Heat President Pat Riley Spoke With Magic Johnson, But Will Not Join Lakers

Ron Gutterman
2 Min Read
American Express Teamed Up with Magic Johnson and Pat Riley Photos by Andrew Bernstein

The Los Angeles Lakers, before proceeding any further with their offseason, must find a replacement for Magic Johnson at the president of basketball operations position.

Pat Riley, who is currently the Miami Heat president, has been rumored as a potential candidate.

Riley’s Heat missed the 2019 NBA playoffs in what was Dwyane Wade’s final season, leading some to believe he may want out. However, he quickly put that speculation to bed, saying that he plans on staying with the Heat for the rest of his career.

This speculation was short-lived even though Riley is fully aware of the history and friendships he has within the Lakers organization, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:

The Lakers will now have to turn to other options to fill the role and a name that has come up most frequently is Golden State Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers.

It’s clear, however, that Riley will not be a part of the search. And it’s probably for the best as Riley’s ties with the Lakers would mean they had no plans of departing from the current scheme of only hiring family and friends.

Riley has been synonymous with the Heat for quite some time, and there would be no reason for him to leave now. It’s good that he got in front of this speculation and shut it down before it got too serious while separating himself from this struggling organization.

Ron Gutterman is a Washington State University alum from Anaheim, California, and is currently a Staff Writer for LakersNation.com, RamsNewsWire.com, and RaidersNewsWire.com. He is also the lead editor for AngelsNation.com. With Lakers Nation, Rams News Wire, Raiders News Wire, and Angels Nation, Ron assists in news, game coverage, analysis, and hot takes via his Twitter account, @rongutterman24. Without a doubt, Ron's favorite Laker, and favorite athlete of all time, is Kobe Bryant. Ron began watching basketball when he was 6 years old, in 2005, when Bryant was dragging the likes of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf to playoff spots. Ron's all time favorite Lakers moment was Bryant's final game when he dropped 60 points. While the Lakers beating the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, as Metta World Peace hit the game clinching three, will always be a top option, Bryant's final night takes the cake. Contact: ron@mediumlargela.com