Back to the Los Angeles Lakers Newsfeed

Magic Johnson plans to hug Lakers after NBA trade deadline fallout

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Magic Johnson plans to hug it out with the Los Angeles Lakers to help them cope with the fallout from the NBA trade deadline.

"It's a part of business, it's a part of being a professional athlete," he said Saturday. "I'm going to hug `em and tell them that we got to come together and our goal is still in reach, which is to make the playoffs."

The team president and Hall of Famer spoke with reporters at Michigan State, where he and the 1979 national championship team he led were celebrated before the ninth-ranked Spartans beat Minnesota.