When Jeanie Buss fired her brother Jim Buss as Los Angeles Lakers team president and replaced him with Erwin "Magic" Johnson this week, it sent shockwaves through the NBA. However, the team owner knew there needed to be changes after the Lakers missed the postseason three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history and posted the team's worst ever record last year.
magic johnson has immediately made his presence known. He attended the Lakers loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night and sat beside Joey and Jesse Buss, the children of Jerry Buss, the man who drafted him into the NBA.
A new direction for the Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful franchises in all of basketball. They have won 16 NBA championships, 31 conference titles, and 23 division titles. The team has 23 players, five coaches and two contributors who are in the NBA Hall of Fame, including Magic Johnson.
With Magic Johnson in the front office, he has made it his goal to bring the Lakers back to the dynasty he grew accustomed to. While he has little in the way of experience in running an NBA team, he has the desire to win and said he plans on repairing a team that is young and has some talent.
Lakers desire to impress Magic Johnson
With the NBA Hall of Fame star sitting in the stands watching his team play, players said they felt his presence.
Point guard D'Angelo Russell said after the loss to the Thunder that the team feels that they are starting over and need to impress their new president.
That is a good thing. The team is young and they grew complacent over the last three years. It almost seemed they had no desire left to fight. Bringing in a former champion like Magic is a way to get this team fired up and turn things around.
Magic Johnson making a statement with the Lakers
While Johnson was in Oklahoma City to watch the Lakers play, it was a rare and special appearance. He made it clear he won't travel to many road games and this was just a statement to the players. However, he is remaining hand's on with the young team.
Head coach Like Walton said that Johnson has been at team practices and has worked with players with one-on-one sessions.
He said his door is always open to anyone who needs to talk and wants the team to understand they will lose more this season but it is all about building for the future. As far as Magic Johnson is concerned, the Los Angeles Lakers future starts work now.