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Magic Johnson Is Returning To The Lakers - YES

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Breaking news - Johnson is returning to the Lakers as an advisor to Jeannie Buss. Johnson still owns a small share of the Lakers and will not have to give up his share for this role. This is a huge step for the Lakers that makes me well...

:hammer::thrasher::yes::yes::yes:
 

larryjohn

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Jim Buss' 3 years is up.

Having said that -- I'm not sure if Magic is the best player personnel person. (I still remember when he tried to coach.) Magic has been a terrific business person.
 

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Jim Buss' 3 years is up.

Having said that -- I'm not sure if Magic is the best player personnel person. (I still remember when he tried to coach.) Magic has been a terrific business person.
They got something to spin with though because now when they recruit new players, while players won't necessarily respect Jeannie or Jim(they still own the company), they can say Magic set the vision and I think a lot of players will buy into that. They have zero credibility right now but they have some with MJ on board. It's the smartest move they have made in a few years
 

larryjohn

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They got something to spin with though because now when they recruit new players, while players won't necessarily respect Jeannie or Jim(they still own the company), they can say Magic set the vision and I think a lot of players will buy into that. They have zero credibility right now but they have some with MJ on board. It's the smartest move they have made in a few years

Good point.

It will be interesting if they give Magic a lot of control or if Mitch or someone else is the main GM.
 

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Jim Buss' 3 years is up.

Having said that -- I'm not sure if Magic is the best player personnel person. (I still remember when he tried to coach.) Magic has been a terrific business person.
I feel confident in saying that he won't be involved in personnel. I see him getting Jeanie to take the Jerry Buss role of putting finding a great basketball mind, and letting them do their job. I hope we keep Mitch, but so long as we keep our scouting team together, that's been drafting almost as well as anyone in the league, then I'm good.
 

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I just read that he will be involved in the business operations, helping players, promoting. Hes basically taking Jim Buss spot as Co Owner. Wholly shit.
 

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I feel confident in saying that he won't be involved in personnel. I see him getting Jeanie to take the Jerry Buss role of putting finding a great basketball mind, and letting them do their job. I hope we keep Mitch, but so long as we keep our scouting team together, that's been drafting almost as well as anyone in the league, then I'm good.

I too am hoping they keep Mitch. guess we'll see going forward...
 

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Having said that -- I'm not sure if Magic is the best player personnel person. (I still remember when he tried to coach.) Magic has been a terrific business person.

This is actually a very "Dr. Buss move" by Jeanie. Dr. Buss always had an adviser of some sort who would help with the decision making, offer opinions, gather info, etc. Then Dr. Buss would make a final decision and the adviser or someone other than Dr. Buss would handle the presser.

This move, combined with word that Jeanie has been asking a lot of GM/FO related questions of contacts around the league tells me that she is looking to make some changes. To me, this says that Jim is going to be removed as President of Basketball Operations (he'll still be an owner, but will have zero say about the team) and Jeanie is going to want a more modern approach.

What I'm hoping she does is kick Jim to the curb, promotes Mitch to President of Basketball Operations and promotes the logo's son, Ryan West, to GM.

Under Dr. Buss, the Lakers were always the trendsetters in the league. I'm sure that this lagging behind everyone else and looking outdated, isn't sitting any better with her than it would have with Dr. Buss.
 

wildturkey

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His role as a "basketball advisor" better be slim. Because if he's anything like he is an analyst, that has disaster written all over it. After years and years of watching him on TV, I'm pretty skeptical of him being in a room advising roster moves. It's pretty clear from hearing him talk about players and what's happening on the court that he excelled as a player because of his extreme natural talent, not because of his brain. He's very successful elsewhere, let him do that. I got no problem with those other roles listed. Just keep him away from player evaluation and roster construction.
 

trojanfan12

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His role as a "basketball advisor" better be slim. Because if he's anything like he is an analyst, that has disaster written all over it. After years and years of watching him on TV, I'm pretty skeptical of him being in a room advising roster moves. It's pretty clear from hearing him talk about players and what's happening on the court that he excelled as a player because of his extreme natural talent, not because of his brain. He's very successful elsewhere, let him do that. I got no problem with those other roles listed. Just keep him away from player evaluation and roster construction.

Agree. When I first heard them talking about it on the radio, I missed what role he was hired for and was scared to death that they were going to say he's new GM. :shocked:

From what I've read and heard, it looks like his role is specifically as an adviser to Jeanie. Jeanie runs the business side. My guess is he'll be like the advisers Dr. Buss used to have.

I'd bet that he'll likely help with deciding what to do as far as the FO and he'll the person she sends out to deal with the press. Roster moves, etc. will likely be handled by whoever becomes President of Basketball Operations, the GM and Luke.
 

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Agree. When I first heard them talking about it on the radio, I missed what role he was hired for and was scared to death that they were going to say he's new GM. :shocked:

From what I've read and heard, it looks like his role is specifically as an adviser to Jeanie. Jeanie runs the business side. My guess is he'll be like the advisers Dr. Buss used to have.

I'd bet that he'll likely help with deciding what to do as far as the FO and he'll the person she sends out to deal with the press. Roster moves, etc. will likely be handled by whoever becomes President of Basketball Operations, the GM and Luke.
My guess is that the front office has come to the conclusion that the players in the free agency aren't really considering the Lakers because to be brutally honest, neither Jeannie, nor Jim have any credibility as people that build teams. Jerry Buss was the vision and the man respected as long as he was alive even when he wasn't running the business. Magic Johnson, however at least gives the impression that some one who knows how to build championship teams - is there calling the shots. They are hoping that carries some weight.
 

trojanfan12

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My guess is that the front office has come to the conclusion that the players in the free agency aren't really considering the Lakers because to be brutally honest, neither Jeannie, nor Jim have any credibility as people that build teams. Jerry Buss was the vision and the man respected as long as he was alive even when he wasn't running the business. Magic Johnson, however at least gives the impression that some one who knows how to build championship teams - is there calling the shots. They are hoping that carries some weight.

There was a little more information given in the paper this morning re: Magic's role. It looks like part of his role will be selling the team to potential FA's. I disagree about Jeanie's credibility. She is well liked and well respected throughout the league. However, her role is on the business side, so dealing with FA's isn't her primary responsibility. It was the same with Dr. Buss.

Jim, on the other hand, isn't considered to be someone who knows what he's doing and he isn't really a "vibrant personality" who can take over a room. So, when dealing with FA's, Magic will be a big part of those negotiations because, at the very least, players will listen to and respect him. Something that just doesn't happen with Jim Buss.

Sam with Mitch. Mitch is actually a very good and very well respected GM, but again, he doesn't have a big personality where he can captivate an audience when speaking. FA negotiations are as much about sales as anything and Mitch is a very good evaluator of talent and a shrewd deal maker, but he's not a salesman.

He will also assist with mentoring the young guys if Luke wants him to. Based on the quotes in the paper, the young guys are very excited about getting to meet and possibly work with him. Luke sounded open to the idea.
 

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There was a little more information given in the paper this morning re: Magic's role. It looks like part of his role will be selling the team to potential FA's. I disagree about Jeanie's credibility. She is well liked and well respected throughout the league. However, her role is on the business side, so dealing with FA's isn't her primary responsibility. It was the same with Dr. Buss.

Jim, on the other hand, isn't considered to be someone who knows what he's doing and he isn't really a "vibrant personality" who can take over a room. So, when dealing with FA's, Magic will be a big part of those negotiations because, at the very least, players will listen to and respect him. Something that just doesn't happen with Jim Buss.

Sam with Mitch. Mitch is actually a very good and very well respected GM, but again, he doesn't have a big personality where he can captivate an audience when speaking. FA negotiations are as much about sales as anything and Mitch is a very good evaluator of talent and a shrewd deal maker, but he's not a salesman.

He will also assist with mentoring the young guys if Luke wants him to. Based on the quotes in the paper, the young guys are very excited about getting to meet and possibly work with him. Luke sounded open to the idea.

Wow, so they took it further than I was expecting or was hoping for. This is one of those moments that it sounds too good to be true.

Excellent choice too, because both Jeannie and Jim can now do exactly what their father did. Jerry Buss employed winners for those jobs and then backed away and let them do their job. With this move, they can quietly allow Mitch and Magic Johnson do all of that and not have to talk about firing people and crap. Smart move
 
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