Unhappy with his job, Magic Johnson steps down as president of Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers suddenly find themselves in need of a new president of basketball operations, as Magic Johnson called an impromptu press conference on Tuesday night to announce that he was officially resigning from his post.
In what was a truly bizarre meeting with reporters, Johnson noted that he wanted to go back to feeling free and having fun.
“I was happier when I wasn’t the president,” Johnson admitted. “When you have to make trades, you’re not happy.
“I got to help everyone when I wasn’t with the Lakers. Now, with the fines and the tampering and the this and that, I can’t help young men who want me to help them,” Johnson continued. “Or I can’t tweet out– like Russell Westbrook, that was a great feat the other day. I couldn’t even tweet it out to say ‘Hey, congratulations man.’ If I had did that, it would have been like, ‘Oh, he’s tampering.’ I don’t like that. I like to be free.”
Perhaps most shocking, Johnson said that he did not tell his boss, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, about his decision before meeting with the press because he would have “cried like a baby” in front of her.
Johnson’s resignation puts to an end to what was a completely forgettable tenure in Los Angeles.
On the job since Feb. 2017, Johnson’s Lakers never made the postseason, and though they added LeBron last summer, Johnson failed to acquire Anthony Davis from New Orleans at the trade deadline. He also moved on from young players such as D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, two players thriving in other cities (Russell with Brooklyn, and Randle in New Orleans).
The Lakers will need to move quickly — and with a solid hire, no less — as the Lakers are hoping to add another superstar either via free agency or trade to pair with LeBron in an effort to bring a championship back to Los Angeles.
And Johnson’s departure comes shortly after a report suggested that Kyrie Irving could meet with L.A. this summer.
