Opinion: Magic Johnson embarrassed himself and the Lakers on 'First Take.'
CLOSE What I'm Hearing: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt discusses the recent comments from Magic Johnson who painted a dysfunctional picture of the Lakers' front office. USA TODAY
The way Johnson described it, the Lakers are both a snakepit and a circus. He called general manager Rob Pelinka a backstabber, and said business executive Tim Harris had butted in where he didn’t belong. He portrayed the younger Buss brothers as being both entitled and clueless. “You can’t run a corporation like this,” Johnson added. “You can’t have everybody think they can have a voice or opinion about the final decision. That was supposed to be me, as the president, having that final say."
But the pettiness with which Johnson handled the situation diminished not only him, it left scars on the Lakers that will take months, if not years, to heal. Will Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decide they’d rather steer clear of the drama? Will Anthony Davis decide New Orleans is a pretty nice place after all? Will Vogel, who was not the Lakers’ first, second or even third choice, be able to blend Los Angeles’ talented young core with James?
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