Should Lakers Keep Luke Walton, Rob Pelinka After Magic Johnson's Shocking Exit?
LOS ANGELES — Earvin "Magic" Johnson stunned both the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA world by stepping down as president of basketball operations Tuesday before the team's final game of the season. He spoke for nearly an hour in the corridor outside the Lakers locker room, letting both the world and owner Jeanie Buss learn of his decision simultaneously.
"Somebody is going to have to tell my boss," Johnson said. "I know she's going to be sick, but I knew I couldn't face her face-to-face and tell her."
Imagine the shock, the team's president of basketball operations resigning—without notice—through the media. Not even a text.
"I guess this means he didn't think they were landing any big [free agents] this summer?" a competing Western Conference executive asked.
After her team's sixth straight season without a playoff berth (despite the blockbuster summer signing of LeBron James), Buss faces several important decisions in the wake of Johnson's departure.
Will she look to fill the team's now-vacated job or instead dissolve that position and trust general manager Rob Pelinka to implement his vision on the Lakers? What of coach Luke Walton, who many expected to be fired after the team's finale at Staples Center?
Johnson hired Pelinka to be his right-hand man in March 2017, often boasting that the two talked so much on the phone about the Lakers that they drove their wives crazy. But on his way out, Johnson didn't exactly endorse Pelinka, saying: "Do I think Rob is the right GM? That's a decision Jeanie has to make."
Without Johnson, Pelinka is the team's senior front-office executive. How much of the blame should he shoulder for another lottery season? Should the ill-conceived Ivica Zubac trade for Mike Muscala go on Johnson or Pelinka's resume (or both)? Who decided to surround James will ball-handling non-shooters last summer?
Buss should have a strong sense of Pelinka's strengths and weaknesses, but if the decision is made to hire someone above him, does he have a place in the team's future?
The Lakers may be his team to run after Johnson's exit, but if Buss isn't sold, now's the time to clean house. The same would apply to Walton.
"A person familiar with Buss' thinking said Johnson's decision did not guarantee Walton's job was safe," Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reported.
Johnson's resignation may have saved Walton's job, but for how long?
"Jeanie Buss gave Magic Johnson permission to fire coach Luke Walton at the conclusion of this season after being informed of Walton's unwillingness to 'bulk up' his coaching staff," Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports wrote. "[Johnson] had been displeased with Walton's ability to effectively make in-game adjustments, and he felt the coaching staff lacked the experience and expertise to foster player development."
Haynes listed Tyronn Lue, Monty Williams and Mark Jackson on "the short list of candidates to replace Walton," noting that Buss had worries that hiring Lue or Jackson would be viewed as James essentially picking the team's next coach.
"Eventually, Buss' concerns were alleviated after she reiterated the Lakers are a 'Buss-ran organization,'" Haynes continued.
If that's the case, and if Pelinka is not the answer, then she should give her younger brother Jesse Buss the interim promotion from assistant general manager. He and director of player personnel Ryan West would be well qualified to manage basketball operations while the decision is made on the team's next top basketball executive.
After the Lakers hold exit meetings with players Wednesday, the team will spend the next two months preparing for the draft and then free agency. If the Lakers have done anything well over the past five years, it's the draft, under Jesse Buss' guidance.
His staff has helped land lottery picks like Julius Randle (seventh in 2014), All-Star D'Angelo Russell (second in 2015), Brandon Ingram (second in 2016) and Lonzo Ball (second in 2017) while finding quality rotation players later in the draft in Jordan Clarkson (46th in 2014), Larry Nance Jr. (27th in 2015), Zubac (32nd in 2016), Kyle Kuzma (27th in 2017) and Josh Hart (30th in 2017), among others.
Johnson and Pelinka have since thinned out the talent pool, either trading or renouncing the rights to Randle, Russell, Clarkson, Nance and Zubac.
Buss could choose to hold on to Pelinka and Walton while searching for a new basketball operations leader, but typically a top executive is going to install his own staff and coach. That's not always the case, as Elton Brand replaced Bryan Colangelo in Philadelphia, joining a franchise that had a well-established infrastructure and coach Brett Brown in place.
But if Buss has already moved on from Walton, a clean break is better for everyone involved. And if Buss chooses to hire a big-name front-office executive, perhaps David Griffin—who helped build a championship team around James in Cleveland—or even Jerry West (a consultant with the Los Angeles Clippers) would either want Pelinka as a general manager or Walton as head coach.
The Lakers will probably take a wait-and-see approach, as indicated by a statement from the team: "As we begin the process of moving forward, we will work in a measured and methodical fashion to make the right moves for the future of our organization."
Johnson's hasty departure represents a seismic shift for the organization. He did successfully help lure James to the Lakers, but his resume was mostly built on dumping quality players (like Lou Williams, Russell and Randle) in the name of cap room. Perhaps his plan still works out this summer if the team lures a second star.
Given the Lakers once again seem dysfunctional, that may be a long shot, but Buss has the opportunity to set the team on a better course with several wise decisions. Whether that includes Pelinka, Walton or big-name replacements is uncertain, but either way, Buss needs to bring in executives who won't get caught tampering and who understand the unglamorous grind of day-to-day player evaluation and salary-cap management.
To use a baseball analogy, Johnson seemed to be a "home run or strikeout" executive, but NBA teams are built on walks, singles, grind-it-out doubles, a few steals from time to time, and on occasion a triple or a homer.
Maybe that's Pelinka, but if not, Buss should look to where the franchise is already successful and give the next generation of the Buss/West family a chance to show what they can do.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter, @EricPincus.
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