Magic Johnson Discussion

Granted we haven't seen it happen yet, but KD, Ky, AD and Butler have been and are still linked to the Dolan/Mills Knicks.

My clear bias aside, how did Magic hurt free agency again?

 

Assuming everything Magic said is 100% accurate, this is not how you leave an organization that you supposedly love ... unless your ego is so big that you need to tell your side of the story.

Magic should have had dinner with Jeannie, provided his insights and resigned in private, then they could have agreed on an exit strategy, worked with the PR folks to develop talking points that work for all involved. Happy face ending shoulda happened here, and easily could have except for egos.

There was just no reason to poop in the punchbowl on the way out.

 

I don’t know how he did either. I think it was helpful. Air that s*** out and let the free agents see what the landscape is instead of hearing through whispers. The players and agents will find out about it anyways. So why look sneaky trying to hide it. That’s worse.

 

Have to disagree. It would have been easy enough to meet privately, "agree to disagree", let Magic resign as president but stay on as a team consultant, develop a PR strategy that lets Magic save face and the organization not look like a dumpster fire. That approach happens all the time in the business world and folks on the outside are largely unaware of what really happened.

 

Magic: I love the Lakers

Also Magic: What can I do to make their lives miserable at an incredibly bad time.

 

Multiple ways:
1. We no longer have Magic as a front person to pitch high end FAs. It worked with Lebron and could have worked with select others.
2. The FO looks even more dysfunctional now than it did a month ago, and there was no reason for it to be this way. Intuitively, folks are not attracted to dysfunctional organizations.
3. Assuming the top FAs look elsewhere (as they likely will), we will now be forced to either overpay the next tier of FAs to come here, or even worse, trade for overpriced stars like Beal.
4. Magic now further advanced the view that Pelinka is a snake; GMs, agents etc will be more reluctant to deal with him.

 

what did magic say about riley?

 

I agree that would have made the most sense, but we are speaking after the fact about a dysfunctional organization. They never would have done what you suggested because Jeannie is not a leader, at all.

Considering the dysfunction, my point is I’m glad it was forced out into the air because they weren’t handling it. Fans are shareholders in a sense and they have a right to know that their team is being competently run. A situation where you have that kind of dysfunction, that is then coupled with going dark about the dysfunction, which leads to fans having to rely on gossip rumors, the only way to end that sickness is you have to blow that wide open. Mouthpiece Magic was the one to do it.

 

We are fans not shareholders. What Magic did was take the low road, because his ego required that he be vindicated. Many corporate organizations have a occasional or regular bouts of internal dysfunction; whether you have adults in the room or not is the difference between moving past the dysfunction to a better place, or dealing with a battle of egos. I would have counseled the organization to come up with a strategy that lets everyone save face and move on; if the rumor mill cranks up as a result, so be it, I think that is a better place to be than where we are now.

 

I dont see how taking a dump on a big dumpster fire helps the Laker brand, which in turn affects FA one way or the other.

 

trying to deflect blame, from excerpts he noted Riley quite the same way he did so there's nothing wrong with the way he quit.

 

Prozac: I agree that everything should have been handled in house and in private. But when it comes to these megamillionaires and wanting to control things...even their narrative...then I can understand why he did it the way he did it.

[Savory analogy]When you got a leaky roFO, uh roof, you either can go up to it and sneak around plugging the holes up to prevent further short-term damage or go up there with purpose, lay down the wood and hammer away for a long-term solution at the risk of collapsing on through.[/Savory anology]

Btw, I'm not a roofer...also to make it abundantly clear, my name isn't Bill.

 

Totally agree with this.

 

IF you're not here to FIX the hole, why point it out?

 

I know the difference between a fan and shareholder thank you. What you would have done is not the point. The point is they weren’t functional enough to come up with that obvious approach.

 

That Riles left Showtime for a larger role/bag in Miami, in a similar fashion to how Magic left the Lakers. Another example would be Jerry West left with one year remaining on his contract to get the Memphis gig.

Also how did Riles get into coaching the Showtime Lakers? Didn't it have to do with Magic being outspoken about coach Westhead being the wrong coach for that team?

Meanwhile 4 titles later, they got quotes from Riles today...guess what he said?

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26788966/going-speak-mind

 

One thing I really enjoy about this board is the ability to have a difference of opinion with folks and still keep it civil. We can certainly agree on the level of dysfunction within the FO at this point. I really wish Jeannie would find a tech billionaire and sell, we'd be better off with a Balmer type as owner than the goofy Buss kids.

 

I am at a loss for words. This really happened today.

 

I Love Magic the Basketball Player, & respect Magic the Businessman & Philanthropist... But his story here doesn't add up, & after his interview Today, I tend to sympathize with Palinka more so than before.
Seriously, "I want all the power, but don't expect me to be hands on Day to Day...? "
No wonder Rob got frustrated. If i was required to do all the work at my job & the person I that I answered to was not available to help make daily decision, I'd start talking isHT too...

All in all. I still don't think this is a very big deal & has been blown way out of proportion by the media because it's the Lakers.