Magic Johnson's stunning announcement Tuesday night that he is stepping down barely two years after taking over the Los Angeles Lakers' front office leaves the team in need of new leadership at a crucial point in the organization's future.
After missing the playoffs in LeBron James' first season in L.A., the Lakers must decide how aggressively to continue pursuing a trade for Anthony Davis as well as what to do if they're unable to get him.
What kind of leader is best equipped to help the Lakers navigate these tricky waters and build a contending team around LeBron? Let's take a look at the requirements for filling Magic's job as president of basketball operations.
Someone willing to do the dirty work
As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted on Twitter after Johnson's impromptu news conference, the legendary Hall of Fame player never fully committed himself to the business of running the team's basketball operations. Earlier Tuesday, The Athletic reported that Johnson was vacationing in Hawaii during the 2017-18 season when the organization was criticized for not supporting head coach Luke Walton in the wake of criticism from LaVar Ball, the father of Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball.
While the regime of Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka deserves credit for paying more attention to the details of roster management than its predecessors, having accumulated draft picks late in the first round and in the second round to build depth, key decisions still fell through the cracks.
The Lakers waived second-year center Thomas Bryant last summer to maximize cap space only to see him develop into a part-time starter with the Washington Wizards while making a paltry $1.4 million. And after trading center Ivica Zubac and forward Michael Beasley to the LA Clippers in a move done partially to clear a roster spot, the Lakers never added a free agent capable of helping their ill-fated playoff push. (They ultimately used the roster spot on G League call-up Jemerrio Jones, who has shown promise as a rebounder and defender down the stretch.)
Particularly if the Lakers are able to add a second max player to go with LeBron -- whether that's by trading several players for Davis or signing one of this summer's top free agents -- filling out the roster by getting production on the cheap from young players and undervalued ones will be crucial. That requires a president of basketball operations willing to grind at the hard work of scouting, managing the salary cap and utilizing statistical analysis to find bargains.
Someone capable of setting a positive culture
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of Johnson's tenure was that one of the NBA's greatest winners as a player was unable to bring a similar culture of teamwork and accountability to the front office. Instead, Johnson's efforts to lead appeared to backfire spectacularly.
That started with Johnson's relationship with Walton, whom he inherited as coach and didn't seem to fully support. As ESPN's Dave McMenamin broke down in his treatise on how this Lakers season went wrong, Johnson's initial message of patience this season quickly flipped into privately blaming Walton for a slow start rather than acknowledging the limitations of a roster the rest of the world saw as ill-fitting. Though Johnson never fired Walton -- a move Wojnarowski reported the coaching staff expected after Tuesday's game -- the lack of support left them twisting in the wind all season.
Johnson's leadership proved wanting again when Davis trade negotiations played out in public, making the young players the Lakers reportedly offered in return question their place in the franchise's future. Instead of reassuring them, after a pregame meeting in Philadelphia following the deadline, Johnson told reporters to "Quit making this about thinking these guys are babies because that's what you're treating them like. They're professionals. All of them. And this is how this league works. They know it, I know it -- that's how it goes."
As long as the Lakers fall short of high expectations, trade talk involving the team's young players will continue. But a stronger, more supportive message from the front office gives the Lakers a better chance of building the cohesion necessary for players to sacrifice what's in their best interests for the good of the team.
Someone who appeals to stars
Ultimately, Johnson's legendary status in the NBA and magnetic personality did help the Lakers sign LeBron -- the first star player they've had since Kobe Bryant's retirement (and realistically since Bryant's Achilles rupture late in the 2012-13 season, after which he was never the same player). And the Lakers probably will miss Magic as they pursue another star in free agency or try to convince one they acquire via trade to re-sign for the long term.
Still, there's a reason this attribute falls last on my list. If the Lakers are competitive, the opportunity to play for one of the league's most successful and famous franchises in L.A. will recruit all by itself. So the ability to build a roster around a second star, as well as a winning culture, is more important than the role of a GM in attracting that player.
Who fits the bill?
As an additional criterion, I'd add experience as an NBA decision-maker. Instead of hiring a veteran hand to assist him, Johnson recruited Pelinka away from the agent side of the business, leaving the new front office low on front-office experience. Unless the Lakers decide to replace Pelinka as well, that makes a veteran GM or president the right choice to me.
While finding all those qualities in a single GM will be difficult, they seem to point to former Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin as an obvious choice. Griffin has experience building a roster around LeBron's skills and managing the media scrutiny that comes with James' presence. He maintained strong relationships with his stars in Cleveland. (Remember, Kyrie Irving's trade request came only after Griffin and the Cavaliers were unable to agree on a new contract, meaning he never had the chance to mend those fences.) And he has long since earned his bona fides as a scout after moving up in the Phoenix Suns' front office early in his career based in part on an understanding of the cap and statistics.
If Griffin is not interested, the Lakers would be wise to look at the possibility of poaching a current GM intrigued by the potential of building a team around LeBron. Though that might require the Lakers giving up a draft pick as compensation, that price is worth it to get a decision-maker with a proven track record of success. The Lakers must maximize their limited remaining window with James as one of the league's best players. That's why it's crucial they get the decision of who replaces Johnson right.