On April 9, Magic Johnson abruptly stepped down as the team's President of Basketball Operations, proving at his monolithic stature as an NBA player didn't go over quite as well at the management level. Mind you, Magic has found success as a "shadow investor" outside of basketball. So, it's not all bad after all. And by the looks of it, he seems to agree with that assessment.
TMZ Sports caught up with Magic Johnson this afternoon in the midst of a Sunday stroll with his sweetheart. Before coming to grips, the field reporter wisely a good number of sycophantic compliments. The ploy worked and Magic let his guard down long enough and slackened his pace.
The reporter's first question to Magic was to gauge if the former Lakers' Prezzy had any regrets over his tenure, especially the past 10 or so months. To his surprise, Magic was quite nonchalant in his overall assessment of the situation. He said, "No, the same [feelings as always]... everybody knows I love the Lakers, so I'ma always going to help them - like right now!"
The reporter obliged his rambling a while longer before the conversation reached a crucial point where Magic alluded to ongoing "daily" conversation with the Laker's. He then unabashedly revealed that he and the Lakers' are still very much "engaged" in this longtime love affair, dating back to the year 1979.
It sounds to me like Magic Johnson would like to occupy a consultant role within the organization, but with greater responsibility than someone like Kobe Bryant whose ties to the Lakers' were left undefined by choice. So, as it stands, Magic's is more hands-on than Kobe's but nothing like the position he just vacated. In short, the Lakers don't want him to depart, and neither does he, how sweet!
