Magic Johnson is making the rounds, basking in the glory of a newly successful Los Angeles Lakers team after his abrupt departure at the end of last season.
The Lakers have sprinted to a 24-4 record, something Johnson claims wouldn't have happened without his imprint in the front office the past two seasons:
”This team would not be in the position it’s in without me,” he told Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.
It didn't take long for Magic to rattle off the list of trades he and former partner Rob Pelinka made to clear salary cap space to sign LeBron James, dealing D’Angelo Russell to take Timofey Mozgov's contract off the books. He spoke of his recruitment of James and players they drafted in Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart (now with the New Orleans Pelicans after the blockbuster deal for Anthony Davis), saying everything was all part of the plan:
”This was my strategy, this is what I thought we’d be in three years,” said Johnson. “I knew we were on the right track. Everybody wanted to do it their way, but I’m good with who I am. … I think people respect what I’ve done for the team.”
Johnson's tired “this was my plan all along” was something many Lakers fans could have seen coming after he decided to quit on the spot without first warning owner Jeanie Buss.
Magic might have had that in his plans, but it was Pelinka who brought it to fruition by actually pulling off the trade this summer, putting him in the running for the Executive of the Year award if the Lakers can finish atop the league at the end of the season.
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