Magic Johnson's Comments on Lakers Presidency Prove How Underprepared He Was

Magic Johnson went on ESPN's First Take on Monday to give his perspective on his run as Lakers president and his subsequent exit from the position. While the Hall of Famer revealed root problems of the LA front office, he also showed that he just wasn't ready for the job.

In his justification for leaving, his reasons once again centered around the job simply being no fun-- for instance, he wasn't able to take his family to the movies anymore on Sunday evenings.

Seriously.

While some of Magic's gripes were reasonable -- he and GM Rob Pelinka clearly could not effectively co-exist -- he also just wasn't ready for the demands of the job.

Johnson revealed that before he took the position, he told owner Jeanie Buss that he wasn't going to give up his other businesses. He was going into a job that required full-time commitment, yet had other responsibilities on his mind.

Furthermore, if Magic's reason for leaving really is as simple as "it's not any fun," he was clearly not qualified and entirely it for the wrong reasons. Presidents of basketball ops have to go through highs and lows to get their team on the right track, and the work is never truly finished. They can't just jump ship when the team is doing poorly and they want to go see "A Dog's Journey" instead.

The pairing of Magic and the Lakers was a lose-lose situation from the start. The man himself wasn't prepared for the job, and he wasn't willing to pour all of himself into it in order to learn.

While Magic's exit was not well-executed, he's made his decision. It's on Buss and Pelinka to pick up the pieces-- and it's not so clear they'll be able to do so in any way that benefits the franchise for the long haul.