NBA Rumors: Lakers Looking For Magic Johnson’s Replacement, Aiming Higher Than David Griffin

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

It has been more than a week since Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson resigned after two seasons.

With general manager Rob Pelinka currently conducting the coaching search, the ideal situation was to hire Johnson’s replacement first.

As a result, there have been questions about Pelinka’s role moving forward amid conflicting reports regarding his reputation around the league.

However, it appears the Lakers are actually looking for Johnson’s replacement, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic:

Before David Griffin became the New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, he was viewed as a potential candidate, but the Lakers are aiming higher than him, via ESPN Los Angeles:

Since Johnson’s resignation, the Lakers have stayed quiet. While there are conflicting reports, the hope is they are looking for a new president of basketball operations and preferably an outsider instead of friends.

Heading into Year 2 with LeBron James, the Lakers cannot afford to waste the remainder of his four-year, $154 million deal. Depending on who the Lakers ultimately hire, they can significantly improve the roster with an unexpected lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and $38 million in cap space for free agency.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.