Lakers Rumors: Rob Pelinka to See 'His Power Grow' After Magic Johnson's Exit

Magic Johnson's sudden departure as the Los Angeles Lakers' president of basketball operations won't apparently trigger a reshuffle of the team's front office.

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday general manager Rob Pelinka is safe and that his "power will grow."

Without any warning, Johnson gave an impromptu press conference Wednesday night to say he was stepping down from his role with the Lakers.

Many wondered how ownership would respond after the team missed the playoffs in 2018-19. Johnson's resignation added even more intrigue.

According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss told Johnson he'd have the authority to fire head coach Luke Walton. Johnson had questioned Walton's "ability to effectively make in-game adjustments" and "felt the coaching staff lacked the experience and expertise to foster player development."

ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski noted Walton has one guaranteed year left and an option for 2020-21 on his current deal.

Walton appeared to already be on shaky ground, and Haynes' report won't help matters.

By reaffirming—and even strengthening—their commitment to Pelinka, the Lakers are at least stanching some of the bleeding from Johnson's exit. Ahead of a pivotal offseason, they can't afford to have prospective free agents questioning the structure of the coaching staff as well as the front office.

One could argue Pelinka didn't exactly fill out the roster well after Los Angeles signed LeBron James. In what amounted to a 2018-19 postmortem for the Lakers, ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin highlighted the biggest personnel gaffes, such as putting in little effort to re-sign Brook Lopez and failing to sign veterans who could space the floor around James.

Pelinka and his supporters might counter the Lakers didn't do enough to empower him to build the team the way he wanted. Now, the buck will unquestionably stop with Pelinka and his future is likely to hinge on whether the Lakers can successfully execute their plan of landing a marquee free agent to partner with James.