Magic Johnson: Is He Hurting Jim Buss Or Helping Him?

If there is one thing Jim Buss can never understand, it is this: in Magic Johnson he has an enemy. Johnson, whose raw competitiveness and ambition drives him to achieve, cannot stand idle while Jim Buss wields his authority in the El Segundo offices of the Los Angeles Lakers.

It bears repeating that Jim Buss will never be adored, admired or idolized. He will never bring anyone to tears because of what he has overcome. He will always be thought of as the son of someone great, not the son who grew up to be great.

Buss is repeatedly crucified and blamed, his image framed in the loser’s context as someone who is stupid, clueless, egocentric, cold, and way out of his depth. Johnson, like so many others, blames Buss for this current Lakers atrocity and he is right in many regards to hold Buss accountable for what has happened while he has been in change. Yes, Buss is responsible for the disgrace. The bad decisions will forever be attached to Jim Buss’ resume, especially the Phil Jackson debacle and how it played out so publicly. Buss can never erase the first impression of a spoiled and selfish son who inherited a beautiful organization and then viciously ruined it.

Oct 28, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers former player Magic Johnson in attendance during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Magic Johnson is a stranger to reclamation projects. Everything he has put his effort and heart into has become a success and so this new Lakers world is an anathema to him. Basketball, baseball, philanthropy, HIV activism, urban renewal were recipients of Johnson’s time and effort. He has never been one to stand by and do nothing. Given that sort of operating model, Johnson has no choice but to put Jim Buss in a corner the way a heavyweight boxer oppresses his victim with his strength and his weight.

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Magic has Buss against the ropes the way Ali had Frazier. He repeatedly jabs Buss with a right hook and then a left hook and then a flurry of combinations. These jabs damage Buss who cannot defend himself. But no matter how hard he is punched- and this is Magic Johnson’s main conflict- Jim Buss won’t give up, he won’t quit. He sees himself as competent even if no one else does.

There is something to be said for confidence. It is what allowed Magic Johnson, a 20 year old, to go into Philadelphia and play against 30 year old Henry Bibby and 28 year old Doug Collins and 30 year old Julius Erving and 28 year old Bobby Jones. That Magic dominated an experienced NBA core in order to become a champion spoke to his talent and his ability and his refusal to do anything but win. His confidence is inborn, a part of who he has always been.

But is Jim Buss confident? Unlike Magic Johnson, in Jim Buss’ rear view mirror are a myriad of professional failures. Ultimately, he was hired by his father. One of the first things he did that garnered national attention was to insult Jerry West, the person he was working under. Buss implied there wasn’t much skill needed in talent evaluation, that anyone could put a team together. In other words, Jerry West, his boss, wasn’t particularly special. (In light of this season, those statements seem ridiculous and are worthy of the intense brush back he received after Sports Illustrated printed them in 1998).

"“Evaluating basketball talent is not too difficult. If you grabbed 10 fans out of a bar and asked them to rate prospects, their opinions would be pretty much identical to those of the pro scouts.”"

These days, Magic uses the only leverage at his disposal, public pressure. He went as far as to say Kobe Bryant should retire if the Lakers don’t land a free agent. Magic is aware that the last thing the Lakers want is Bryant to retire and nudging him to do so only increases the scrutiny, stress and increases the stakes that hang over Jim Buss’ head this summer. The thing about Magic, what made him such a great teammate and leader and champion, was his relentlessness. He never gave up, and in this, his beloved team being run into the ground, he has found a weak opponent, someone he can match up against and dominate.

Will Magic’s critique ever end? Yes. But only when Jim Buss says so. When he quits or Jeanie moves him aside. Or, when he rebuilds the franchise back to where it was before he dismantled it in the first place. In other words, it may be a long goodbye and a frustrating ride for Magic Johnson and Lakers fans, waiting on Jim Buss to mature as an owner.

Next: Lakers: The Search For All Star Talent Through the Draft

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