The ESPN article about Magic that Mr. Rambis said has been quashed apparently hasn't been quashed at all. Here it is in full detail. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26821790/lakers-20-failed-reboot-nba-crown-jewel
I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something but I'm a bit underwhelmed by that article. Feels like stuff we pretty much knew already. Also feel like it went after Pelinka as bad as it did Magic.
I would be more concerned about the article if it weren't written by Baxter Holmes. I could be mistaken, but I feel like that guy has hated on the Lakers since the Kobe days and I've never been able to take him seriously as a journalist. Either way, he's rehashing yesterday's news and this feels like a way to pass some slow news days as we wait for the start of the Finals.
That article, I have so many things to say but don’t care that much to make a big deal.... TLR - Fire everyone or nothing is going to change. Jeanie Buss = Failure. Magic Johnson = failure. rob Pelinka = Failure. Linda Rambis = Failure. Everyone knows this, everyone says this, but nothing will change until new ownership hits.
What a cluster f***. Rob comes across like a liar (often for no reason, TDK story). Magic is verbally abusive. Both had no idea what they're doing. KCP was given prince status. Bron's crew hurt the team (have everywhere they've been, but without structure on the team they can vulture). They didn't consult the people who know basketball within the organization (drafting Mo). Jeanie needs to sell.
I agree, most of it all it's a hit piece on the Lakers rather than Johnson and as most said it's not really a ton of enlightening information except that Magic was a bit rough in his treatment of others, which was gleaned from what Mr. Rambis said. The thing that kind of annoys me is the rooting against the Lakers, throwing dirt on them before they are buried. The fact is they haven't failed yet because we don't know what is going to happen. If we strike out in free agency, don't do well with our draft pick either in choice or in trade, if our coaching pick doesn't pan out . . . well then sure, we will have failed. But we aren't there yet. Yet to be determined status here Baxter. Overall it's just a meh article.
The article is not kind to anyone mentioned. Even if only half of it is true, then the FO has discovered new depths of dysfunctional. Jeannie could still fix everything though, if she would wake up, hire ONE really competant POBO like Jerry West, Bob Meyers, RC Buford... Then get out of the way, let them clean house and change the culture. Sadly, that's not going to happen.
They touched on this one of the morning shows today. Just hire a competent head of the organization, get the f*** out of the way, and let everyone know (Linda, Kurt, Rob, Phil, Tim, Klutch, Kobe, Bron) that they will have the sole say in any final decision and to get out of her ear. Won't ever happen and this is what we're stuck with until she has to eventually sell.
That's the most frustrating part. One move by Jeannie fixes almost everything. One freaking move. Hire A good PBO and give him 100% control. That's it. That is all she has to do. Offer Bob Meyers a blank check and tell him to get to work. That's it.
And I don't buy the particular narrative that we can't get at least one of those top guys. They might be perfectly happy where they're at and at the success level they're having. But the chance to fix the Lakers, to bring them a championship, and to make 2x your current salary. That's an amazing opportunity that I believe you would have multiple people interested in. But the structure would have to be crystal clear to everyone before that contract gets ink on it
This could still in fact happen. Obviously she can't reach out to Meyers until the Finals are done or risk further tampering charges. I hope all of the "we aren't going to hire someone to replace Magic" talk is just smoke screen until they can do just that. Who knows? Guess we'll find out. I do agree that it is what she should do rather than doubling down on the snake and the Rambii, but as ever, we'll see. In terms of public opinion it would be a huge boost, and hopefully in terms of basketball decision making as well.
Programming alert: Magic will be on ESPN at 7 EST with Stephen A, Wilbon, and Doc for a Finals preview. He will address this article then. So a whole new batch of quotes from Magic tonight
This is like a B Grade Sci Fi Monster movie!! It came and wouldn't leave!!!! It devoured everything in it's path!! Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!!!
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-lakers-staffers-believe-team-175141008.html I tell ya. Who was the smart one in all this? Like a rat running off a sinking ship at a dock .... @sirronstuff got out of here true to his sense of impending Doom with LBJ now here. In spite of his heroic efforts trying to keep that from happening. Miss that guy! There's gifs to be made and moar activism to be acted upon.
Jesus f***ing Christ. Of course the article comes out the day Magic is set to be on TV. s*** keeps hitting the fan and the roomba keeps running it over.
I don’t think that’s the Magic article they were talking about, it feels like maybe they took parts of that one and moved on to it being mostly about Rob. This one mentions how tough Magic was on employees, but that rumored one was supposed to be all about it, so who knows. If I remember right, Baxter Holmes was a Kobe hater, specifically, not a Lakers hater. He hated on the Lakers when it came to Kobe, but I don’t remember him hating on the Lakers org outside of that really. When I start reading article after article in this light though, I stop questioning them at a certain point, and I even start to wonder if certain reporters are even haters, or they’re just painting the Lakers in a negative light because that’s genuinely how they operate and that’s how the reporters feel being around the team all the time.
