Magic Johnson said a lot of things out on Tuesday night as he announced he was stepping down as the Los Angeles Lakers President of Basketball Operations. One of the weirdest parts of his impromptu press conference was his non-endorsement of Rob Pelinka, the general manager he hired.
Here’s what Magic had to say:
Magic, what are you doing? Pelinka was your hire, now you aren’t even endorsing him for the job?
Johnson clarified that he worked well with Pelinka after they got familiar with each other, but that certainly wasn’t a ringing endorsement of a guy he worked closely with for the last two years.
The Lakers could face a ton of change this summer. With Johnson gone, Pelinka could either be kicked to the curb or potentially elevated to Magic’s former position. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ entire coaching staff was expected to be fired, but now Luke Walton could wind up surviving, as Johnson was the one pushing for his ouster.
The next few weeks should be fascinating in Lakerland.
