Magic Johnson steps down as Lakers President of Basketball Ops

Pretty sure he’s a little more preoccupied with his successful TV ventures no one watches and putting money into restaurants no one eats at and producing movies no one will go see.

Athletes “invest” money in the stupidest things.

 

per the interview w Stephen A,

despite the back-stabbing, he still wants to honor his 3 year commitment to the LAL.
but, once Magic realized that he doesn't have the authority to fire the coach, he didn't want to be there​

despite inheriting 2 albatross contracts, Deng and Mazgov,

he managed to rid these albatross, allowing LAL to sign FA LBJ, after drafting Ingram, Lonzo, Kusma and Hart​

he was working on the AD deal until the NOP GM, leaked the news to the public more as a way to getting back at Pelinka

 

But not preoccupied enough to take a shot at the Rockets once their series was over?

 

Lebron's always been insecure, not quite Durant level but he's actually more passive aggressive than KD. All he had to do was (like Dwight) put his pride aside and join CP3/Harden and beat the Warriors. Problem was that he knew that he wasn't going to be the centerpiece. You have to give the Warriors a ton of credit, they have consistently done what no one else is willing to do. Put aside their pride to be "the man" to create something long lasting.

They're basically a rich man's Pistons w/ Chauncey and crew.

 

by rich you must mean trillionaire.

 

If you don’t like the Lakers, this is a great long form read. I included a section down below, but the whole thing is incredible.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26821790/lakers-20-failed-reboot-nba-crown-jewel

PELINKA AND JOHNSON didn't hire Walton; they inherited him. Still, on the day they were introduced in their new roles, Johnson endorsed the former Lakers player who had previously been an assistant in Golden State (and for half of the Warriors' 73-win 2015-16 season as the interim coach), calling Walton "the right man for the job."

In September, five months after the Lakers went 35-47 in Johnson's first season with the team, Johnson told reporters he had preached patience to Walton, saying, "Don't worry if we get out to a bad start." But by Oct. 30, with the Lakers holding a 3-5 record, Johnson berated Walton in a closed-door meeting, the details of which became public in an ESPN report by Adrian Wojnarowski.

Walton, according to members of the coaching staff and a source close to him, wasn't clear why the organization had changed its message 13 days into the 2018-19 campaign.

In November, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Maverick Carter, LeBron's longtime business partner, met for lunch. James' agent, Rich Paul, was seated at a nearby table, and at one point, approached Silver to complain about Walton, multiple sources familiar with the interaction told ESPN. Paul said he didn't believe Walton was the right coach for the Lakers. Silver shrugged off the remark and asked whom Paul thought would be the right coach. Paul suggested Tyronn Lue.

Paul was also letting it be known through back-channel conversations, including those with reporters, that he wasn't on board with Walton. Paul criticized how Walton allotted minutes to players and his inconsistent lineups, which were partly the result of injuries and suspensions. Members of the Lakers' coaching staff became aware of those conversations and wondered whether Johnson's heated meeting with Walton was influenced by Paul.

That an NBA head coach would face criticism from an agent or associates of star players is not rare, nor was it new for a head coach to face pressure with James on the roster. It's also not unusual for teams in any professional sport -- and certainly the NBA -- to make accommodations for superstars. For example, three people close to James are listed in the Lakers' staff directory as employees: Robert Brown, whose title is personal security officer; Randy Mims, whose title is executive administrator, player program & logistics; and Mike Mancias, whose title is athletic trainer & athletic performance liaison. All three were also on the team payroll with James in Cleveland.

Still, under Pelinka and Johnson, the Lakers began allowing more access -- to the team and around the facility -- to players' agents than prior leadership, Lakers front-office staffers, coaching staff members, agents and other sources close to the team said. One Lakers front-office executive applauded the change, saying the Lakers had been behind the times and weren't giving agents the basic level of access that other teams were granting.

Yet when Paul, who represented Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope prior to the team signing James, was seen at the facility during the 2017-18 season, his presence created an uneasy feeling among some coaching staffers and others close to Walton who knew the Lakers were also pursuing Paul's biggest client, James.

"It was clear to us that he was scouting [Walton's viability as the head coach] -- and Luke is aware of this," said one member of the Lakers coaching staff who was present at the facility.

In that same season, Caldwell-Pope was allowed to practice and play with the team while serving a 25-day jail sentence for violating the terms of his probation stemming from a DUI charge -- a decision that, multiple team staffers said, caused unrest in the franchise. Caldwell-Pope was allowed to leave the Seal Beach Police Department Detention Center to attend practice and Lakers games in California as part of a work-release program, but he wasn't allowed to travel outside the state, resulting in him missing one game in Cleveland, one in Minneapolis and two in Houston. In all, Caldwell-Pope missed four games while serving his jail sentence but played in nine, starting each one.

"Anybody [else] would have put him on personal leave or suspended him," one coaching staff member said.

"I had a major problem with that," a Lakers front-office executive said.

When asked why Caldwell-Pope played during this time, a Lakers spokesperson said they were simply following the judge's work-release ruling. Staffers within the organization and sources close to the team say they believe it was because the Lakers were trying to curry favor with Klutch in their efforts to sign James the following summer in free agency.

Coaching staff and others close to the team told ESPN there would continue to be an increased presence by Paul and Klutch Sports in ways that seemed strange to them. For instance, three Lakers sources familiar with team travel details independently told ESPN that Paul rode on the Lakers' charter plane on multiple occasions this season, an act that front-office executives, other NBA general managers and other agents around the league said is highly unusual -- if not unheard of.

Paul didn't deny to ESPN that he had ridden on the Lakers' team charter, though he said he also did so while James played in Cleveland and Miami. Sources who rode on those team charters while James played there dispute that claim.

A Lakers spokesperson confirmed that Paul has ridden on the team charter, though he said it happened only once -- on a one-way cross-country flight -- after Paul had travel complications. The Lakers wouldn't specify when this flight occurred but said Walton was given the opportunity to deny Paul access to the charter, but he declined to do so.

And so the perception existed among the Lakers' coaching staff that Paul sought to oust Walton. And some players also believed, according to coaching staff members and those players' agents, that Klutch Sports was working to trade them away for a superstar. Given those perceptions, one former Lakers player described Paul's presence on the team charter as a "culture killer."

"Coaches know Rich is trying to get them fired, and players know Rich is trying to get them traded," said one agent with ties to the Lakers, who called Paul's presence on the plane "destructive."

Given Klutch's access, rival agents -- even those representing players on the roster -- said they were wary of allowing young clients to join the Lakers, fearing they'd be recruited or poached.

Why all of these disparate events occurred or were allowed to occur became a topic of conversation at various levels of the organization. The general consensus? Inexperience on the part of management.

"Rob and Magic have never done this job, they have no idea how to do it, let alone how to do it in the space with those guys [from Klutch Sports]," said one NBA front-office executive who worked with James on a different team.

When contacted by ESPN, Paul denied every allegation against him except riding on the team charter. Paul declined to publicly comment beyond those denials, providing a statement instead: "I understand my position. I respect all those in our industry. At the end of the day, all I can do is continue to do a job for my client. That's it. I can't worry about what somebody thinks, the perception. All I can do is work hard and continue down the path that I'm on."

Adam Mendelsohn, a longtime media adviser to James, also provided a statement: "Rich's access and influence is no different than any other elite agent. It's a convenient narrative to suggest anonymously that it was unique to him. But anyone in the NBA knows that's just how the NBA media game works."​

 

So that’s how LeBron keeps his name clean..let his agent do the dirty work.