When Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson were named to lead the Lakers, there was talk of a return to greatness. Baxter Holmes goes behind the scenes on how a bold front-office experiment failed amid a culture of fear, distrust and anxiety:
In the aftermath of signing James, Lakers management, tasked with building a roster around him,-- guards Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson, center JaVale McGee and forward Michael Beasley. The signings were criticized publicly, though Pelinka defended them. And James, who was consulted on the deals, signed off.
Walton, according to members of the coaching staff and a source close to him, wasn't clear why the organization had changed its message 13 days into the 2018-19 campaign. Still, under Pelinka and Johnson, the Lakers began allowing more access -- to the team and around the facility -- to players' agents than prior leadership, Lakers front-office staffers, coaching staff members, agents and other sources close to the team said. One Lakers front-office executive applauded the change, saying the Lakers had been behind the times and weren't giving agents the basic level of access that other teams were granting.
Coaching staff and others close to the team told ESPN there would continue to be an increased presence by Paul and Klutch Sports in ways that seemed strange to them. For instance, three Lakers sources familiar with team travel details independently told ESPN that Paul rode on the Lakers' charter plane on multiple occasions this season, an act that front-office executives, other NBA general managers and other agents around the league said is highly unusual -- if not unheard of.
"Coaches know Rich is trying to get them fired, and players know Rich is trying to get them traded," said one agent with ties to the Lakers, who called Paul's presence on the plane"destructive." When contacted by ESPN, Paul denied every allegation against him except riding on the team charter. Paul declined to publicly comment beyond those denials, providing a statement instead:"I understand my position. I respect all those in our industry. At the end of the day, all I can do is continue to do a job for my client. That's it. I can't worry about what somebody thinks, the perception. All I can do is work hard and continue down the path that I'm on.
"Guys know there's no trust there," one Lakers coaching staff member told ESPN before the season ended."Guys know the new [administration] has completely bent over to the agent world and were overly sensitive to having these one-sided relationships with these guys where they kind of control our every move because we're 'big-game hunting.'"
Said one Lakers front-office staffer:"What wasn't in good faith? We proposed something and they turned it down. It's very arrogant on our part."
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