Tag: magic johnson

Magic Johnson establishes personal Lakers free agency goals

Magic Johnson is more than ready to put pressure on himself in regard to his Lakers front office role. But reminds everybody that it’s not all about this summer, but the next one as well. Here’s the LA Times with more on what Magic said to the media today:

Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson said Tuesday he will step down from his role if the Lakers fail to attract marquee players in the free-agency periods of 2018 and 2019.

“Next summer if nobody comes and I’m still sitting here like this, then it’s a failure,” Johnson said. “But if you judge us on one summer that’s ridiculous. Then a lot of dudes shouldn’t be in their roles. Because if we’re banking on one summer for the Lakers we’re in trouble, we’re in trouble. You have to give us time. This class, like I told you before I took the job and when I took the job, it’s going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers. This summer and next summer. That’s it.

“If I can’t deliver I’m going to step down myself, she won’t have to fire me,” he said of controlling owner Jeanie Buss. “I’ll step away from it, because I can’t do this job.”

Full article

Lakers remove Magic Johnson from staff listings

Lakers remove Magic Johnson from staff listings

The Los Angeles Lakers have announced today that Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson has asked the team to remove his honorary title of Vice President, and to remove his name from the team staff directory in publications and other sources. Their explanation is as follows:

The change is being made in hopes of clarifying any confusion over Johnson’s involvement with or representation of the team.

“Earvin will always be a revered and beloved member of the Lakers family, but he does not have a position or role with the organization at this time,” said team spokesman John Black. “He is not an advisor or a consultant, and his opinions, comments and social media posts are solely his, and do not represent or reflect those of Lakers ownership or management. Hopefully this will eliminate any confusion over this issue in the future.”

Magic Johnson leaving ESPN NBA coverage team

Magic Johnson is leaving ESPN, and will no longer be part of their NBA coverage team. Although a legend as a player and personality, Magic was pretty basic in his delivery of NBA analysis, and didn’t really seem to improve much over the years. Lots of casual fans enjoyed him, while many more dedicated fans don’t mind seeing him move on. Here’s a statement from the network:

John Wildhack, ESPN Executive Vice President, Production:

Earvin “Magic” Johnson informed us today that he’ll no longer be part of our NBA coverage due to his other commitments. We appreciate Magic’s contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. We are in the process of determining our NBA commentator roles for the upcoming season.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson statement:

I love ESPN. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my schedule and other commitments, I don’t feel confident that I can continue to devote the time needed to thrive in my role. I will always feel a strong connection to the ESPN family and I enjoyed working with them very much. I’d like to thank John Skipper, John Wildhack, Mark Gross, Kim Belton, Amina Hussein, Mark Summer, Adam Hertzog, Bob Rauscher, Stuart Scott, Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry, Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, Chris Broussard and the many others at ESPN for the wonderful opportunity to talk about the game I love. They are the best in the business.