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  • Speaking of Frank Vogel or David Merriman, covers the Lakers for ESPN.

  • He's there at the Lakers practice facility was all set to cover the Frank Vogel press conference, and Magic Johnson happened, which you just heard magics, opinion and dates and here around this team all of the time, I want your opinion of what you heard from magic this morning.

  • I mean, there was a mixed bag.

  • Certainly mad.

  • It was nice to finally hear him break his silence and delve into some of the issues that he alluded to at that impromptu press conference before the Lakers season finale back in April.

  • But there are some more questions to be asked if indeed, what Magic says is true.

  • That Tim Harris, who's the executive on the business side with the Lakers, was involved in a meeting with Magic, and his opinion saved Luke Walton from being fired, at least temporarily.

  • As we move forward and we keep covering this team, who are the people making the decisions?

  • Is a Gini bus?

  • Or is the genie with the consultation of Linda Rambis and Kurt Rambis and Tim Harris and Rob Pelinka?

  • And if all those other voices continue to have weight in this building behind me.

  • Are they working in concert with one another, or do they have their own individual agendas?

  • And there's a power struggle there, just like there was a power struggle between Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka when Magic was still with organization.

  • It makes for a lot of intrigue, and you add in, obviously, the pressure of LeBron James's career winding down and perhaps the you know his prime is getting smaller and smaller.

  • Are you going to be able to maximize what he has left in him as a marquee basketball player?

  • If you have all that unrest going on in your front office, and I think that's a major question that needs to be answered, I mean, for the time of the season at the Anthony Davis trade, no trade debacle yet LeBron James put him on the shelf the end of the season.

  • They don't make the plans that the coaching mess and then you have today magic basically coming out and calling Poulenc a backstabber.

  • Put all this in one nice, tidy little box with today's interview.

  • How does this make the organization look?

  • The Lakers have not looked good, Really.

  • For the last six years, there has been some temporary moments where the cloud seemed to part.

  • You know, when you end up drafting a guy like Lonzo Ball, whose local product and when LeBron James agrees to come to you.

  • But all that goodwill has dissipated rather quickly.

  • I mean, we're talking about back on Christmas Day forced four seed in the West and they beat the defending champion Warriors in Oracle Arena.

  • Things were looking up.

  • Five months later, it's all gone.

  • And today we're gonna get Frank Vogel and Rob Pelinka up on the dais together, answering questions about the future of this franchise.

  • But I think more importantly, when it comes to Pelinka the past and some explanation, I think is warranted to Laker fans out there who continue to support this team when the team hasn't really given them a ton to go on.

  • In terms of feeling confident about their future, you bring up a good point.

  • That's a good juxtaposition.

  • Plink and not have an answer for the Magic Johnson interview.

  • And then you've got Frank Vogel.

  • New head coach has to answer to a lot of people, including LeBron James but then his assistant coach and Jason Kidd, who most people look at say, Well, this could be the coach in waiting.

  • What is kids role going to be with this organization?

  • Well, funny you mentioned that met the Lakers haven't announced Jason Kidd as an assistant coach yet, So we're all we know.

  • We can go up and ask questions about Jason today, and they'll say, Well, you know that contract.

  • We can't speak on that because the contract isn't done.

  • And so that all only goes to show you that if they had all their ducks in a row, they wouldn't allow that to be a situation coming into today.

  • But because that is the case, we'll see if they're even forthcoming about Jason Kidd's role for this team as an associate head coach, moving forward.

  • I don't wanna make no mistake about it.

  • LeBron James is the lead recruited from this team when it comes to free agency.

  • But how much will Vogel and this coaching staff matter to the Lakers pursuit of stars in the off season?

  • I think coaches matter in this league, absolutely.

  • But ultimately players take into account so many other factors you know it is a business.

  • And a place like Southern California, with all the ties to things outside of basketball, is a way you can grow your brand and become a better business in yourself as a time as a basketball player.

  • And so ah, coach can enhance that.

  • It can detract from that.

  • But ultimately, any player is gonna come toe to be a Laker this summer with that Max free agency slot that the Lakers have the offer, they're gonna come probably well on a higher degree.

  • Based on Southern California, LeBron James is your teammate and the chance to grow yourself as an entity?

  • UH, not just a basketball player.

  • Never has the moniker Showtime or Lake Show been more appropriate than what we've seen over the Lakers in the last few months without, they've handled all this.

  • Dave McMenamin live with this.

  • If the Lakers practice facilities, they get set to introduce new head coach Frank Vogel day.

Speaking of Frank Vogel or David Merriman, covers the Lakers for ESPN.

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