Written by Sabine Demosthenes
MONTREAL – Early Tuesday morning, while the majority of us were sleeping and dreaming of a better world for our children, I was reading the news of Magic Johnson. The flamboyant NBA Hall of Famer of the LA Lakers and the current, or should I say former, President of the LA Lakers basketball operations quit his job a few days ago.
It was 5am and I couldn’t scream a big “WTF!” because I didn’t want to scare my little Bily Boy and his sleeping beauty of a daddy.
We all know that this season is not one of the greatest for the Lakers. With King James being King James and the lack of leadership surrounding the team, we could say the writing was on the wall.
Some of us still believe in miracles. Okay, I do believe that for next season, things could get back on track with the Lakers, but I am fully aware that big changes need to be made.
I didn’t expect one of those big changes to come last night while I was watching my new favorite cartoon, My Cartoon President by Stephen Colbert.
Johnson’s as said that he is a free spirit (oh, we know it!) that can’t be caged. Does that mean that he doesn’t want to be told what to do? Does it mean that the special relationship with the Buss (the family that owned the Lakers), or specifically, his relationship with Jeanie Buss is heading for a very unexpected breakup, like Brangelina?
Family can be one complicated thing!
We can only speculate, but it’s pretty obvious that would be one messy breakup. Magic Johnson quitting is more surprising since he made a promise to LeBron James inc. He promised that if he didn’t gather the perfect servants, hm I mean teammates, for King LeBron in two years, he would quit.
He quit after just one year, breaking his promise.
I never thought Magic was a quitter. He gave his all for the love of the game throughout his career. He never gave up the fight in his battle against HIV. It must have been unbearable to stay the President of basketball operations of this historic franchise.
So, I won’t be too hard on Magic. I love Magic, but I was a little disappointed about the fact that he didn’t keep his promise.
That leads me to another question, what will happen next for the Lakers?
They can’t blame Magic for their demise anymore. Now, the real test will be on Jeanie Buss’ shoulders.
My question to her is: do you want to build the best team? Even if it would mean giving more freedom to your executive and sending a message of togetherness and sharing a common goal. That goal is to do what is best for the Lakers, as a team. Or, do you want to please one specific player that brings a lot of attention (talking about LeBron James), while forgetting everything else?
Is Jeanie Buss the right leader for this franchise?
I truly hope she can be, not because she is a woman and we are living in an era of being proud women in a man’s world, but I truly hope she will do a 180 and see the bigger picture. She needs to think differently and surround herself with the best people that are qualified for the job. That doesn’t necessarily mean giving this job to members of your family or anything. Be less emotional and more rational. That’s my advice for Jeanie.
Less emotional, more rational.
