The Los Angeles Lakers, for the first time since 1979, are under new ownership, but they are expected to bring back a familiar face to help run day-to-day operations.
Jerry Buss bought the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, and under him and his family, won 11 NBA Finals between “Showtime,” the Shaq and Kobe era, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, and the LeBron James experience.
This summer, the Buss family sold their stake in the Lakers to billionaire Mark Walter for $10 billion. Walter also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers and is expected to spend, spend, and spend to keep the Lakers competitive as they pivot to Luka Doncic as the face of the franchise.
Since Buss bought the team, his family, the Lakers, and Magic Johnson have all been linked. Magic has since taken a step back, after feuding with Jeanie Buss, although his relationship with Walter might see him come back into the fold.
For two years between 2017 and 2019, Johnson served as president of basketball operations for the Lakers. Under his guidance, they signed James but failed to make the playoffs, and it wasn’t until after he stepped down that the Lakers won the 2020 Finals.
Johnson is one of the best players in the Lakers’ storied franchise, although he has since become more involved with MLB, owning a stake in the Dodgers and a minor-league team in Ohio.
Johnson cited the “backstabbing and whispering” for his departure from the Lakers’ front office. While Buss is still going to serve as team governor even after the sale, Walter will have more of a say, and if he wants Johnson to replace Rob Pelinka, Magic is expected to take the job.
“He might be Mark’s guy that he puts in there to make sure it goes the way it should go,” predicted Byron Scott.
“And Mark would be the one guy he reports to.
“One of the problems had that when he was with the Lakers was he wanted full autonomy, and what I heard, Jeanie had given him that. And then he wanted to make a change in the front office and Jeanie said, “No you can’t do that.’”
Johnson wanted to make decisions for the Lakers during his tenure that Pelinka, who was GM, and the Buss family weren’t comfortable with, although the legend could return with Walter backing him and giving him the faith to make basketball decisions.
He added, referencing Johnson’s ties to Walter, “Now you with the ownership, you don’t have to ask nobody.”
While LeBron and Magic are friends, Walter and Johnson understand that Luka Doncic is the present and future of the Lakers, which is why he was informed before James that the Buss family had sold the team.
James is still an elite player, but he will turn 41 this season. Doncic is just starting to enter his prime and is a megastar in his own right, the type of player the Lakers can build around for ten years.
Johnson has long been a fan of Doncic and was elated when the Lakers traded for him.
Walter and Magic have a much better relationship than Magic and the Buss family, especially Jeanie, so with new ownership, Johnson returning to the Lakers is not a big reach.
