Magic Johnson Needs to Pipe Down, Be Patient and Let Mike D’Antoni Do His Job

There have been no shortage of heated, water cooler-esque debates since the Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson, which is to be expected. It was a shocking move, after all. 

But there comes a time when you have to come to terms with the hysteria and let the situation unfold. That time is now, and Magic Johnson would be wise to take notice. 

But he hasn't.

Speaking on ESPN prior to the Memphis Grizzlies-Oklahoma City Thunder game, Johnson (via Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com) revealed his disappointment in the Lakers decision to hire D'Antoni.

Magic Johnson: "I love the Lakers but I feel they have made two critical mistakes in hiring Mike Brown and hiring Mike D'Antoni."

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 15, 2012 I'm all for dissecting how the Lakers may or may not succeed within D'Antoni's offensive blueprint, what role each member of the rotation will play and which players are a good or bad fit in his system. However, I'm completely against making brash judgments on the ultimate outcome when D'Antoni has yet to grace the sidelines for Los Angeles. 



Johnson himself—if he truly does still "love" the Lakers–should be too. But again, he's not.

He speaks like he knew Los Angeles was going to implode under Mike Brown. Unless he predicted the Lakers would lose four of their first five with a roster like this one, though, I don't want to hear it.

No one predicted they would start this badly, just like no one predicted D'Antoni would be hired instead of—not in lieu of—the Zen Master. So Johnson can sit there until he's blue in the face talking about who would have been a better fit, why this was a bad move and how D'Antoni isn't "the right coach" for the Lakers all he wants.

But it means nothing. Zilch. Zero.

Until we see how Los Angeles performs—over the cours...