Magic Johnson is a die-hard Laker and represents the heartbeat of the Los Angeles Lakers fan-base. He vocalizes pretty much what most Laker fans are thinking and brings it to a national stage. He’s the Laker fan-base’s unofficial representative.
And if you know the Lakers’ fan base as much as we do, you know that’s not always a good thing.
Because Magic is making waves again. Last year, his “blow up the team” comment midway through the Dallas Mavericks’ drubbing of the Lakers in Game 4 of last year’s playoffs ticked off the Lakers execs. This time, Magic Johnson is saying Mike Brown’s gone if the Lakers are eliminated later on. From the LAT:
"Should the Lakers lose Saturday in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets,Magic Johnson has a definite idea on what will happen next.“They’re going to run Mike Brown first out of town,” Johnson said as an ESPN NBA analyst Friday. “Then second will be [Andrew] Bynum. Then third will be [Pau] Gasol.”"
Please, Magic, we love you, but shut the f*** up already.
I get it. I really do. With one of the most talented rosters in the NBA, it makes no sense for Mike Brown to keep his job as head coach of one of the most prestigious franchises in North American sports. The Lakers fan base is an impatient one, and Magic is merely echoing the sentiment across the entire Lakers blogosphere and Twittersphere, along with bar-room conversations and viewing parties.
But Magic is putting the front office in a tight spot. If he wanted Brown fired, it would’ve made sense to stay quiet and not force the Lakers’ executives hands in endorsing Brown, because when you don’t do that, your championship team suffers as a result of really messed up coaching in a Game 7.
And the Lakers, indeed, endorsed Mike Brown to offset Magic Johnson’s comments:
Lakers release statement saying Magic Johnson comments on Mike Brown "in no way do they reflect the feelings " of management.
— Scott Howard-Cooper (@SHowardCooper) May 12, 2012
More from Lakers statement: "We are fully committed to and supportive of Mike Brown as head coach of the Lakers.”
— Scott Howard-Cooper (@SHowardCooper) May 12, 2012
Well, no kidding.
So nothing was accomplished, if Magic’s goal was to hold Mike Brown accountable and force him out of his position. Instead, the Lakers’ management now has to commit to Mike Brown prematurely because if they didn’t release a statement endorsing Brown? Well, we’d like to see how Brown coaches when he knows his job is very much on the line.
Of course, this mess can all go away. We don’t have to deal with more drama, talk about the offseason chatter and the noise surrounding this team.
How? Win friggin’ Game 7.