DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum NBA Continued

I bet that a top FA has a better shot of landing w/LeBron in LA than one does in Cleveland..

Every time I turn on an nba game it's OKC. Which is fine with me, as I root for them when the Cavs suck.

Magic just stepped down as President of the Lakers. I think they have a pretty big mess on their hands now.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26482680/magic-abruptly-steps-lakers-president

i called that...he's not an NBA GM..and after the AD fiasco...no way lebron lets him have another offseason

He did mention the back-stabbing. I'm think that Pelinka might be that dude. He is widely despised across the league, but he is Kobe's boy.

Seems like they wanted to kep Walton, and he wanted to fire him ... and add that to the time/pressure/drama ... Magic decided to just go back to his good life (where he's loved by everyone)

If the Lakers were smart they'd back up the truck for David Griffin and let him do his thing.

He is one of the favorites by media members, but there is word that he isn't a favorite of the Lakers and that he might not even want the job.

It would be kinda crazy if he and Lue ended up there.

If I were the Lakers, I would do everything I could to pry the dude away from the Raptors. It might not work, but Uriji is a damn fine GM.

Reports: Magic Johnson wanted to fire Rob Pelinka, who’ll instead keep (maybe gain) power within Lakers

Dan Feldman,NBC Sports Wed, Apr 10 5:33 PM EDT



As Lakers president Magic Johnson could seemingly do whatever he wanted, including not work very hard. Until his stunning resignation yesterday, Johnson was clearly set to fire coach Luke Walton.

Stephen A. Smith on ESPN:

But you also hear that he may have wanted Rob Pelinka gone, and there was resistance there.

Now, I spoke to Jeanie Buss, and I spoke to Rob Pelinka. And both categorically and emphatically denied that there’s any truth to that whatsoever. But in the hours and the days to come, you’re going to hear that nugget of information percolating and really resonating.

This has been percolating for months: Rob Pelinka might go into the office or into the Lakers facility, “Hey guys. How are you doing? Where’s Magic Johnson?” knowing that Magic Johnson wasn’t there in an effort to bring attention to the fact that Magic Johnson wasn’t there.

Of course, Rob Pelinka has denied that, as well. And in fairness to him, there are people out there that are his enemies, that have never liked him, and they will talk about him. And to his defense, some people might make some stuff up. I’m just telling you, you’re hearing these kinds of things. And you were hearing these kinds of things in the days leading up to Magic Johnson announcing it.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN:

The team is still assessing Johnson’s decision, but general manager Rob Pelinka will stay in his job, and, if anything, his power will grow, sources told Shelburne.

Johnson and Pelinka were an odd president-general manager pairing. They lacked experience in basketball operations, and they had no clear prior connection. Johnson was a great Lakers player. Pelinka was Kobe Bryant’s agent. That was it.

So, it wouldn’t be surprising if their relationship turned contentious.

That said, as Smith noted, Pelinka has rubbed plenty of people the wrong way. It’d be easy for people who dislike him to smear him.

But whatever people think of Pelinka personally, the Lakers’ roster construction is, as LeBron James said, “[fart noise].” Maybe that’s all Johnson’s fault. But I certainly wouldn’t keep Pelinka without him explaining his role in the front office’s many missteps.

Considering the Lakers’ resources, they should probably do better than just promoting Pelinka. And if they hire a new team president, that person should have authority to choose underlings. Pelinka shouldn’t be part of the package. If Jeanie Buss insists Pelinka stays, that will turn off candidates.

There’s still so much of this situation to uncover. The Johnson-Pelinka dynamic isn’t totally clear. With Johnson blindsiding everyone, I’m not sure the Lakers are set on their next steps, including how to handle Pelinka.

But Johnson said something yesterday that sure fits this narrative:

What I didn’t like is the backstabbing, the whispering. I don’t like that. I don’t like a lot of things that went on that didn’t have to go on.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/reports-magic-johnson-wanted-fire-213301649.html

Walton's out in LA.

ESPN

"ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Ty Lue is a strong front-runner to replace Walton ..."

I wonder how Lebron feels about this? Might as well trade back for Nance and Clarkson. What a dumpster fire.

"ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Ty Lue is a strong front-runner to replace Walton ..."

I wonder how Lebron feels about this? Might as well trade back for Nance and Clarkson. What a dumpster fire.

I don't know if hiring Lue would be such a bad idea. He was the front-runner in the minds of many people.

The only reason he'd be the front runner is because Lebron wants him there.

As much as I hated Lue's rotations, game plans and confused looks whenever the Cavs were getting blown out, he did still manage to get a team of Lebron, Kyrie, Love, JR, and Tristan Thompson to focus, play together and win a Championship. Considering how they all did this year, that's got to be worth something.

David Griffin is the new GM of the Pelicans, not the Lakers. Some of the Sirius sports channels talking heads seem to think he is going to make AD to the Lakers happen.

I find it hard to believe the Griffin is just going to hand LeBron/Lakers Anthony Davis. This is basically the biggest move he is going to make and he has to get it right. The Celtics are going to offer basically their whole team besides Kyrie Irving (Tatum, Brown, and a bunch of picks) and the same goes for the Clippers (SGA, Harrell, and a bunch of picks). Both of those packages are more appealing than what the Lakers have to offer.

I also would think that Lonzo isn't going anywhere ....... not because the Lakers wouldn't trade him, but because of the Lavar Ball crapstorm that no one wants to deal with.