The last thing the franchise or D'Antoni need is condescending commentary from a Laker legend, but that is what Magic Johnson has dished out to the coach and the front office since news broke of the new hire in LA.
Expectations are sky-high for this 2012-13 Lakers team, with superstars Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol all in the fold. That weight doesn't need to be added to by Johnson, who publicly reprimanded executive VP Jim Buss' hiring of D'Antoni as the team looks to turn around from its 3-5 start.
Johnson explained that recently fired coach Mike Brown wasn't the proper man for the job in the first place, and that D'Antoni is another swing and a miss by Buss and Co.
Feel bad for Coach Mike Brown, who's a great guy, but don't think he was the right guy for the job in the first place.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 9, 2012
That wasn't all for the Hall of Famer turned ESPN basketball analyst, who knows the amplification of his massive platform in the public eye. After the Lakers courted Phil Jackson to return to the bench, they suddenly changed course to hire D'Antoni, who used to coach Nash in Phoenix and also had an uneven stint with the New York Knicks.
Here was Johnson's reaction:
My mother always taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 14, 2012
The implication there is clear: Johnson doesn't exactly give the hiring of D'Antoni a ringing endorsement. But while he could have simply not said anything—instead of being so obviously against the front office's decision on Twitter—he did say something by saying nothing. If that make sense.
