Everyone is scrambling to figure out what will happen with the sudden power vacuum within the Lakers organization after Magic Johnson’s sudden resignation on Tuesday night prior to the team’s final regular season game.
But in the immediate aftermath, it’s become clear that one person already within the organization appears strengthened after the fallout of Johnson’s decision that shocked the NBA world.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka will stay with the team and his role could grow.
This latest update from Shelburne is a very important one, because it may mean Pelinka is in position to be promoted to the President of Basketball Operations or at least stay in the role as general manager. It also decreases the likelihood that they will hire a top NBA front office executive, because they will come into a situation where they’d have to yield power to Pelinka.
The Lakers situation is messy and far from getting sorted, but it appears that Jeanie Buss has entrusted the man tapped by Kobe Bryant to run the team. Where LeBron James and Rich Paul come into the picture is unclear, but their role will likely come into focus soon enough.
