Magic Johnson Promises To Step Aside If He Can’t Turn Around The Lakers
Lakers News: Magic Johnson Believes Jim Buss ‘should Just Be The Owner’
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As a franchise, it would appear that the Los Angeles Lakers are embarking on the beginning of a new era. With star guard Kobe Bryant retired, the rebuild is in full swing, and the club has already acquired young talent like D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, and Ivica Zubac. Magic Johnson has been brought in as the new President of Basketball Operations and former agent Rob Pelinka has taken over as General Manager.

The hope is that Johnson’s charisma mixed with Pelinka’s savvy will produce the kind of results needed in order to bring the Lakers back to their rightful place atop the NBA. However, at Pelinka’s introductory press conference, Johnson said that he will step aside if he finds that he cannot do the job (via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters):

While some may see this statement as dangerously close to the infamous guarantee that former Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jim Buss made, the key difference here is that Johnson doesn’t give a specific timeline for how long it will take to rebuild (coincidentally neither did Pelinka). He also doesn’t specify what goals need to be met in order to prove that he can do the job.

In this case, Johnson’s vague-yet-determined statement is the correct path to travel. It allows him to firmly state his intentions to the fanbase without setting the bar too high, which would only serve to create impatience and weaken leverage in trade discussions with other franchises.

Part of the reason why Johnson was selected to helm the Basketball Operations department for Los Angeles is because of his genuine love for the team and desire to see the Lakers return to greatness.

We shall see if he is up to the challenge.

You May Also Like

Lakers News: Steve Nash Says ‘My Neck Is Bothering Me’

There has been a lot of speculation recently about the health of…

2022-23 Lakers Review: Head Coach Darvin Ham

Last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to make Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham the team’s new head coach…

Lakers Pre-Draft Workout: Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, USC’s Chimezie Metu Among Next Wave Of Prospects

The Los Angeles Lakers are holding their second pre-draft workout of the week on Wednesday morning, which will…

RUMOR: T’Wolves offer Lakers No. 2 Pick for Andrew Bynum

In their attempts to acquire young, proven talent to play alongside Kevin…