Magic Johnson will now be known as the former president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers after unexpectedly stepping down from such a role on Tuesday evening. While doing so as the result of an impromptu press conference, the Lakers legend apparently wasn't too happy during his time as the team's president of basketball operations.
Now slated to return to his life away from basketball, Johnson leaves a Lakers team that overwhelmingly disappointed in 2018-19.
Magic Johnson says that his position doesn’t allow him to be a statesman of the game of basketball. He says he wants to go back to his wonderful life away from this position. “I was happier when I wasn’t the president (of the Lakers)”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 10, 2019
Not only did Johnson reveal that he wasn't happy as the team's president of basketball operations, it also appears as though he wasn't truly fulfilling his duties as a top front office executive, according to a recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
“Since taking over as president of the Lakers, Magic Johnson never fully committed to the job,” writes Wojnarowski. “Often he was traveling and away from the team. His office hours were limited. He didn't do a lot of scouting. Running an NBA team takes a tremendous commitment of time and energy.”
Of course, the Lakers were plagued by injuries all season long en route to producing a dismal performance in the end. Most notably, the Lakers were without superstar forward LeBron James for the majority of the ongoing campaign as the free agent acquisition continues to be hampered by a lingering groin injury.
Even so, James will remain under contract with the once heralded Western Conference franchise for at least the next three seasons, though Johnson won't be around to see what happens next.