Even before Magic Johnson stepped down from his role as President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, the organization was in a downward spiral. It was only a matter of time until someone reported their dysfunction this past season in detail.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes wrote an expose about the franchise and didn’t hold back against anyone. Everyone from Magic, to Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, LeBron James all got blame.
Among some of the most interesting moments of the piece include the fact that Johnson was a bully towards employees and used intimidation tactics to apply pressure, the fact that Linda Rambis serves as a “shadow owner,” the involvement of Rich Paul in team activities (like riding on the plane with the team) and how that destroyed the culture because coaches knew he wanted the staff fired and players feared being traded for Anthony Davis.
Beyond that, the article talked about Pelinka’s embellishing and cunning way to lie about everything, staffers leaving by the masses and the overall atmosphere inside the organization. It’s more of a mess than anyone imagined.
Though Johnson, James, Buss or Pelinka haven’t responded to the reports, it’ll be interesting to see how much more this affects the perception of the Lake Show.
Read the full story HERE.
UPDATE: In record time, Magic responds to the ESPN expose explaining all of the turmoil going on with the franchise behind-the-scenes.
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