LOS ANGELES_As soon as he finished addressing the media after Thursday's practice in El Segundo, Los Angeles Lakers Coach Luke Walton strolled over to the side of the court where Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and Jordan Clarkson had gathered.
"Earv!" Walton said, greeting the Lakers president of basketball operations.
Johnson and Pelinka watched Thursday's practice, then spent time with the team's players afterward. Pelinka addressed the team as a whole on Sunday before the Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers, but planned then to spend more personal time with each player.
They talked with Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram together. They spoke with Clarkson, in part about how he can better communicate with his teammates.
"I've always been not the most talkative guy, but that's what I was just talking about with them," Clarkson said. "Being able to get that with my teammates, being able to talk to them, communicate with them, see what's going on. ... It's really cool. It's good for us, being able to talk to them, pick their brains as well. Just having that level of just that open-door presence."
Pelinka and Johnson told rookie center Ivica Zubac they'd be watching him this summer.
"I gotta work hard this summer because this summer is very important for me," Zubac said of their message. "Now everybody knows me. I gotta be better than this season."
Pelinka and Johnson also met individually with David Nwaba, Timofey Mozgov, Luol Deng and Tarik Black.
Then Pelinka and Johnson walked across the court to where Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell had been chatting with associate head coach Brian Shaw. With Pelinka to his right and Johnson to his left, Russell was the last player on the court.
