Larry Bird on Magic Johnson as Lakers executive: 'He's got a lot to learn'

Bird said he knows how tough the job is from experience

The Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry might be the most recognized between two players in any team sport -- and it’s not ending any time soon.

Bird is the president of the Indiana Pacers, while Magic was recently promoted to president of basketball operations for the Lakers -- and the two wasted no time rekindling the old days.

Bird told Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times that he was planning to reach out to Magic after the All-Star break, but instead Johnson called Bird two weeks ago, just as the Paul George trade buzz was starting to heat up. When people got wind of the conversation, rumors started flying, suggesting that Bird and Magic were working on a deal to send George to the Lakers.

George was never on the block, according to Bird, and instead the conversation was more about catching up on life and their families. Bird also offered some advice, and told Magic he was crazy to try this at his age.

“He’s got a lot to learn,” Bird said. “But he took the challenge and I’m sure he’s ready for it. There’s just so much to learn about it.”

It’s hard to gather the tone of a quote just by reading it, but you have to imagine Bird was wearing that signature smirk during that comment. Bird continued, warning Johnson that even if he gets all the players he wants, things don’t always work out.

“You can put a team together, what you think’s gonna be a pretty solid team on paper, and then when they get out there they don’t mesh well,” Bird said. “I’m sort of going through that this year. We thought we had a decent team that we thought could compete for the fourth or fifth seed. We haven’t played as well as I thought we would all year. That’s the growing pains. That’s the frustration about it.”

There’s something great about the idea of Magic and Bird competing for the same players in free agency, and we may get to see it if George doesn’t sign an extension with the Pacers. But Bird said it won’t be the same as the great rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics.

“The competition is there,” Bird said. “But it’s not like it used to be.”