year's playoff run. 

Though some Lakers fans wished he pulled the trigger on Lillard, others may still be scarred by the last instance of a guard with a pricey contract surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis. 

LA's hesitance to chase a star once again indicates that they feel confident in their roster for 2024, a sentiment Johnson agrees with.

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