The Los Angeles Lakers have been unsuccessful in free agency over the past few years, missing out on the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry and Trevor Ariza.

Magic Johnson has heard from agents and executives from other teams that Mitch Kupchak's deliberate style can be frustrating to deal with and has likely been the reason for the free agency struggles.

Said one player agent, who has dealt with Kupchak on several contracts, "He's the only GM in the league who won't engage at all before 9:01 p.m. [PT] on the first night of free agency. Then when he calls to express interest, there's no stickiness to it."

Thomas told Grantland's Zach Lowe in 2014, "I always envisioned myself playing with the Lakers," but they were "waiting on Carmelo [Anthony] and other moves." Thomas took a new four-year, $28 million deal with the Phoenix Suns (via a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings).

Kupchak perhaps overcompensated this past offseason when he quickly moved on a four-year, $72 million deal with Luol Deng and a four-year, $64 million deal with Timofey Mozgov.