http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26482680/magic-stepping-lakers-president

Never liked the hire. Struck me as a superficial move by Buss, an easy path back to glory for himself. Gave me even more reasons to root against the Lakers. Tragic isn't a grinder, he was never suited for the role. Not versed in analytics. Maybe Jeanie wouldn't let him fire Walton, and this is his response. Who knows.

Quote:

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"I was happier when I wasn't president [of the Lakers]," Johnson said.
He said he will return to community work and reaching out to players around the league to help in their development.
"I'm a free bird and I can't be handcuffed," he said. "This is a good day."

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Not an astute public statement, but I guess he figures the people who like him will no matter what, and the people who dislike him don't really matter....Laker soap operas are much more compelling than Laker basketball.

As a hater of Luke Walton, who did a great job for the Dubs, I am glad to see Johnson gone....And I think it may be over this issue....Go Luke...But then I don't give a hoot for the Lakers. Walton Jr. is a good guy.

GBear4Life said:

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Quote:

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"I was happier when I wasn't president [of the Lakers]," Johnson said.
He said he will return to community work and reaching out to players around the league to help in their development.
"I'm a free bird and I can't be handcuffed," he said. "This is a good day."

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Magic:
Great player
Irresponsible sex partier and cheater to his girl
Symbol of living with AIDS
Big smile and magnetic personality, used for marketing and attracting business dollars
Bad coach
Bad president, quitter.
Basketball team in Orlando.

Quitter and sex sllutt stand out right now.

Franchise has been a joke for a while now. This fits that!!

concordtom said:

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Magic:
Great player
Irresponsible sex partier and cheater to his girl
Symbol of living with AIDS
Big smile and magnetic personality, used for marketing and attracting business dollars
Bad coach
Bad president, quitter.
Basketball team in Orlando.

Quitter and sex sllutt stand out right now.

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Concordtom:

That is UNFAIR. I have met and talked to Magic. Your statement is simply UNFAIR.

Go Bears!

Enjoy the pile-on, everyone. Lakers are terrible. Johnson was a really poor executive, so good to have him gone. It looks bad, but that team may not be as far away from relevancy as some would think. Replace Magic with a solid exec, ink a good deal or two, get a stronger staff under Walton (or his replacement) and the team will look a lot different. They have a long ways to go to get back to the heydays under GM West, but the way things are in this league they're not that far away from being serious contenders.

As far as ceilings go, would you rather be the Lakers or the Clippers?

concordtom said:

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GBear4Life said:

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Quote:

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"I was happier when I wasn't president [of the Lakers]," Johnson said.
He said he will return to community work and reaching out to players around the league to help in their development.
"I'm a free bird and I can't be handcuffed," he said. "This is a good day."

---

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Magic:
Great player
Irresponsible sex partier and cheater to his girl
Symbol of living with AIDS
Big smile and magnetic personality, used for marketing and attracting business dollars
Bad coach
Bad president, quitter.
Basketball team in Orlando.

Quitter and sex sllutt stand out right now.

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He did a poor job constructing the roster. He's hardly the first person to resign a position or sleep around. Big deal.

Uthaithani said:

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Enjoy the pile-on, everyone. Lakers are terrible. Johnson was a really poor executive, so good to have him gone. It looks bad, but that team may not be as far away from relevancy as some would think. Replace Magic with a solid exec, ink a good deal or two, get a stronger staff under Walton (or his replacement) and the team will look a lot different. They have a long ways to go to get back to the heydays under GM West, but the way things are in this league they're not that far away from being serious contenders.

As far as ceilings go, would you rather be the Lakers or the Clippers?

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Ask that question again in August. A lot can happen in July for the Clippers that is very unlikely to happen for the Lakers.

I agree that a competent front office could make the Lakers into a good team over the next couple of seasons, but that also will be a couple of years of decline for Lebron. It's not going to be easy to make them serious contenders unless you think their young guys are going to do a lot better than they've showed so far.

Don't the Clippers have West? I'll take the Clip joint

calbear80 said:

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concordtom said:

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Magic:
Great player
Irresponsible sex partier and cheater to his girl
Symbol of living with AIDS
Big smile and magnetic personality, used for marketing and attracting business dollars
Bad coach
Bad president, quitter.
Basketball team in Orlando.

Quitter and sex sllutt stand out right now.

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Concordtom:

That is UNFAIR. I have met and talked to Magic. Your statement is simply UNFAIR.

Go Bears!

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Much of that criticism isn't relevant to anyone beyond his immediate family and circle of intimates. However, the Lakers badly shanked it putting him in a position of authority. He's a man-child. His public resignation proves it. Adults don't do things like that if they have any self respect or respect for their employers.

Uthaithani said:

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They have a long ways to go to get back to the heydays under GM West, but the way things are in this league they're not that far away from being serious contenders.

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For what, the championship? They are two All-Stars away from that.

calbear80 said:

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concordtom said:

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Magic:
Great player
Irresponsible sex partier and cheater to his girl
Symbol of living with AIDS
Big smile and magnetic personality, used for marketing and attracting business dollars
Bad coach
Bad president, quitter.
Basketball team in Orlando.

Quitter and sex sllutt stand out right now.

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Concordtom:

That is UNFAIR. I have met and talked to Magic. Your statement is simply UNFAIR.

Go Bears!

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It's an opinion piece.
Fairness does not apply.
Sorry.

I loved rooting for magic!

tequila4kapp said:

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concordtom said:

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GBear4Life said:

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Quote:

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"I was happier when I wasn't president [of the Lakers]," Johnson said.
He said he will return to community work and reaching out to players around the league to help in their development.
"I'm a free bird and I can't be handcuffed," he said. "This is a good day."

---

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Magic:
Great player
Irresponsible sex partier and cheater to his girl
Symbol of living with AIDS
Big smile and magnetic personality, used for marketing and attracting business dollars
Bad coach
Bad president, quitter.
Basketball team in Orlando.

Quitter and sex sllutt stand out right now.

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He did a poor job constructing the roster. He's hardly the first person to resign a position or sleep around. Big deal.

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True.
My comment was merely a reflection of the fact that he's been treated like a basketball deity or Saint.
In reality, he's very human!

Yogi Bear said:

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Uthaithani said:

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They have a long ways to go to get back to the heydays under GM West, but the way things are in this league they're not that far away from being serious contenders.

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For what, the championship? They are two All-Stars away from that.

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Yeah, and I think lebron's rep has taken a big hit.
He's looking older and I don't imagine as many guys would be as willing to hitch their wagon to him previously. Meanwhile, Lebron NEEDS to attract some talent to play with him. Will be an interesting season. He's got until the trade deadline to form a winning combination. Lakers office is in disarray. I wouldn't bet against it, but I wouldn't bet for it, either. Collapse of lebron's stature (commencement of his decline) could be more likely than him getting back to the finals, and I imagine folksmdidnt see that in June of last year, when he had played so well! Dan Gilbert is surely having a chuckle of this....

Kings hire Walton 1 day after he's fired.

Jeanie Buss is running the Lakers like a Mom-and-Pop shop. Only making hiring based on personal relationships -- Tragic and Kobe's ex agent Pelinka.

When the Lakers didn't amnesty Kobrick and decided to extend him for a 2 year farewell tour at the expense of team success, I knew the team was being run by morons. Nothing they've done since is to the contrary.

If anybody needs a search firm and reputable basketball ops guys informing a hiring process, Jeanie needs it.

GBear4Life said:

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Jeanie Buss is running the Lakers like a Mom-and-Pop shop. Only making hiring based on personal relationships -- Tragic and Kobe's ex agent Pelinka.

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She's choosing team presidents and GMs the same way USC chooses athletic directors.