Magic Quit on the Lakers

Shockingly, Magic Johnson stepped down as the head operations of basketball related issues with the Lakers last night. Basically, he is done trying to get and sign big name free agents for the team he once starred for.

This stunned me when I heard the news yesterday. I know that this season went about as bad as possible for the Lakers. Things looked bright and it seemed like they would easily get back in the playoffs after they got LeBron to sign a 4 year deal. But then, things just kind of went haywire.

The problems started in the offseason after the James signing. I guess he had told Magic that he wanted some vets, so he and Rob Pelinka went out and signed guys like Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley. They also let Robin Lopez and Julius Randle walk. Magic also traded D'Angelo Russell last offseason so they could draft Lonzo Ball. When I saw their projected roster, I was confused, but figured LeBron would make it work.

When the season started, it was going fine. They were nestled into the 4 or 5 spot, and seemed playoff bound. But then things got really bad. LeBron got hurt on Christmas day while the Lakers were throttling the Warriors. He missed more time than he ever has in his career. This was, by far, the worst injury he has ever suffered. The team did not play great in his absence either. Brandon Ingram wasn't making the leap that many, myself included, thought he would. Ball still has a trash jumper, and he got hurt too. Josh Hart totally disappeared. Kentavious Caldwell Pope was playing like himself, which is to say, he is mediocre. McGee proved he isn't much of a starter. He is so much better as an energy guy. Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson were jokes. And Rondo was Rondo. He griped about a lot this year.

Then, Magic decided he was going to go all in on AD. AD made his trade request very, very public, and LeBron's agent and buddy Rich Paul were just as vocal. Magic decided he was going to do whatever it took to get another superstar in LA, even if it meant destroying their future. He put up Ball, Ingram, Beasley, Ivan Zubac, Lance Stephenson and picks to try and get AD. The Pelicans, who seemed to be simply messing with LA, kept asking for more. This destroyed the locker room because all these young guys took it way, way too seriously, and their play suffered. After "activating playoff mode", LeBron came back too early, and the Lakers couldn't even beat a team like the Suns. Then Magic comes out after the blown trade and says he is going to talk to the young guys that he put on the block. He tried the whole "this is a business" thing, but the damage had been done. And LeBron did not help at all. He looked disengaged, never sat by the team on the bench, they had a team meeting where the young guys told him how they felt and he couldn't have cared less, and the Lakers got officially eliminated earlier than they did last season.

With the uncertainty that they may not get AD until next offseason, I think Magic saw the writing on the wall. I think he realized that he won't be the one to get the Lakers back to contention. I think he realized getting LeBron was more so for life after basketball as opposed to winning titles. But I think the botched trade is what put the nail in the coffin for him. I think he finally realized that this is an entire new generation of players, and he can't keep up with the times. But, the way he did it is odd. To just up and quit, without telling pretty much anyone involved with the organization is odd. To say he has felt "handcuffed" is absurd to me. He willingly took this job. I think he is leaving because he realizes it's a different game. I also think he is fed up with all the tampering fines. But man, what a cowardly way to go out. To just essentially "drop the mic" on a team that he was supposed to be able to lure big time stars to is sad.

I loved Magic Johnson the basketball player. But, he is proving that he cannot do much good as a coach or executive. He has spectacularly failed at both of those, and this season was the icing on the crap cake for him. I don't know where the Lakers go from here, but this season was bad enough, and now with Magic gone, the offseason may be worse. Time will tell.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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Who is Really to Blame for the Lakers Mess?

The other night LeBron James passed Michael Jordan on the all time NBA scoring list. Good for him. This is a humongous achievement. James has earned it. He is one of the greats, no questions asked. But, when my watch and phone kept popping off about this, I naturally assumed that the Lakers had won their game against the Nuggets, and maybe they were actually going to make that push to get the 8th seed in the West.

That was not the case.

While all ESPN and Bleacher Report could talk about was LeBron's achievement, the Lakers were in the midst of losing by almost 20, and dropping their third straight game, and dropping 6 games below .500. They have been in a freefall since LeBron "activated playoff mode". They are very far out from the 8 seed now, with only 17 games left. They need so much help, and if they were to get the 8 seed, they would get swept out of the first round, and possibly cripple their chance to get AD this summer.

But, all of this preamble is just to say that there is a lot of blame to go around the whole Lakers organization for how poorly this season has played out. But, the most blame belongs to 4 people. We have LeBron, Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss. Jeanie Buss is trying to play it off like she had nothing to do with the players they signed, saying that management is to solely blame. Well, you are the owner. You hired these 2 guys to run the team. You gave them the keys to the car. You have to take some of the blame. Some of this falls in your lap. You cannot just get off scott free because you are only the owner. Some of the decisions you have made lately have hurt this franchise.

Now, lets look at why I think Pelinka and Johnson are to blame. These 2 had zero history in running a basketball team. They have never had this type of power. Magic is a hall of fame player, a bad coach and a horrible talk show host. What he did best was play basketball. That doesn't mean he can run a team. He proved that with his piss poor coaching, and now he is proving that with how he signs players. And all of the tampering, which I really don't care that much about, he has got to stop being so blatant about it. Don't go on talk shows and wink when talking about soon to be free agents. Don't go on ESPN and openly pine for AD. Just stop. With Pelinka, he was good at being a sub with the Fab Five at Michigan. He was even better as an agent. But, again with the picking of players, he has been atrocious. Why did he think it was cool to go out and sign all these odd vets to one year deals? Did he really think this would work? Did he think LeBron could literally drag a group of guys 20 and under, and washed up vets to the playoffs in the West? Come on man. That is preposterous. That is nonsense. I mean, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, Michale Beaseley and Rajon Rondo were your answers to surround LeBron with? That is so stupid. They should have just kept Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell. They would be so much better off with the young guys and LeBron. They would have been more fun.

Finally, we have LeBron. I think he deserves the least blame, but he still deserves some simply for the whole handling of the AD trade saga. He let his buddy Rich Paul try to force 2 teams hand, and it backfired in hilarious fashion. LeBron, who has always been a GM and player wherever he has played, also made it so widely known how much he yearned to play with AD. I'm positive he told Magic and Pelinka to offer the farm. He didn't want to have happen happen. He didn't want Rich Paul to fail. He didn't want to fail, and he wanted to get AD. Well, the Pelicans didn't flinch, and it all blew up in their face. Also, LeBron is still hurt, looks disengaged, doesn't try on defense and only seems to expend any effort on offense. He has packed it in. He has suffered the longest injury of his career, and he has let his effect his play. He also didn't get what he wanted at the deadline, and he has openly pouted. All of this has led to the team he is supposed to be leading having another bad year.

The Lakers are going to miss the playoffs. They are going to fire the head coach. They are going to lose a ton of young talent, and they are going to have to start all over again, letting 2 guys that have no idea what they are doing, an owner that doesn't want to take any heat and a 35 year old star player running the team. This will only get worse before it gets better. I don't even think AD will help much, if they get him this summer. I didn't like this move for LeBron from a basketball standpoint, and, at least this season, is making me look right.

While I enjoy seeing the Lakers struggle, I don't like seeing how bad they have been lately. They are a mess, and there is a good amount of blame to be spread out amongst the 4 people I mentioned. I'm very curious to see what they do this summer, and since they won't be making the playoffs, the summer will be here much sooner than LeBron is used to. That is weird.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.