Magic Johnson is the man in charge of the Lakers, after the team overhauled its front office officially on Tuesday. The change puts a man with one of the most legendary NBA careers in the sport’s history in command of the league’s signature franchise in an effort to reclaim its former glory.
Johnson wants big changes, and after Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak put together one of the worst three-year runs in franchise history, the move isn’t unexpected in the slightest, with indications coming for weeks that Johnson would move from an advisory role into head of basketball operations.
The concern comes from Johnson’s experience, and, amazingly, from this tweets. For years, Magic’s Twitter account has been home to an incredible cross-sections of missed projections, painfully obvious statements and oblivious analysis. Sure, no man should be judged by his social media accounts, but some of the things the Hall of Famer has said online have been downright painful in retrospect.
Not to go all @OldTakesExposed, but there are some doozies in here, especially for a guy now pulling the strings for the most popular franchise in all of basketball. Let’s take a look.
The Bucks just acquired the next Jason Kidd in Michael Carter-Williams.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) February 20, 2015
Oh, dear.
I love Okafor because he's won a state championship in HS, NCAA Title at Duke and he can bring that championship pedigree to the Lakers.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 10, 2015
Oh no.
For all of you out there questioning Jimmer Fredette of BYU, he is the real deal. #MenCare
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 20, 2011
Please stop.
Awesome trade for the Thunder. Dion Waiters can catch and shoot and also create his own shot, just what the Thunder need.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 6, 2015
I can’t even ...
If Brandon Knight were to come out, I would take him number 1 in the draft.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 27, 2011
I'm impressed w/ the Chicago Bulls starting Rondo, Butler, Wade & MCW off the bench they have the 3rd best group of guards in the league...
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 31, 2016
And a prediction ... just for fun.
The only way San Antonio or Miami don't win the championship is if neither team makes the finals.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 7, 2014
Now, these tweets don’t mean that Johnson is going to fail. This could be the start of a glorious revival for the purple and gold. But they do show a pattern of basic analysis, and given how he’s viewed some of the developments in the league, and how he criticized Mike D’Antoni’s very modern approach to the game, there should be some level of concern.
You can’t really read how good a man will be at a job from 140 characters, but this stuff is enough to send up some red flags as Laker Nation hopes that the former maestro of Showtime can bring back the glory that Lakers fans have grown accustomed to.