Shakeup in Lakerland

I'm a little surprised this happened two days before the trade deadline.


Lakers Nation @LakersNation

1 minute ago

BREAKING: Magic Johnson named President of Basketball Operations. Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak relieved of all duties lakersnation.com/breaking-magic… pic.twitter.com/ZgXDXLXnAe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQsWpB7YnmM

Wow. TJ - as a knowledgeable Laker's fan, what do you think about this? Magic was a great player and is a charismatic dude, but do you think he has what it takes to be a team president in today's NBA? He seems even less patient than Buss, and he also seems a little oblivious to the possibility that LA might not be as attractive to free agent stars as it once was. For your sake, I hope it goes as well as his playing career. As a Celtics fan though, I hope it goes as well as his talk show (The Magic Hour)...

now there is a non shocking story.

how long has Kupchak been around there now...seems like forever.

team obviously need a kick, we'll have to see if Magic is the fix.

Shamrock1000 wrote:Wow. TJ - as a knowledgeable Laker's fan, what do you think about this? Magic was a great player and is a charismatic dude, but do you think he has what it takes to be a team president in today's NBA? He seems even less patient than Buss, and he also seems a little oblivious to the possibility that LA might not be as attractive to free agent stars as it once was. For your sake, I hope it goes as well as his playing career. As a Celtics fan though, I hope it goes as well as his talk show (The Magic Hour)...

Shamrock,

I am very happy with this big change.
I don't and haven't liked Jim Buss at all.
I think Mitch has done a good job, but he seems a little out of touch.
It was time for a change.
This is now Jeanie and Magic's team.
It will be interesting to see who the new GM will be.
Jerry West?


Here's today's statement from Jeanie Buss:

"Today I took a series of actions I believe will return the Lakers to the heights Dr. Jerry Buss demanded and our fans rightly expect," team governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. "Effective immediately, Earvin Johnson will be in charge of all basketball operations and will report directly to me. Our search for a new General Manager to work with Earvin and Coach Luke Walton is well underway and we hope to announce a new General Manager in short order. Together, Earvin, Luke and our new General Manager will establish the foundation for the next generation of Los Angeles Lakers greatness."

LA has not been an attractive place for free agents because the team has sucked.
I'm not surprised Dwight, Aldridge, Durant, etc didn't want to sign with the Lakers.
They don't want to play for a team who is winning 20-30 games.
Things can change for the Lakers.
Keeping this years 1st round draft pick is super important to the Lakers this year.

Interesting:


Sam Amico @AmicoHoops

about 17 minutes ago

Got the sense in talking to other GMs that Mitch Kupchak had become too complacent. And that Jim Buss was a detriment in every way.

Will be interesting to see if Magic can keep quiet if he doesn't like a coaching decision or has a negative view of a particular player. His history says no...

People are saying the Laker's inability to get Boogie led to Mitch and Jimmy Buss getting the axe:

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2017/2/21/14688742/la-lakers-trade-rumors-demarcus-cousins-mitch-kupchak-jim-buss-fired

Magic's presence might be a plus in attracting free agents to The Lakers.  It's a big time shakeup but leaves a popular young coach in place while bringing in a team president whose reputation both on the court and in the business world has been sterling and highly successful.  If his boardroom dealings are any indication, Johnson might out-Ainge Ainge.  Good for The Lakers; there would be nothing better than to see them return to the league's top tier along with The Celtics.  Can't wait to meet beat them in the finals somewhere down the road.

Sources: With Magic Johnson in power, Lakers eyeing agent Rob Pelinka to become GM

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources-with-magic-johnson-in-power-lakers-eyeing-agent-rob-pelinka-to-become-gm-204625211.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma


After sweeping front-office changes to hire Magic Johnson as president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, the franchise is strongly considering agent Rob Pelinka to become general manager, league sources told The Vertical.

Pelinka has been one of the NBA’s top player agents and has strong ties to the franchise through his relationship with longtime client Kobe Bryant and owner Jeanie Buss. Pelinka is at the top of a short list of candidates to become the top day-to-day executive, sources said.

Before the Lakers fired Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss on Tuesday, the franchise had already moved away from trying to pursue the Golden State Warriors’ Bob Myers, the franchise’s original top target for general manager, league sources told The Vertical.

After Myers signed a recent contract extension, it became clear to Lakers brass that it would be unable to lure Myers, league sources said.

Within the Lakers’ new top circle of power, another sitting general manager who has been a significant source of intrigue for the freshly vacant L.A. general manager job: Portland’s Neil Olshey, league sources said. Olshey is a two-time runner-up for NBA Executive of the Year, including 2016 with the Blazers and 2011 as Clippers general manager after beating out the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul.

In the cases of Myers and Olshey, it is extremely difficult to hire a general manager who’s under contract elsewhere. Rival owners generally aren’t interested in letting top-level executives leave for competitors, especially the Lakers.

Lakers assistant general manager Ryan West has a strong relationship and history with Pelinka, and would likely be considered a significant part of a new front-office regime, league sources said.

For the Lakers to hire Pelinka – which would follow the Warriors’ blueprint on ex-agent Myers – there would need to be a process of him divesting from his Landmark Sports representation business. Pelinka’s client list includes Houston Rockets All-Star guard James Harden, Houston’s Eric Gordon and Golden State’s Andre Iguodala.

Kupchak’s inability to complete a deal with Sacramento for All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins over the weekend played a part in the timing of the purge, league sources said. The Kings chose a New Orleans offer over the Lakers’ on Sunday night.

I'm happy for the Lakers. A change was long overdue, and Magic has the smarts and charisma to make good things happen for them.

Magic on the move! Lou Williams traded to Houston for Cory Brewer and a 2017 unprotected 1st rd pick.

Damn hes gonna help them and I want them to stay down.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-running-the-lakers-wont-be-easy-for-magic-022112133.html

He quit as a coach after only a few games.
nuff said

beat

beat wrote:He quit as a coach after only a few games.
nuff said

beat

I will provide you some facts.
During the 1993-94 season, the Lakers fired Randy Pfund.
Jerry Buss wanted Magic to coach the rest of the season.
There was only 16 games left in the season.
Magic signed a contract as head coach for those 16 games.
10 games into coaching Magic knew he didn't want to continue as coach so he announced that he would be resigning after the season.
He tried it out and it wasn't for him.

Other than trying to bash Magic, I'm not sure what this has to do with events in 2017...

tjmakz wrote:

beat wrote:He quit as a coach after only a few games.
nuff said

beat

I will provide you some facts.
During the 1993-94 season, the Lakers fired Randy Pfund.
Jerry Buss wanted Magic to coach the rest of the season.
There was only 16 games left in the season.
Magic signed a contract as head coach for those 16 games.
10 games into coaching Magic knew he didn't want to continue as coach so he announced that he would be resigning after the season.
He tried it out and it wasn't for him.

Other than trying to bash Magic, I'm not sure what this has to do with events in 2017...

Who cares about your facts

He did a lousy job as a coach in my opinion

beat wrote:

tjmakz wrote:

beat wrote:He quit as a coach after only a few games.
nuff said

beat

I will provide you some facts.
During the 1993-94 season, the Lakers fired Randy Pfund.
Jerry Buss wanted Magic to coach the rest of the season.
There was only 16 games left in the season.
Magic signed a contract as head coach for those 16 games.
10 games into coaching Magic knew he didn't want to continue as coach so he announced that he would be resigning after the season.
He tried it out and it wasn't for him.

Other than trying to bash Magic, I'm not sure what this has to do with events in 2017...

Who cares about your facts

He did a lousy job as a coach in my opinion

I'm sorry you don't like facts.

Maybe he did a lousy job as head coach for 16 games, 23 years ago, for a bad team that was just closing out the season.

He's not the coach now.

PJ

Coaching just 10 games, some 24 years ago, is not much of a track record to be judged on in my opinion.

swish

If I was an NBA player would I want to be greeted and wined and dined with Jim Bus and Kupchak or Magic Johnson?

This was a move in the making for a long time.

I think magic has the wisdom to complete the rebuild in LA. Their biggest issue is that no high end players want to go there just because they are the Lakers.

They have a lot of very talented young players and it is going to take some time to rebuild the team. Their record over the last four years is horrible current 19-29, 17-65, 21-61 and 27-55. That is 4 god awful seasons in a row. This just confirms the amazing job that DA did over the same time frame.

There is a big gap between there youngsters and the veterans as 7 players on the team are 30 years old or older.

Magic will have a lot of work to do. I think 3-4 years at least.

dboss