Los Angeles Lakers business plan changed by Magic Johnson
By Ronald Agers
The recent resignation of Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, will cause a change in the organization’s business plan.
Magic Johnson wanted to help the Los Angeles Lakers to be the topic of discussion in all NBA news. Well, he did it.
He shocked the NBA world by resigning his job as president of basketball operations. Shocked is one of the most overused words by writers, I’ll admit it. But for all journalists that use the word for this subject, forgive us all!
There are no other words. Hopefully, his resignation has nothing to do with rumors swirling about a soon to be published article by ESPN based on Magic Johnson‘s conduct with employees.
Magic Johnson’s comment on the rumors according to the LA Times…
"“That story is wrong,” Johnson told the Los Angeles Times. “Never disrespected anybody. Never did anything bad. Am I tough? Hell, yeah! You work for me, I’m demanding. But at the same time I’m fair. They’ve been talking about that article for how many months? Everybody running, ‘Oh they’re writing an article.’ I’m gonna say, why didn’t they interview anybody at ESPN? If I was doing something wrong to employees disrespecting, this or that, think they would’ve hired me twice?”"
The ESPN rumored story will definitely have to wait. Those rumors are disturbing, but Magic Johnson’s resignation shows us the dysfunction that has to be addressed going forward if this team is going to win, no matter who takes over as his replacement.
The Los Angeles Lakers front office obviously are not on the same page.
This resignation proves it. Magic Johnson has an impromptu press conference and tells no one that he is leaving the top Lakers executive job.
Magic Johnson has announced he is stepping down as Lakers' President of Basketball Operations. pic.twitter.com/a5Sk3rJMQh
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 10, 2019
Magic didn’t even tell Jeanie Buss about his resignation? Red flag there, folks!
Business is all about communication and being on the same page. Now while all of this is going on, Luke Walton and his staff have their own issues besides the upcoming game against the Portland Trail Blazers on their minds.
Lakers coaching staff fully expected to be fired in hours after the final game of the season. They had believed they were gone for months. Now? Magic quits in public, saying he's too scared to tell Jeanie Buss face-to-face. What an embarrassing episode for a historic franchise.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2019
After Magic Johnson reportedly talked with a few people, he left before the game started. Jeanie Buss was never present at the game.
The business plan of the Los Angeles Lakers is broken, it’s outdated and not the way Dr. Jerry Buss did business. Right now, relationships and feelings have gotten in the way of what’s good for business. What’s good for business is the Lakers winning championships.
Covering the Los Angeles Lakers for Lake Show Life opened my eyes to how critical the front office cohesion is linked to the success of a franchise.
It was no secret that the Lakers were one of the many teams that tried to use the blueprint of the current two-time World Champion Golden State Warriors. Everyone sees Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry put on shows on the basketball court.
No one pays attention to how that team was constructed, developed and more importantly, meticulously focused on the direction of the entire franchise.
Lake Show Life did a comparison of the two L.A. teams’ top executives a couple of weeks ago comparing Magic Johnson to Jerry West and the glaring effects of how it affects the performance on the basketball court.
Now it’s time to head to the top-level of the NBA teams. With Magic Johnson no longer a part of the organization (officially) Jeanie Buss is now in the spotlight.
Let’s break down business plans of the Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, the team they are desperately trying to emulate.