The Los Angeles Lakers front office has been thrashed in the media over the last six weeks, but the Lakers are in a much better situation than most people believe.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in the news for all the wrong reasons it seems recently. However, a lot of it has been self-inflicted and deserved.
- Before the Lakers’ last game of the season, Magic Johnson resigned as the president of basketball operations via live press conference, because he was tired of dealing with “backstabbing and whispering.”
- A few days after the 2018-2019 season was over the Lakers head coach, Luke Walton left to lead the Sacramento Kings.
- The Lakers wanted to sign Monty Williams to take over as the head coach, but he went a different route and inked a lucrative deal to lead the Phoenix Suns
- Rob Pelinka then turned his full attention to Tyronn Lue, but his contract discussions to become the Lakers head coach hit a snag and he didn’t join the Purple and Gold.
- Rumors began to swirl that Kurt Rambis and his wife were helping Jeanie Buss make crucial decisions, some of which had a huge impact on the Lakers.
- A few days ago a very long article came out on ESPN that described Magic Johnson as a lazy, half-crazed, panic-inducing manager. The post also portrayed Rob Pelinka as a back-stabbing liar, who once told a story involving Heath Ledger that “a source with direct knowledge,” said was untrue.
Once a snowball starts rolling down a mountain it gets bigger and faster and soon it’s momentum makes it almost impossible to stop. The same has been true about this negative news cycle withering away at the Lakers.
Sports writers across America who cover the NBA have realized they can garner attention by writing harmful articles about the Purple and Gold, so it’s been impossible for the damaging energy surrounding the Lakers to dissipate.
However, despite everything you’ve heard about the Lakers dysfunction, there are three reasons why LA is still in a better position than many teams around the league.