Los Angeles Lakers: Analyzing the fallout from First Take on ESPN

With the dust settling from Magic Johnson’s appearance on ESPN’s First Take, what’s next for the Los Angeles Lakers?

Magic Johnson had his very anticipated interview on ESPN’s First Take on Monday morning. It was his chance to speak his truth on why he shocked the world with his impromptu press conference resigning from the Lakers. For about a month no one in the Los Angles Lakers organization had any explanation or statement for the fans. LeBron James spoke his truth about what he thought about that night and his feelings. But these days, LeBron James only speaks his truth through his production company.

The truth is a very interesting thing in life. It takes on many facets and meanings. The truth can be interpreted in many ways by many different people. This is the theme of the sad state of the Los Angeles Lakers. But there is a truth about the Lakers that can’t be manipulated…

The Los Angeles Lakers can’t get anything done right. Monday, May 20th, 2019, was a microcosm of the dysfunctional franchise that the late Dr. Jerry Buss left to Jeanie Buss and the rest of his children.

That was the day that the Lakers were going to introduce their 403rd…I mean, their choice, Frank Vogel in a press conference. LeBron James was there. It was the first time a Lakers executive was going to address the Lakers fans with a front office move.

Well leave it up to ESPN, Magic Johnson and Stephen A. Smith to provide Rob Pelinka something to discuss at the event after Johnson’s one hour First Take interview a few hours earlier.

Now let’s be clear here, Magic Johnson is a business mogul, you should believe the fact that he laid out in detail what the Lakers organization could expect from him when it came to being the President of Basketball Operations.

Fast forward back to the present, we do not know Magic Johnson’s truth when he stated that he would give the Lakers 150% of his efforts. He believes that he did. Rob Pelinka according to Magic did not and “betrayed” his trust and “backstabbed” him numerous times. Many members of the media knew that Magic Johnson was not around as much and displayed the commitment that the job required.

With that being said, there is so many sides to the story, who knows what the truth actually is. Most of what I heard in the interview, most already knew if you were paying attention.

It was no secret that Magic Johnson wanted Luke Walton out as head coach so he could hire Tyronn Lue to coach LeBron James. If Magic Johnson had the power that he was promised, the Lakers probably would have sent Walton packing as early as the 2-5 start when he “admonished” him for the slow start. If not, it definitely before the All-Star break. This is not too much to ask, it’s pretty much the norm for a NBA executive to hire his/her own coach.

Bottom line, either if he was in the office, El Segundo or in the state of California, if what Magic Johnson said about Jeanie Buss and the many voices she pays attention to is the truth…

"“[Harris] is supposed to run Lakers business but he was trying to come over to our side,” Johnson said. “Have everybody who has a role with the Lakers, stay in that role. OK, Tim Harris, you’re the president of business, stay over there in business. Jesse and Joey [Buss], hey, you’re the general manager assistant to Rob. Joey, you run the G League team. Then do that and do it well. Once you show you can drive excellence, now maybe you can move to another department. But right now, everybody has a voice.”"

Who can blame him. But there was a very important thing that Magic Johnson believes and I’m surprised Jeanie Buss was not paying attention. Magic Johnson said on numerous occasions that if he is not having fun…he’s out.

I mean it’s not like he hasn’t done it before…

Magic Johnson was not having fun when Paul Westhead was fired back in 1981

Remember that Brent Musburger interview talking about Magic Johnson’s smile that lights up a TV screen in his rookie year? Then the Lakers went on to win the NBA title defeating the 76ers with Magic Johnson messing around and nearly getting a triple-double scoring 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists.

Soon after Magic Johnson garnered his infamous relationship with the late Dr. Jerry Buss and corralled a 25-year $25 million dollar contract, Magic just wasn’t having fun. 

Then coach, Paul Westhead had changed the offense to run through Kareem Abdul-Jabbar instead of the uptempo offense that would eventually turn into “Showtime”. Westhead had a discussion with Johnson about his “lack of concentration”. Right after that meeting, Magic Johnson went straight to the press and voiced his displeasure about playing in Westhead’s system and demanded to be traded.

Soon after, Paul Westhead was a memory after Dr. Buss called a press conference to hire two head coaches. The coaches were to be Jerry West and Pat Riley. One was supposed to take care of the offense while the other deals with the defense. Thank God, Jerry West said no and took up the GM duties. Seems familiar to the coaching situation in 2019. I guess Jerry West is not around to clean up this scenario.

Jeanie Buss knows this story, she was old enough to witness the drama back then. Talk about history repeating itself.

According to Ramona Shelburne, Jeanie Buss inquired Magic on any issues that he nay have had with anyone in the organization. Johnson according to Shelburne never gave out any information. It does make you wonder if after this interview where Magic Johnson, criticized many in the organization if there will be another dinner between the two.

I’ll bet Magic would have some fun if he owned the Los Angeles Lakers. That was a topic of conversation during that hour.

Good luck with that one. Even though Lake Show Life came up with the notion that the NBA should step in and take a long look at how the franchise is run from day-to-day, there is no way Jeanie Buss will put the team up for sale. To all the Lakers fans screaming for her to sell, move on and let it go.

Let’s discuss the man who was the topic of discussion on First Take…

Magic Johnson really let the world know who he had a problem with didn’t he?

Rob Pelinka was one of the main subjects throughout the hour when Magic Johnson spilled his frustrations on his feelings when he resigned…

It’s interesting to hear that Magic Johnson was not staying long  in this part of the interview especially when it was mentioned in this article about a week ago. Johnson had dropped hints for almost a year that he was thinking about stepping down. These statements are very damning for Rob Pelinka. With the interview being done before the Frank Vogel press conference, it almost could be perceived as a plan. If you had a problem with someone, blasting them on one of the biggest shows on ESPN that was promoted for a week is a good way to do it.

Do you think Rob Pelinka was a little nervous in his statement addressing Magic’s comments? You make the call…

Believe it or not, the real winner in this was Frank Vogel. You see with all of the drama of Magic Johnson’s interview, it took the attention away that he was 515th…I mean the Lakers choice to replace Luke Walton.

Okay, now let’s dive into the LeBron angle…

Magic Johnson has no regrets about not consulting LeBron about the resignation

It’s funny to me how the media and fans alike went nuts over the fact that Magic Johnson did not give LeBron James fair warning that he was leaving his post. I wasn’t one of them and laid out my reasons here… 

Magic Johnson stated in the interview that he did was best for him as a man. He also said he could have handled it differently but has no regrets. He did mention LeBron James in the interview about being a “special” player and that the Lakers will win a championship with him in the next three years.

Also, he made it clear to anyone that thinks LeBron James is going to be traded, it’s not going to happen. He also talked about the positive things that he is doing for his younger teammates…

Seems kind of strange after his play after the All-Star break but okay. LeBron James was at the Frank Vogel press conference. It seemed kind of strange that he was shooting a basketball while Vogel was being interviewed but okay.

If it’s true that LeBron James has taken Lonzo Ball under his wing and started mentoring him, it can only help all parties involved. Lonzo had to be a mess when the Big Baller Brand business went belly up. Rumors were floating around that Lonzo could be in Nike shoes next year. Hopefully LeBron can get him a good deal.

Who knows…the fact remains, the Lakers are still a mess

In the grand scheme of things, all of this is a distraction from the major issues that are going on in the organization. The front office is still a question mark with the extreme lack of experience. We already know that is a definite issue with who makes the tough decisions. It does bear repeating that LaVar Ball was sounding the alarm on these problems all along.

The question going forward is how much damage control can the Los Angeles Lakers do in the upcoming weeks before free agency starts. The Lakers have already lost the confidence of most NBA experts of landing a top-level free agent in the offseason. But now what will happen after this inflammatory interview…

These are questions that free agents and their representation will be asking in the near future. I will say this though.

Monday was an addition to the many embarrassing episodes in the post-Dr. Jerry Buss era. The NBA crowds really let the Lakers have it when the Anthony Davis trade talks were going on.

Remember the Indiana Pacers game? Brandon Ingram was at the line…and then…the “LeBron’s gonna trade you” chants happened. Then the chants got passed on to JaVale McGee. They were cold, but creative… 

The stench from the Magic Johnson interview will be around for quite a while. The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot to clean up PR wise. They may want to get this fixed before the season starts with a solid draft. a quality free agent or both.

If they don’t that “backstabbing” term will be used so much that The Mighty O’Jays will have to go out on tour just to perform the song in every NBA city where the Lakers play this season.