For the past four seasons, the Lakers have been the laughingstock of Los Angeles the NBA. It’s been so bad that the team might as well have changed its iconic logo with a simple “L.” Tuesday, the Lakers finally came to the realization that if the franchise was ever to return to the glory days of “Showtime” or when Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant dominated opposing defenses, it was time to make a change at the top. After being named president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, the man with the million-dollar smile, intends to turn the Lakers from a joke into a serious contender.
Of course, success is the goal of everybody who’s ever been hired to do a job. We all know Johnson wants to win. The question is, can he?
Just because Johnson is one of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of kicks doesn’t mean he’ll automatically have success in the front office. Before there was Magic Johnson the president, there was Magic Johnson the coach.
In 1994, Johnson replaced Randy Pfund as the Lakers’ head coach, inheriting a team with a 28-38 record. Johnson’s team quickly won five of its first six games. However, the ship sank quickly and the Lakers lost 11-straight games to end the season.
The losing streak wasn’t Johnson’s fault. He inherited a bad team and didn’t have much time to turn it around before the season’s end. Realizing that he was in over his head as coach, Johnson decided to call it quits at the end of the season, after just 16 games.
The fact that Johnson walked away from coaching so soon is precisely why he can be successful as the Lakers’ chief. He realized that it wasn’t in his lane, so he got out of the road. Instead of trying to force his way and prove his greatness, he knew what he didn’t know, made the right decision and left.
Even in interviews since accepting the job, Johnson has shown the ability to admit when he doesn’t know something. During an interview with Spectrum Sports.net, Johnson was asked about his GM search.
“I want a person who understands the CBA, but who also understands our team and wants to be here,” Johnson said. He later added, “People who understand the CBA, understand the salary cap, understand analytics — all of those things that [weren’t] a big thing when I played [are] so much a part of the game.”
Despite his innate ability as a player to see the entire floor like none other, Johnson’s eye and insight in his post-playing career has been a little suspect. He’s earned the nickname ‘Captain Obvious’ on the Internet for his not-so-remarkable observations.
“The only way San Antonio or Miami don’t win the championship is if neither team makes the finals,” Johnson tweeted.
The only way San Antonio or Miami don’t win the championship is if neither team makes the finals.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 7, 2014
Duh.
The Twitterverse has also questioned his scouting credentials due to some major praise that in hindsight appears pretty foolish.
“For all of you out there questioning Jimmer Fredette of BYU, he is the real deal. #MenCare”
“If Brandon Knight were to come out, I would take him number 1 in the draft.”
However, if you search long enough through someone’s history, you’re bound to find poor predictions. Heck, look no further than my All-Star Weekend selections just a week ago to see that nobody gets it right all the time.
Johnson needs to ensure that he puts together a great staff of people around him. He’s expected to make Rob Pelinka, Bryant’s longtime agent, as general manager. Choosing an agent with deep player connections and a great understanding of the league’s financial structure is a solid move. It certainly worked for the Golden State Warriors, who’s GM Bob Myers has a similar pedigree.
Part of the reason the Lakers have fallen so far is because former president Jim Buss and former GM Mitch Kupchak started to believe that they were smarter than everybody else. The duo made silly moves like choosing Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson as head coach in 2012. They also reportedly failed to maintain good relationships with players and agents across the league.
As the Lakers president, Johnson should be able to flash his famous smile and use his charm and charisma to woo superstars back to Tinseltown. Los Angeles is the easiest sell in the league, but Buss and Kupchak had simply fallen out of touch.
The Lakers’ first big move with Johnson behind the wheel was to move Lou Williams to the Rockets for Corey Brewer and an unprotected first-round pick. Turning Williams into a first-round pick was brilliant, even though they took on Brewer’s bogus contract. As bad as they are though, money isn’t a problem for the Lakers. By moving their leading scorer, the Lakers also virtually guaranteed themselves a high pick with the team’s own selection in the lottery this season.
It means they’re very likely to land a stud in this year’s deep and talented draft, or they will have a very valuable trading chip going into the draft. Whether by draft or by trade, Johnson just needs to live up to his ‘Captain Obvious’ moniker and play the safest hand to bring a bona fide superstar to Los Angeles.
Before his ouster, Kupchak gave Johnson an assist by hiring Luke Walton as head coach. Walton has a bright future ahead. He just needs a superstar to help lead the team out of the doldrums. Lakers fans can gush about Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram and D’Angelo Russell all they want, but none of those guys are the transcendent superstars the Lakers organization is used to building around. They are talented, but Johnson needs to reel in a big fish if he wants the Lakers to be kings of the sea once again.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk
