Following the signing of LeBron James on July 1, 2018, the Lakers hoped to finish with a winning record and playoff appearance for the first time since the 2012–13 season.
On April 9, the conclusion of the Lakers' season, Magic Johnson stepped down as president of basketball operations.
This marked his second time leaving the Cavs, after controversially doing so in 2010 to join the Miami Heat, where he led the team to 4 consecutive NBA Finals appearances, winning back-to-back in 2012 and 2013.
The signing also briefly intensified the Celtics–Lakers rivalry, as his former Cavs teammate Kyrie Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics the year before and when former Celtics star Rajon Rondo joined LeBron in Los Angeles.
Irving played 2 seasons for the Celtics before signing with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason.