NBA News Roundup, Tuesday, May 21st: Kevin Durant heading towards Golden State exit, Kyrie Irving 'open to signing with the Lakers', and more
With the NBA Finals now upon us, the playoffs are currently the talk of the basketball world, although there is no shortage of other stories emerging from around the league.
The 2019 draft is just weeks away, and teams will be hoping to strike gold by drafting either Zion Williamson or Ja Morant. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis continues to be linked with a blockbuster trade, and a host of stars including Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, and Kemba Walker are about to hit free agency.
So, with plenty happening around the NBA, here are the biggest news stories and rumors you need to know for May 21st.
Magic Johnson speaks out on his exit from the Lakers
During an appearance on yesterday's edition of ESPN's First Take, Magic Johnson spoke for the first time about his exit from the Los Angeles Lakers. During the interview, Johnson expressed why Rob Polinka played a major factor in his decision to leave the team :
If you're going to talk betrayal, it's only with Rob. But, again, I had to look inside myself. I had been doing that for months. Because I didn't like that Tim Harris was too involved in basketball. He's supposed to run the Laker business, but he was trying to come over to our side. Jeanie's gotta stop that. You gotta stop people from having those voices.
Things got going in the right direction, and then I start hearing, you know, 'Magic, you're not working hard enough. Magic's not in the office.' So people around the Laker office was telling me Rob was saying things—Rob Pelinka—and I didn't like those things being said behind my back, that I wasn't in office enough and so on and on. So I start getting calls from my friends outside of basketball saying those things now were said to them outside of basketball.
Pelinka is the current general manager of the Lakers, and he is contracted for a further three years.