On the final day of the NBA’s regular season, Lakers fans had fully shifted their thoughts to the critical upcoming summer and what Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka would do to revamp a roster that didn’t make the playoffs in LeBron James’ first season in L.A.
Then, a little over an hour before tipoff, Magic stunned the basketball world when he called an impromptu press conference in the Staples Center tunnel and announced he was stepping down as president of the team. Additionally, Johnson told the media and the public before he told anyone in the Lakers organization. The ensuing hour-plus Johnson spent with the media was as surreal as anything we’ve seen in the NBA, as he said he wasn’t happy, wanted to be able to tweet again, and joked he was in meetings about the future knowing “I’m not gonna be here.”
Magic answered plenty of questions that day, but has not spoken publicly since to the media, only sending out tweets about the goings on of the NBA Playoffs as only Magic can. That will change on Monday when he joins ESPN’s First Take to talk with Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman, and Molly Qerim for his first interview since leaving the Lakers.
A lot has happened since in L.A., from a coaching change to LeBron offering his reaction on The Shop. Stephen A., as you can guess, was the driving force behind landing the interview, so we talked with him on Thursday about how he and ESPN were finally able to get the Hall of Fame inductee to agree to come on the air, what he remembers from that wild day in L.A., canceling a vacation so he could talk about it, and what he hopes to get out of Magic on Monday morning.
You’ve got Magic coming on First Take Monday morning. How did that come about and how long have you been working on trying to get him on since he left?
Magic Johnson and I have known each other for a number of years, number one. Two, the second he resigned, I had reached out to him and he didn’t want to talk at that particular moment and time publicly, but he said when he did want to talk, he’d let me know. Last and not least, when I saw LeBron James say what he said on The Shop about Magic’s lack of communication, I instantly picked up the phone and told Magic, “You need to come on the air with me,” and he agreed.
You were in L.A. but not in the arena when he made the announcement. I remember the video you posted. What was that day like for you and where does it rank in terms of craziest things happening that genuinely surprised everyone in the industry?
Well, I’ve had crazier situations and circumstances, I mean, my God I covered Allen Iverson for 10 years, my man. So, I’ve experienced crazier things. Also, breaking the LeBron story going to South Beach, that was a crazy process. That was the one time in my career I wished I hadn’t broken the story because it qualifies as some of the most difficult times in my career in terms of that week and a half, two week period before LeBron James finally announced that he was going to South Beach — which I was right about. But the interviews that I had to do, I did over 100 interviews at that moment and time. Everybody and their grandmother questioning me and it got on my damn nerves. I never cared to break a story again. I always had that attitude, like this is ridiculous.
Having said all of that, that day was wild. I was shopping and I was supposed to be off that night and I was planning on leaving town, and the next thing you know the stuff jumps off with Magic and it completely forced me to alter my plans. I was en route to vacation, a rare vacation I never have. I was supposed to be leaving that night and I ended up pushing it back and coming on the air the next day. I called First Take and said I’d be on the air the next morning. I’m not going on vacation yet, because I had to deal with that story and the fallout from it. Getting on the phone with Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka, talking to the Lakers, talking to my sources, trying to find out what the hell happened. It was quite bizarre to say the least because no one saw it coming. Nobody.
What are the things you want to address with Magic on the air? What do you want to get for the audience out of Magic
My response to that is, all I can tell the audience and everyone else out there is, think about who you’re talking to. Because, what do you think I’m going to ask? I’m going to ask everything and everythang. I can’t wait. There’s no way on earth that he’s going to come on First Take and I’m not going to ask him the questions that need to be asked.
You’re leaving. Not talking to LeBron before you left. Not talking to Jeanie Buss before you left. Why you left. His feelings about personnel within the Lakers organization. His feelings about LeBron. Everything. Because it’s not, to me … yeah he wants to have fun, he wants to have time. I think it was incredibly sincere when he said he wasn’t having a good time, but I’m going to dig into all of that. Nothing is going to be off limits, and in fairness to him, and a credit to him, he didn’t ask for anything to be off limits. He and I go back a very, very long ways, and he knows what coming on the air with me comes with. And he knows I’m going to ask him what needs to be asked. I have no doubt Molly and Max are going to do the same.
Finally, what have been your thoughts on what happened? Now that it’s been a month since it happened, has your opinion on what happened and your thoughts from talking to people on how he approached it changed at all with what went down and the way it went down?
Well see the thing about it is, believe it or not, I don’t have any “feelings” about this situation. I have questions. Because I’m gathering information. When it comes to a story like this, it’s not about the opinion, it’s about the information you gather when you’re in my position. You know, to me, I would feel differently if he just came on the air and said, “Well I didn’t feel like calling LeBron,” as opposed to, “Well you know what, I thought it would be best and here’s the reason why.” It depends on the answer.
“‘Well how do you feel about Rob Pelinka? How do you feel about Jeanie Buss?” How I feel depends on the answer. “Well, why did you leave the Los Angeles Lakers?” It depends on the answer. All of these things are relevant, but it’s all contingent on his answers.
I don’t know how I will feel until I hear from him myself. Now that’s hard for people to fathom because we do a debate show, we’re giving opinions, and I get that. But that’s for people I don’t have access to. For people I do have access to, that have always been candid and forthcoming and honest with me, then I reserve judgement until I hear them speak, because I know they’re giving me their perspective. And I want to hear that before. Whereas with other people who I may not know, or who are pathological liars and I know them to be that, then that’s a different ball game. Because nothing that comes out of their mouth I’m interested in hearing. It’s more what I believe if they have a history of being dishonest or not being dishonest in any way. That’s not the situation with Magic Johnson.
Magic Johnson may be a bit diplomatic at times, but he ain’t a liar. That’s not who he is, and somehow someway, whether if it’s with what he says or what he doesn’t say, you’re going to get truth from him. That is what I’m looking forward to, and I think that’s what the audience for First Take should look forward to come Monday.
