The Los Angeles Lakers in a state of turmoil and Miami Heat president Pat Riley wants no part of it. After the exit of Magic Johnson, the president of basketball operations position remains open although it looks like general manager Rob Pelinka is filling in the slot.
Had the Lakers actually searched for someone to fill in the void, Riley was seen as a logical fit. However, the many-time NBA champion coach reiterated that he has no interest in the position and that he was never actually approached about an executive position, Heat Nation said.
One reason why Riley would have been a logical fit is the fact that he played for the Lakers and led the team to four NBA titles. As one can see, Riley has Lakers DNA running inside of him but has no reason to leave South Beach and make a homecoming of sorts. He is happy serving as team president for the Heat since 2008 and there is no inkling that he would be entertaining offers from any other NBA team.
As things stand now, the Lakers are in a big mess. Johnson spoke for the first time since vacating his post with the Los Angeles Lakers and clearly took a swipe at Pelinka. He referred to the current Lakers general manager as a backstabber and someone who would often negative things – including questions surrounding the limited appearances and roles he held due to outside responsibilities, ESPN reported.
During the official introduction of Frank Vogel as the Lakers new head coach, it hardly came as a surprise that Pelinka was asked by media on his take on Johnson’s remarks. While he did explain his side and hoped he could talk to Johnson about those issues, one could easily depict that the Lakers GM was not exactly addressing the question on point and playing it safe.
Even more interesting was how he explained the team president of basketball operations position. He stressed that it was a position created specifically for Johnson and eventually said that he would be directly communicating with team owner Jeanie Buss from here on. Easily, this somehow aligns with Johnson’s belief that Pelinka clearly wanted power and control over the Lakers organization.
It is a messy situation right now for the Lakers with Pelinka technically exposed by Johnson. Vogel will have to work under those circumstances and the road ahead is not looking any brighter for the purple and gold.
