Magic Johnson transcends basketball. But as a businessman, entrepreneur, and now a part-owner of the Washington Commanders, he'll always be an all-time legend from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though the NBA great left his role as the team's president of basketball operations in 2019, Magic Johnson always remains positive when it comes to his club and its general manager Rob Pelinka.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times published on Monday, Johnson said of Pelinka's offseason plan, “He did better than anybody in the summer. All the moves he made, he was the No. 1 GM in the NBA this offseason.”
It's high praise, but not surprising considering Magic Johnson's affinity for finding the positives, and also because he's spot on. Not only did the Lakers re-sign Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, and D'Angelo Russell, but the Western Conference runners-up added Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes into the mix, too.
It also helps the Lakers that LeBron James officially has no intention of retiring yet. That announcement could've thrown quite the wrench into Pelinka's plans, but it's not a concern for the Lakers to this point. For Magic Johnson, his praise of Pelinka is essentially an executive-level pat on his own back. Pelinka made the jump from high-profile agent to high-profile exec when Magic took over basketball operations.
And according to Magic, the Lakers GM could be bringing home some of his own hardware soon enough, just like the five-time champion and three-time MVP point guard. Magic finished talking about the Lakers with his highest praise yet, saying, “Rob is going to be executive of the year.”
Follow Us
Subscribe