"Clearly the executive of the year": Despite calling him out on ESPN 4 years ago, Magic Johnson raves about Rob Pelinka
NBA great Magic Johnson recently praised Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka for doing a great job this offseason shoring up the team’s roster. Interestingly, it came four years after he called out the executive for “backstabbing” him.
The five-time NBA champion shared his thoughts on Pelinka in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, citing how the Lakers GM has built a solid squad around LeBron James and Anthony Davis that could contend for an NBA title in the upcoming season.
Magic Johnson said:
“From that trade deadline to this offseason, we should all give him (Pelinka) a standing ovation, because these Lakers are dangerous. This is a championship team and they shouldn’t run away from that…”
He added:
“This is going to be one of the most exciting seasons, because this is an exciting team. See, everybody we got can run. They can jump. This is going to be crazy. People are going to be really excited to watch this team play. I’m just giddy. I can’t wait. So, Rob, thank you, thank you, and he deserves to be (NBA) Executive of the Year. They overlooked him all those years, but they can’t overlook him with this one. He is clearly the executive of the year.”
Magic Johnson’s words were totally different from four years ago in an interview on ESPN, where he called out Pelinka for backstabbing him.
The Laker great said that he resigned as Lakers president then because he could no longer stand the people in the organization constantly talking behind his back, purportedly led by Pelinka.
He was being criticized for what they believed was his not fulfilling his duties well enough.
The two, however, have patched things up since and are constantly in communication, especially regarding the Lakers, who Magic Johnson led to five NBA titles in the 1980s.
Pelinka this offseason re-signed key players Austin Reaves (four years, $56 million), Rui Hachimura (three years, $51 million) and D’Angelo Russell (two years, $37 million).
He also signed free agents Gabe Vincent (three years, $33 million), Christian Wood (two years, $5.74 million), Jaxson Hayes (two years, $4.6 million), Taurean Prince (one year, $4.5 million) and Cam Reddish (two years, $4.6 million).
The Lakers also signed extensions for Davis (three years, $186 million) and Jarred Vanderbilt (four years, $48 million).
The team still has superstar James, who is entering his 21st season in the NBA.
Magic Johnson became a successful entrepreneur after his NBA career
Apart from his continued ties with the Lakers in various capacities following his illustrious playing career, Magic Johnson has also established himself as a noted entrepreneur.
He established the conglomerate company Magic Johnson Enterprises, which now has a reported net worth of $620 million.
Johnson also holds stakes in teams in the NFL (Washington Commanders), MLS (Los Angeles FC), WNBA (LA Sparks), and MLB (LA Dodgers).
He used to be a part-owner of the Lakers but decided to sell his stake in 2010.