Let me preface this reply by saying I am not directly connected to Pelinka, so as far as lower level free agents are concerned, I don't know a whole lot. AEG is mostly focused on the marketable stars, as that brings in media revenue. If there is a specific player you are interested in, let me know, as the guys I work with are tied into agents pretty well. As far as star free agents, AEG wants Durant. Lakers Basketball people want Leonard. Kyrie talks have also resurfaced lately. LeBron is open to all. I'm sure this isn't new information for you. I want to stay away from reporting Kyrie news since he changes his mind too much. But as soon as I hear something like I did with the Kawhi news yesterday, you will be the first to know!
Oh yes, I forgot about this. In any large corporate organization, there's a lot of backstabbing going on. This one was more of a case of the emails. What happened was Magic was trying to shake up the FO, he wanted Pelinka, Nunez, and Walton gone. Jeanie was fine with Nunez, reluctantly agreed to Walton, but wanted to protect Pelinka to save her relationship with Kobe. Jeanie was upset Pelinka didn't get the Davis deal done, and Pelinka was consequently upset at her for being furious about it. So Jeanie sent emails to Pelinka talking about how she was protecting Pelinka from Magic's demands, to improve their relationship there. However, Pelinka normally has his emails managed by his admin as he travels. However his admin was out of the office that day, so Linda's admin was reassigned to Pelinka. This is where it gets murky. AEG thinks that Linda got the emails from her admin and had someone forward them to Magic. There's no proof of this, as Linda is slick. Linda claimed she has nothing to do with it and it was the admin's fault, who has since been let go. In any case, Magic saw them and was furious with Jeanie for undermining his authority. He wanted Pelinka gone on the spot, and she refused. Then the stuff with the article happened, and he was forced out. The BCC story you heard is Jeanie's spin on it to protect Linda and some other folks, since the true story did come out as so many were involved. Hard to keep that cat out of the bag, especially with Windhorst lurking around every corner. So best leak it but spin it
Hi, Nice to meet you @abeer3 . Zubac was actually not that interesting of a story, but I'll break it down. Pelinka wanted Beasley gone after the locker room incident with Walton you heard about, especially since it was his agent who most likely leaked it to make Walton look like he had lost control of the locker room. He was having a hard time moving him and wanted to attach some asset to the deal. He wasn't looking at Zubac, but McGee and his agent met with Pelinka before the deadline. He was upset that he was promised the starting job and that he was unable to get back into shape after his pneumonia because all his minutes were going to Zubac. He threatened to not come back next year, and to also spread the word about how the Lakers don't treat their players well. McGee is actually well connected to people in the Warriors and liked around the NBA by former teammates, of which he has a lot, so this isn't an empty threat. Magic was big on the Lakers keeping the impression that they do right by their players, in contrast to the C Bags. So they sent Zubac off. Magic knows West well, and just called West and said hey take these guys and give me someone who can shoot. And that was it. Clippers are very serious. They do not have the endorsement/media benefits to increase revenues for players as much as AEG and the Lakers. Ballmer is pitching the idea that he has a clean slate for star players to make a strong name for themselves around the league. And it's a powerful message. He's also bought out a lot of press time to keep the conversation going on about how the Clippers are an attractive destination. Ultimately, stars do care if our front office is in disarray, but they do not look to the media to get that information, as they know how it is spun since their agents to it all the time. Instead they make the decisions themselves by talking to other players, their agent, and management directly to get a sense of how it is. It is going to be a battle of two competing interests. The Lakers have the power of AEG, the big media, and the name brand on their side. The Clippers have a cleaner slate with no star players, and a good core that has proven themselves a bit. Doc is also a powerful voice. It will be a close call this year, but it ultimately depends on what each star cares about more. That is why the Lakers are pushing this New Balance thing so much, right now.
You're most welcome @lakerjones ! I see that you are a staff member and I also want to thank you for helping run this amazing website. The content I have been reading has been extremely insightful and I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on the Laker's upcoming draft and offseason moves! I have a hard time keeping track of everything with my travel so this has been a great place to get caught up and learn more
I think there are some important distinctions to make, as both of you guys are correct! Magic did help with the LeBron recruiting. In fact he was brought into the front office because Jeanie asked Kobe to check with LeBron to see if he would come. LeBron was interested but was thinking about the Clippers because of how bad the Lakers had been managed. Kobe called Jeanie and told her that she needs to put in some big names into the front office, so that LeBron felt more comfortable. She went ahead and brought in Magic and Pelinka as a result. Magic's meeting with LeBron that night sealed the deal. The scouting bit is different, most basketball execs are a bit more involved in the process. It was hard for Magic due to his schedule and also the fact that special arrangements had to be made security wise before he could attend a game, due to who he is. As a result he missed a lot of information, and did sometimes override the scouting department based on his more limited perspective and gut feelings. I will say that while sometimes he was wrong, he was also responsible for some gems like Josh Hart! Anthony Davis is a very complicated situation and much of what has been reported is incorrect. Pretty much on that front, everyone was in the wrong. It was so bad, that Mr. Silver stepped in, which is rare. Overall, Magic did his best. He just did not realize that this job had to be in the forefront of his mind all the time. Magic is an advisor and plays a big role in so many other affairs, so it was a time issue for him. He entrusted Pelinka to take care of the day to day, when in reality, Jeanie was expecting that from him. I think given the mess, the Lakers could have used his leadership more. But it is a done deal, and no point in dwelling on it, in my personal opinion.
Good grief. Linda has an admin, Linda SHOULD be an admin. God help the Lakers if she really has the sway over Jeanie that is being reported.
Linda is very saavy. She is great at playing corporate politics and doing things without getting caught. While guys like Magic and Pelinka are more amateurs, she is sly and will get others to do the dirty work for her. Watch out for her in the coming months!
She has sway, but it's tricky. She can feed Jeanie information, but she can't, for example, tell Jeanie that Kurt should be President over someone qualified like Bob Myers. That's why she's doing things in a slow methodical fashion. Convincing Jeanie that when the Lakers looked to the outside, like with Mitch, Mike Brown, Mike D'Antoni, it failed, and that she should turn to the Laker family. After months of hearing this, it starts to stick.
Hey @fabfourlakers ! Good to hear from you again! Regarding what you said, I try to stay away from telling you folks what I hear about Kyrie. He is very fickle minded and a little immature, so he is constantly changing his mind. Right now after being eliminated he is extra frustrated and his agent is having a hard time dealing with him. AEG is very close with his agent, and in fact, I have personally done a number of favors for Kyrie and other Wechsler clients when they spent the summer in LA, so I have more visibility there, and I can personally tell you he is all over the map! IDurant is pulling him to the Knicks, Kobe is telling him to run his own team, and James is pushing for him to come to the Lakers, obviously. The Nets are also lurking around. I'll keep you posted if something more concrete arises. I also personally know Rich Kleiman and help him out every summer when Durant wants to set up over here, so I'll let you know what he says too. But right now he's gone radio silent due to the injury. That's interesting about Kawhi. I know he is most likely looking to leave Toronto for brand value. The Clippers are playing to his ego since Kawhi is not that keen on being a #2 option after being the main guy most of this career. The Lakers and AEG are working the New Balance angle to bring him over. Based on what I followed up on yesterday, they reached some good terms, hence the optimism. But of course nothing is signed yet, and Ballmer is not going to lie down and take this. He definitely knows what happened yesterday. I did not hear specifically about the opt in. I have also been traveling so I am not as wired in right now. I will ask about it. But that does not surprise me. Dennis is thrilled with this new deal. If I had to guess, he is going around saying this to stroke his ego a little bit. Dennis will profit a lot from this deal, as he is getting 5% and his agent will get 2-3%. He has a bigger mouth than Kawhi, and is sometimes like Lavar Ball in the outrageous things he likes to say. That being said, if Kawhi decides to go to the Clippers, Dennis may not be able to stop him. It is a dynamic situation, more to come.
Wow I cannot believe I just missed this! The text came in about 8 hours ago but I didn't have cell signal on the plane. International teleco blows sometimes. What a ripoff... Kyrie called LeBron last night and they spoke about teaming up. Nothing is confirmed. Very, very initial discussions. Kyrie is open to it, but he is also going to call Kevin once the playoffs are over to see where his head is at. Myers is trying to blow up the Chase Center to convince Kevin to say. But Kleiman has gone silent lately so I'll know more when I help set up some summer time stuff for Kevin and his other guys. Rich Paul was planning to tell Windhorst about the call today morning to quell him a little bit, since Windhorst has been upset at not hearing much from the LeBron or Laker end and it's showing in his reporting.
Thx for being thoughtful and putting effort in your response...again I like your energy, even tho I remain reserved in hearing everything and everyone on the internets. I guess the summer will truly shed light on what's true and false. Not really a question, just my own observations on a rhetorical question. This supposed unreleased scathing report on Magic's harassment towards his co-workers that forced him out...why hasn't it been an issue within his other businesses? Also, if he was absentee, he sure concentrated those harassment efforts within the limited time he did spend in the office. I mean, how can you harrass folks at the office if you're absent from those confines. Also, Jesse spoke on scouting and it could all be lip service, but he goes the extra mile stating how drafting is colloborative and Magic will take Jesse's recommendation if Jesse wishes to push hard enough on it. Why go into such detail to dispute a narrative where Magic isn't colloborative? He doesn't have to do that. He could just say, Magic has been great to work with and leave it at that. Instead, he does quite the opposite. I could post more quotes...much, much more...but I've made my point.
In any organization, as I'm sure everyone is familiar to some degree, you always need the bosses approval. The scouts present to Magic who they think they should pick based on certain factors, the pros and cons of each player, and Magic makes the final call. Most of the time he goes with their suggestion. Sometimes he overrides it, and it works out (Hart), and sometimes it doesn't. Magic has a preference for players with championship or deep tournament experience. But this is how it works in every NBA team. And draft picks are a hit or miss. The report would have been a major issue, in many ways. But the folks I work with are extremely influential, and have no problem playing dirty to squash a report. I'm not saying they did this, but they can pretty much end any ESPN reporters career with one email, if they wanted to. They are all very small fish in comparison to who we are dealing with on a day to day basis.
When you say harassment with Magic, I assume you are talking of the #metoo variety and him not just being a d*** to people?
I mean according to these quotes, Jesse seems to have been all in on Hart too. Plus I don't even thing it matters if Magic had to overrule a decision with lower first round picks. It's the possible over-ruling of lottery selections that should be looked at critically. Rumor has it that Zo was not Magic's pick. Again, it's not well sourced, but for some reason that leaked among other leaky reports this year. Savs: I'm talking about any type of harrassment that would be so flagrant to force him out.
I was asking Mr. Rambis. We've heard about the ESPN story on Magic before. In fact there's been whispers about that from a lot of different sources. But what I can't seem to figure out for sure is what sort of harassment we are talking about. I just assumed it's sexual since people seem to be much braver about coming forward with that type of information lately. But then Mr. Rambis said they are able to squash stories. #metoo stories don't seem to be able to be squashed by anyone right now.
It sounds like the Game of Thrones analogy would be: Jeanie = Young “little bird” Sansa. Not Mother of dragons. Magic, Kurt, Linda = All little fingers. Rob = Varys.
I haven't seen the article, but from what I heard it was an assortment. There was some accusations that resembled #metoo, but it was more murky. A lot of his was about his treatment of employees in general. And there were some real quotes in there but it is also exaggerated as any media piece is. I'm not a huge fan of Magic's management style based on what I've seen, but honestly a lot of execs don't always have the cleanest language. I guess what I'm saying is what he was doing in the office was not that great in my opinion, but the article putting the pieces together to make it seem way worse. And in a charged social climate like we see in 2019, it wouldn't have been great or easy to explain away. When #metoo stories aren't squashed, it's usually in a case like with Harvey Weinstein where there's just so many people come out. In that case even if you squash an outlet, the story will just pop up somewhere else. The Magic situation wasn't like that. With an ESPN article where the authors did months of investigating reporting and very slowly accumulated information by talking to lower level employees and slowly working their way through the org, it wasn't a situation where the staff was outraged at Magic, but they were willing to talk a little at a time over a long period of time. But AEG can bury things pretty easily. They don't always do it in the cleanest way, and they definitely did not in this case, but it got done.
