Jeanie Buss: “I Was Caught Off Guard When Magic Left”

The majority of you probably assumed that the “Magic-Lakers” saga is over. Well, we have some news for you, it isn’t.

Last night’s NBA awards ceremony in LA, saw Jeanie Buss addressing the media on that question for the first time since one of the purple and gold legends decided to leave the franchise. In the interview before the ceremony, Buss spoke about several things, most of them considering Magic’s departure.

“It was a surprise when Magic turned in his resignation, I didn’t see that coming,” Buss explained how she felt after hearing the shocking news.

“I think that when Magic decided that he didn’t want to be with the organization any longer in an official capacity, that took me off guard,” Lakers controlling owner said last night.

Magic Johnson decided to leave LAL before the end of the season, announcing that just minutes away from the match between the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers. At first, he didn’t want to speak about the reasons, but was very emotional and happy according to his own words.

Shortly after that, Johnson appeared in ESPN’s First Take where he revealed all the dirty laundry of the Lakers’ organization which was kept hidden for quite some time.

Among other things, he directly accused Rob Pelinka, LAL GM, for backstabbing during his stint in the organization, and for being dishonest towards him.

According to Magic, Pelinka was trying to do everything on his own, establishing himself as the factor with the highest influence in the franchise. In order to achieve that, he had to eliminate Johnson from the equation. As time went by, Buss didn’t consider Magic’s proposals and ideas the way the legendary player wanted, accepting other suggestions over his.

Because of that, the five-time champion with the Lakers decided to leave.

Buss said yesterday that she has full confidence in Pelinka and that the Lakers are on the right track, ruling out all the stories and speculations about his status in the franchise.

“I’ve always had confidence in Rob,” Buss said. I’m very happy, I think we are on the right path, but there’s still more work to do.”

The Lakers finally got Anthony Davis after chasing the former Pelicans player for a long time. Their downfall started partially because of the unsuccessful trade offer for him, which took place at the beginning of the year.

After Pelicans declined the offer for Eyebrow, some of the Lakers’ players were not happy after hearing that they were a part of that deal. It severely damaged the chemistry in the locker room, and when we add that LeBron got injured, the Lakers didn’t stand a chance of reaching the playoffs.

Buss thinks that everything is fine now and that the franchise will quickly get back on top. She indicated more changes, everything to make the Lakers great again.

“There’s a lot of changes, Lakers fans, be patient,” Buss later added. “We’re going to get there. We will not finish until we are all proud.”

The focus of the management is to bring one more big name and create a superteam, similar to the one Golden State has. Along with James and AD, the perfect fit would be a point guard, and for now, there are two realistic possibilities.

Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving are the top priorities of the Lakers’ franchise, but it will be tough to land either of these two. Kemba wants his own team, and the Hornets are in a position to offer him more money.

Meanwhile, Kyrie is very close to signing for the Nets, which leaves the purple in gold in a difficult position.