Magic Johnson stepped down from President of Basketball Operations of the Los Angeles Lakers before the final game of the season. The announcement surprised everyone including Lakers players and Media members around the organization.
The most shocking information of the announcement was that Magic didn’t tell team owner Jeanie Buss, of his decision to step down. Magic stated that he missed his old life and wanted to mentor other athletes like Serena Williams and Ben Simmons.
Magic’s departure was sudden and now the Lakers management must figure out how to fix the situation to make the Lakers contenders next season. Magic’s departure comes after a disappointing season for the Lakers with just a 37-45 record and another missed playoff appearance. The plan Magic had set out was to sign LeBron James in the summer of 2018 and then pair him with another All-Star this summer in 2019. Magic was key in LeBron James signing with the Lakers and not having Magic recruit another star player this summer may hurt the Lakers.
Rob Pelinka is in charge at the moment for the Lakers as they look to make a decision on Luke Walton and look forward to the NBA draft in June. Sources around the league have confirmed that Rob’s relationship with other GM’s are not on good terms as they resent his past affiliations with players as an agent. This can hurt the Lakers in any trade talks to improve the team and other free agents because they won’t feel confident that the management will be able to make good basketball decisions. Dysfunction at the top of an organization can linger onto the court and lead to bad basketball and poor leadership and direction.
If the Lakers want to be Champions again in the near future then these problems must be fixed very soon because dysfunctional organizations don’t win in any sport much less Basketball. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors have the blueprint for what a championship organization should look like.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a huge summer ahead of them and they must make the correct decisions for the future.
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