Magic: Break up the team

DALLAS -- Magic Johnson said today on ESPN that perhaps it was time for Lakers owner Jerry Buss to break up the team. "I think, you know, you can be together too long," Johnson said. "This group has been together too long. ... They're not in sync. They don't really believe in one another. What it means is Dr. Buss has got a lot of work to do. He's going to have to probably blow this team up after the season if the Lakers lose this series because now you've got to come back with some fresh faces.

"You've got to pick between the two big men, which one do you keep? And you trade the other one. I don't think anybody is (untouchable when it comes to a trade) but Kobe (Bryant). The Lakers have two problems. They're too slow and no athletes. This is an athletic league now. When you think about all the teams that are left in the playoffs right now, they can all run fast and jump high."

Johnson joined a roundtable conversation with other ESPN analysts about the possibility that the Lakers could trade Andrew Bynum to the Orlando Magic for Dwight Howard. Johnson likened the move to the Lakers' swap of Marc Gasol for Pau Gasol in 2008, saying the deal "could benefit both teams."