Magic Johnson shocked the basketball world back in 2019 when he announced his decision to step down as the Los Angeles Lakers' president of basketball operations. It was an unexpected development for both the organization and Johnson, who himself had just been at the helm for two years before his abrupt exit.
As it turns out, Johnson's decision to jump ship was brought about by a power struggle between himself and the front office. In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast, the Lakers icon dropped a massive truth bomb about his desire to fire then-head coach Luke Walton (h/t Lee Tran of Fadeaway World):
“It's just I had to,” Johnson said. “I thought I had the power to do what I wanted to do.
“I wanted to fire Luke Walton.”
Johnson's sudden decision to resign from his post was suspicious, to say the least. It's only now that we've all come to realize that it was actually because of a disagreement between himself and management.
“Oh, I knew he wasn't,” Magic said of Walton and his capability to coach the Lakers. “And so I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to let him go. He's not the right guy; he is not a great coach for the Laker team.’ And they wanted to keep him. So, I said, ‘okay.’ I already knew that I didn't want to fracture the great relationship I had with Jeanie Buss, because that's my sister. So, and instead of me sitting there – and I can never be this dude that just sits and not says what's on my mind – I said, ‘let me just exit. It's going to be best for everybody.’
“I felt some dudes wanted to be in the seat that I had. So, hey, you let 'em have it. You go ahead, you can have it, I'm out. And Jeanie and I are still great friends, so it was the best move and I'm glad I did it.”
The Lakers fired Walton just three days after Magic stepped down from his position.
For what it's worth, Magic Johnson was indeed able to salvage his relationship with Lakers team owner Jeanie Buss. The pair still remain to be close friends, and Johnson is still one of the most revered personalities in Lakers franchise history. Apparently, things could have been much different if he decided to stay on.
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