Lakers Rumors: Luke Walton discovered Magic Johnson’s resignation through a text

Los Angeles Lakers, Luke Walton, Magic Johnson (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers, Luke Walton, Magic Johnson (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)

Things just keep going from bad to worse when it comes to all things involving the Los Angeles Lakers if recent Lakers rumors are true.

What has gone on within the Los Angeles Lakers organization of late has been absurd, causing plenty of Lakers rumors to pop up in news feeds. Although everyone knows how bad the regular season turned out, the aftermath of it has been even more ridiculous.

It is safe to say nobody could have predicted that Magic Johnson was going to step down from his position as team president. It is all so mind-boggling still.

Johnson’s decision immediately suggested that he did not take his role very seriously. What makes matters worse, too, is that he said last year that it was going to take at least a couple of years to get the team back to contention. Thus, it is not a stretch to say Magic quit on the team that made his NBA dream come true 40 years ago.

Magic went on to explain the rationale for his decision. Part of it was because he did not want to potentially damage his friendship with Jeanie Buss. Additionally, he openly admitted he did not feel too comfortable letting someone go (AKA Luke Walton).

That information alone is indicative of the fact that Johnson was never too fond of his job with the Lakers. As the president, some of his job descriptions entailed needing to make those big decisions. He simply did not have the guts to do so.

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Similarly, Magic’s decision to resign from his duties revealed that he did not want responsibility in another way. Considering how the Lakers’ season went, it is not too far-fetched to think the following. The former point guard did not want to be held accountable if the squad did not have a successful upcoming summer.

Therefore, the easiest thing to do was to essentially quit. Magic seemed to value his reputation more than stepping up to the plate for Los Angeles.

So be it. However, there is a recent rumor about Magic’s decision that is interesting. Per Ron Gutterman of Lakers Nation (originally via Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN), the former skipper, Walton, first discovered Magic’s decision via a text.

"Walton learned that Johnson was resigning via text while preparing for the Trail Blazers game with his staff, sources said."

This meant one thing for Walton at that point in time. It signified that his hours on the Lakers’ sidelines were limited. That was an absolute guarantee.

To no surprise, Walton and the team cut ties subsequent to the end of what was a terrible, terrible season.

Furthermore, the text message part alone sheds light on how poor Luke and Magic’s relationship was. To send abrupt news of that nature over a text is incredibly unprofessional. Just because Magic Johnson is, well, Magic Johnson, does not mean he is above the rules of human decency.

Frankly, though, maybe Walton (at least for his sake) got lucky. He already has a new gig and is perhaps glad to be away from the drama.

Early in the season, Johnson was already angry at Luke for the team’s slow start. Accordingly, Walton had a proverbial gun directed at him for a large portion of the 2018-2019 campaign.

Despite Walton being in a different place, the Lakers are not. Once again, the ball club did not qualify for the postseason.

Moreover, who will become their coach and who will join general manager Rob Pelinka in the front office remains to be seen. Some options are being considered, but, at any rate, the Lakers are an unstable mess these days.

The sheer fact that Magic felt compelled to send a text about his resignation further validates the team’s shaky state. The Lakers are in shambles right now. They are arguably at a lower point than ever before.