Los Angeles Lakers business plan changed by Magic Johnson
By Ronald Agers
The next President can’t love the Lakers, he has to love success!
Magic Johnson loves the Los Angeles Lakers. Also, the Los Angeles Lakers love him. That’s the problem.
Being an executive takes a ton of hard work and it is a 52 week a year job. Magic Johnson obviously was not the guy that would get his hands dirty.
Since taking over as president of the Lakers, Magic Johnson never fully committed to the job. Often he was traveling and away from the team. His office hours were limited. He didn't do a lot of scouting. Running an NBA team takes a tremendous commitment of time and energy.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2019
Adrian Wojnarowski’s statements here show that Magic Johnson enjoyed being President in title only and not the work that comes with it. Plus, it looks like he went into the job without knowing fully what the job was all about.
Rob Pelinka had absolutely zero experience in being a GM. He was hired basically because he was Kobe Bryant‘s agent, so for 20 years, the organization has a relationship with Pelinka. Not the best business plan for a strong front office.
Now some fans will say, hold up! Golden State has a GM in Bob Myers who was an agent. Okay, that’s correct. The difference is, he learned the job as an assistant and threw himself into building relationships and learning every nuance to the job. Plus, he scouts and does the dirty work by scouring the phones and doing the necessary office work. His charge is to bring success to the Warriors. If he doesn’t well, Joe Lacob’s tendencies have already been discussed.
Even as a Magic Johnson fan, I knew that following his Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA tournament was a bad look. The one month cruises through Italy every summer during scouting times was not ideal. The most damning mark on the checklist was going to the press and telling the young guys to be professional.
Rule number one in being a leader, you can’t ask your employees to do anything that you are not willing to do yourself. Instead of stepping in, Jeanie Buss let it ride. Was it because of the close relationship with Dr. Jerry Buss and being family? Who knows?