Show-me time is just about to begin for Magic and the Lakers

If Magic is Magic, as we are reassured by Earvin Johnson, and Magic’s job is to win, and Magic always does his job, it follows the Warriors are NBA champs.

Wait, there is a flaw in the syllogism, somewhere.

Konrad Moore

San Diego

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Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago Bill Plaschke was touting Magic Johnson as the savior to bring in the big-name player via free agency or a trade? His Sunday column confused me.

The Warriors are now the top of the food chain. I hope I’m wrong but adding LeBron or Kawhi might not get that jello jigglin’ or eggs chillin’ any time soon.

Phillip Trujillo

Ontario

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Thanks to Bill Plaschke for being so direct and honestly expressing the not-so-magic of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. Both of them need to come down from their thrones and get humble and plead with the super free agents to please help lakers to climb back to the glory days .

It is not about the past performance, it is a new era and new approach is needed.

Nagaraj Murphy

Compton

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Why would LeBron want to join a few unproven kids, a team that does not have a strong enough nucleus to contend, coached by LukeWalton, who still has yet to show true winning game management?

Good luck Magic with your experience and bravado, stop talking about playing against Larry Bird, the past is the past, and your future as recruiter is very much in doubt. The future is now and Showtime is just a thing of the past.

Lou Soto

Trabuco Canyon

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The Lakers’ chance of signing LeBron James is about the same as an ice cube making its way through hell. The current Laker management — Jeanie Buss, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka — have no track record for building a winning team, let alone a championship team. LeBron wants rings and his best chance, by far, is signing with the Houston Rockets. The Lakers will have to get a championship the old fashioned way through the draft and making trades.

Eddie Dawes

Hacienda Heights

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General manager Rob Pelinka tells us he has been “moving the chessboard around with all the different options.” Assuming that he knows as much about basketball as he does about chess, I predict that the Lakers are screwed again.

Reinforcing my glum outlook: The Lakers’ first draft pick is a guy who averaged 4.5 rebounds per game in three years of college. He’s 6-11.

Stephen Mattson

Los Osos

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What if Magic Johnson retires next year if his management moves fail to lift the Lakers from the NBA doldrums? What line of work should he pursue? I vote for politician or used car salesmen.

Patrick Kelley

Los Angeles

On to the next round

While I see no problem pulling for the Mexican team, Mexican fans in Mexico are completely unworthy of such support and utterly reprehensible.

Rhys Thomas, of Valley Glen, fails to acknowledge or remember the “warm welcome” the USA received while playing in Mexico: bottles of urine thrown at our American soccer players and boos from the rabid crowds during our national anthem.

If Mr. Thomas considers these are actions of our “friends and neighbors” I’d hate to see what our enemies are like!

Rick Solomon

Lake Balboa

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Poor Mexico. So far from the title game, so close to Brazil.

Michael Jenning

Van Nuys

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So Japan advances based on a new tiebreaking rule, fair play. What’s next if that test doesn’t break a tie, best uniform color combinations? And people wonder why American sports fans are lukewarm toward the game.　

Ken Blake

Brea

Same Ball game

Now that every team in the NBA has passed on the opportunity to draft LiAngelo Ball, perhaps the Lakers can sign him as a free agent, thus greatly improving their chances of not making the playoffs for the sixth straight season.

David Medrano

Alhambra

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LiAngelo Ball, commenting on the benefits of playing in Europe instead of remaining at UCLA, actually said: “Going overseas helped more, in my opinion. In college, I didn’t get the playing time I thought I’d get.”

Was he not planning on shoplifting or he just wasn’t expecting to be suspended for the year?

Jeff Kandel

Los Angeles

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Shame on Dylan Hernandez for writing yet another article on LaVar Ball. Apparently, this Ball hog not only wants to use his kids to build his business, but now is forming a league of other people’s kids to do the same. This is not sports news, it belongs in the Business section, particularly on Mondays (there isn’t one).

Bruce N. Miller

Playa del Rey

Blue period

Look no further than Thursday afternoon’s game to eliminate any doubt who is managing the Dodgers. It certainly isn’t Dave Roberts. Roberts is just the pawn in the dugout carrying out orders from the Front Office. What real manager, in his right mind, would agree to use Walker Buehler after not so much as one rehab start?

If I am wrong, and Roberts’ moves all week were his own (removing Maeda after only 84 pitches, removing Stripling after 86 pitches and agreeing to go with Buehler) then he has to be gone now. He isn’t known in the stands as Clueless Dave for nothing.

Geno Apicella

Placentia

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Probably the stupidest move of the year to put Walker Buehler in such an important game to do rehab, after Clayton Kershaw pitched such a good game. It cost the Dodgers a possible victory and any fan knows one game at the end of the season can be the difference in going to the playoffs, winning the division, home field, etc. Your top managers, like Bochy and Madden, wouldn’t have done that.

Paul Kessler

Century City

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Cody Bellinger is taken out of a game and sits out a game for not hustling. Yasiel Puig not only surpasses Bellinger’s transgression but gives the word “bonehead” new meaning. His lack of focus at the plate, in the field and baserunning goofs are becoming legendary. So, Dave Roberts, what is your next move ?

G.T. Oka

Rosemead

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　It’s time to stop wasting ink on Yasiel Puig. There are plenty of other local sports figures to write about that deserve the recognition by virtue of their skills rather than their quirks.

Patrick Kelley　

Los Angeles　

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As mid-season approaches, the Dodgers’ starting rotation penciled in at the beginning of the year has a total of only 13 wins, yet the club is in a fight for the division title. How is that possible? Dave Roberts deserves a round of applause for his creative management.

Mark Mallinger

Malibu

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I went to the Dodgers-Cubs game on Monday night. After paying $ 25 I entered Lot 4 and found a spot near Glendale. I don’t want to say that I parked far from the stadium but I was thinking of calling Uber to take me to the front gate. The big issue is the parking lot has no signage displaying letters or numbers posted anywhere in the lot. I’m sure that many fans must have problems finding their cars after the game in the darkness. It is very frustrating when you want to exit quickly to avoid the traffic building up and you can’t find your car.

How about photos of Dodger players on large poles being displayed throughout the lot? I know that I would find my car if I knew I parked between Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner.

Jeff Hershow

Woodland Hills

Good show

Just finished watching the tape of the NHL awards ceremony. How refreshing to see an awards show that celebrated the athletes, payed emotional homage to the tragedies that took place in Parkland, Las Vegas and with the Humboldt junior hockey team, and included zero political pandering. Take note, Hollywood!

Duane Plank

El Segundo

Both sides now

USC fans write letters complaining that The Times favors UCLA. Bruins fans write letters accusing your newspaper of bias toward the Trojans. They all can’t be right, can they? No, it’s just the typical fan “bunker mentality,” convinced that officials, announcers and writers are all against their teams.

Next time I suggest that fans of both schools stick to griping about the real source of their problems, whether it be Clay Helton or Steve Alford, but not this sports section.

Daniel Rivero

Los Angeles

They’re dead

The Angels’ tombstone reads: “Finally, relief.”

Jack Von Bulow

Temple City

Thanks for the tie

Wow. I guess Doc Rivers just was not all that impressed with Austin’s Father’s Day gift this year, eh?

Richard Turnage

Burbank

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