Magic Johnson has once again performed the seemingly impossible.
He has just made the Lakers messier.
In an interview on ESPN's First Take talk show Monday -- mere hours before the Lakers were scheduled to hold a news conference to introduce new Coach Frank Vogel -- Johnson took a verbal leaf blower to his dysfunctional former employer and stirred up an ugly haze of accusations that left another coat of grime on a once-proud franchise.
All those hints Johnson dropped as reasons he suddenly resigned from his job as basketball boss before the final game of the season were made clear, and it wasn't pretty.
He confirmed he felt betrayed by General Manager Rob Pelinka. He confirmed he suddenly quit because he wasn't allowed to fire then-coach Luke Walton. He said the Lakers have too many voices involved in the decision-making process, including owner Jeanie Buss' confidant Linda Rambis, former coach and Buss boyfriend Phil Jackson, and business boss Tim Harris.
Though Johnson is well-known for his outlandish statements, he remains a revered figured and respected voice around the NBA, and his words significantly add to the widespread belief that under Buss' shaky ownership, the Lakers basketball leadership has become a disaster.
On the eve of what could be the most important summer for player acquisitions in franchise history, this is not a good look. For a team hoping to attract a marquee free agent to join LeBron James, those words could have ominous ramifications.
Who would want to play for an organization that is seemingly run by chaos? To be more precise, it is unclear who would want to work for Pelinka, an executive who was painted as devious and untrustworthy in taking the brunt of Johnson's rant Monday morning.
The "backstabbing and the whispering" Johnson spoke about when he quit? He said it came from Pelinka, which was what everyone speculated. But to hear Johnson actually voice the specific accusation was jarring.
"I started hearing, 'Magic, you're not working hard enough, Magic's not in the office,' " Johnson said on the ESPN show. "People around the Lakers office were telling me Rob was saying things, Rob Pelinka, and I didn't like those things being said behind my back, that I wasn't in the office enough. So I started getting calls from my friends outside basketball saying those things were said to them outside of basketball now, just not in the Lakers office anymore."
When asked if he felt there were any other backstabbers in the organization, Johnson said, "If you're going to talk betrayal, it's only with Rob."
He also claimed that Pelinka has a shaky reputation around the league, which was earned from years of being Kobe Bryant's difficult agent.
"When I took the job, you know how many agents called me and said you got to watch out for [Pelinka]?" Johnson said.
Since Johnson's departure, it has become clear that Pelinka will assume Johnson's duties as president of basketball operations, even without the title. This was already a shaky decision that becomes even more questionable in the wake of Johnson's charges.
Johnson also used his Monday interview to specify exactly why he quit before the Lakers' final game April 9, saying he was unable to fire Walton. This revelation includes a new character in the drama, Harris, who is the Lakers' business boss and the brains behind their landmark lucrative TV deal and 99% season-ticket renewal rate.
"The straw that broke the camel's back was I wanted to fire Luke Walton," Johnson said. "I showed [Buss] the things he did well and the things he didn't do well. I said, 'Listen, we got to get a better coach.' First day: 'Well, let's think about it.' Second day: 'OK, you can fire him.' Then the next day: 'No, we should try to work it out.' "
Johnson said he wasn't sure who exactly was making the decisions.
"Right now, everybody has a voice," he said.
A skeptical city and a dubious league will be listening.
Sports on 05/21/2019