Magic Johnson shocked the basketball world on Tuesday when he announced his decision to step down as Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations after just two seasons.
Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, whom Johnson drafted during the summer of 2017, is in full support of Johnson's choice:
“For Magic, he's Magic Johnson. He doesn't need to prove to anybody anything,” said Kuzma, according to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints. “He just made the best decision for him. That's all you can ask and that's all anybody in this world would want to do for themselves.”
Johnson cited his distaste for tampering rules as a crucial aspect in his decision to step away, as the Hall of Famer said he enjoys mentoring young players and is not able to truly do that while he works in an NBA front office.
The five-time NBA champion was originally named as Lakers president back in February 2017.
Over the course of his two full seasons with the club, Los Angeles went just 72-92 and failed to make the playoffs. This season was particularly disappointing, as the Lakers won just 37 games in spite of signing LeBron James over the summer.
Johnson vowed to get another superstar player to pair with James, but he failed in his attempt to land Paul George last offseason, who ultimately re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers also tried to trade for the likes of Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis, but were rebuffed on both occasions as Leonard was dealt to the Toronto Raptors last summer and Davis remained with the New Orleans Pelicans through the trade deadline.
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