Magic Johnson Steps Down as Lakers President of Basketball Operations

With the regular season coming to an end, the Los Angeles Lakers front office will be undergoing some changes.
Prior to Tuesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Magic Johnson spoke to the media and announced that he would step down from his position as president of basketball operations for the Lakers.

Johnson made the announcement at an impromptu news conference held before the Lakers' season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers in Los Angeles.
"I want to go back to having fun," he said.
Johnson, said he had not told Jeanie Buss, the team's controlling owner and president, or general manager Rob Pelinka of his decision.
"I knew I couldn't be face-to-face and tell her," he said of Buss, saying he loves her like a sister. "I couldn't stand to tell her."
 "And I think I had more fun when I was able to the be big brother and ambassador."
"(Jeanie) doesn't know I'm standing here," he said of Buss, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
"Somebody's going to have to tell my boss because I knew I couldn't be face-to-face and tell her," he said, per Oram. "... I couldn't stand to tell her."
Johnson and Pelinka visited with Lakers star LeBron James and his agent, Rich Paul, on Saturday, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson offered no indication that he was on the brink of leaving the team, but Woj also mentioned that Johnson "never fully committed" to being the president of basketball operations and had limited office hours running the team. Wojnarowski also added that Johnson was often away from the team and didn't seem to want to put the time commitment in to running a front office.

Johnson took the Lakers job in February 2017, after the team fired Mitch Kupchak as general manager and removed Jim Buss as executive vice president of basketball operations.
Johnson said his position with the Lakers didn't allow him to be a statesman of the game of basketball, and he wants to go back to his life away from the job.

Is Paul Pierce better then Dwyane Wade?

When players retire, they have many opinions that only players can have. Experience is a valuable factor people see these ex-players have and people want to see what they say. Now there are times when they say things that we question. The question is what do we think about what he said about D Wade.

Paul Pierce said that he was better then wade.lets look at the stats to see if this has any bases. The first major different between them is the number of championships each of them have. Wade has three vs the one Peirce has with three more years in the league. If this was the stat that he was better in then he would have argument but there is more. In all the years of D Wade career he has been a 13 time all star in his entire career only has 10 selections in his career. the argument of this achievement could be the fans always liked Wade better and there is bias here. The most impotent one here is the all teams and all defenses team selections each one had. these selections are mainly based on there performance. Wade is an 2 time all NBA first team with 6 more selection in second and third teams, while Paul has never been in all NBA first team. He was only selected 4 time in the second and third team. For the all NBA defenses teams Paul was never selected. wade was selected in it 3 different times.

Paul is a great player but Wade shined brighter then Paul for many years. At the end of the day wade was a better player overall because he was able to do more with less in the same conference. Wade was considered a great without his super team while Paul was just good before his super team formed.wade numbers and reputation puts him way above Paul.

Kevin Durant Is Leaving The Warriors

According to Bleacher Report, "the buzz around the league from various executives, scouts, and media members suggests that Durant is ready to move on." With Durant ready to move on the question is where will he go next?

The Knicks have been in rumors of obtaining Durant this entire year, but in order for this to happen Kyrie Irving would have to come to. The Knicks have just secured the worst record in the league and have a realistic shot at obtaining the 1st overall pick. Mitchell Robinson has successfully made his presence known around the league, quickly becoming the best rookie shot blocker in years. Robinson has a chance of becoming a DeAndre Jordan or Rudy Gobert type of player for the Knicks. Durant would be able to join a great defensive player in Robinson, with a crafty scorer in Kyrie Irving, and also be joining potentially Zion Williamson. Realistically if Durant joins the Knicks, then they would trade the 1st overall pick to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis. Davis, Durant, and Irving could become the next great Eastern Conference team to run that conference for years to come.

LeBron James has obviously been recruiting Durant to come to the Lakers all season. They even had an infamous "lets talk under our shirts" moment during their last game against each other. LeBron and Durant would be an extremely scary duo together as the 2 best small forwards in the league would be on the same team. This team would potentially be unstoppable and be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams.

The Washington Wizards could actually have a real chance at landing Durant this offseason. The Wizards are a dark horse contender but do have a case to be made. With John Wall being out for next season the Wizards are going to get money. Since Wall will definitely miss the season, the Wizards will get 80% of Wall's contract paid to them through the health insurance they issue to every player. This money has no effect on the salary cap or anything like that, but it could convince the owner to go more into the luxury cap to bring in Durant. Bradley Beal has been averaging 27.8 points and 5.8 assists post all-star game, which shows Durant that there is still talent on this team. The best case to be made for the Wizards is that Durant is from D.C. and he could come back home to become a hometown legend.

Although I don't think Durant would leave Golden State if they win a championship, it is a fun idea to play with. This Warriors team will go down as the best team we have ever seen play in our lives. Currently they have 5 all-stars with 2 of the greatest shooters to ever play, with Curry and Thompson, and they also have one of the best scorers in the league, with Durant. This upcoming offseason will definitely be one of the craziest ones in NBA History.

Farewell Oakland Warriors move to San Francisco

On Sunday for the 332nd straight game, a stream of fans will form a sellout crowd at the NBA’s oldest arena, wedged between the 880 Freeway and a BART station and flanked by an industrial park where delivery trucks rumble in and out and belch smoke. When poet Gertrude Stein years ago uttered her famous line about her hometown  “there’s no there there perhaps she had this gray patch of pavement specifically in mind.
Oh, and yet, once inside Oracle Arena, there is life and soul. There is strong and loyal support, once again, for Oakland’s basketball team, winners of three of the last four championships. There’s a there here, although not for long. The next time the Warriors play a regular season home game, it will be at their splashy new palace in San Francisco this fall and filled with fans of a different cloth; meanwhile on that same night, Oracle will be filled with crickets and Oakland’s heart with ache.

         The Golden State Warriors have existed in sharp contradiction as they’ve built their recent hoops dynasty. While brash owner Joe Lacob has spoken about dominating the NBA for decades and Stephen Curry has mastered the audaciously deep three pointer, the franchise has worked and played in perhaps the league’s most modest surroundings.
Oakland’s Oracle Arena, renowned for its passionate crowds, is the league’s oldest building and sits off Interstate inside a barren sea of concrete parking lots. The Warriors’ practice facility, smartly decorated with title banners and historic murals, is located on the top floor of a downtown convention center. While rivals have trotted out glittering stand-alone practice facilities and state of the art arenas, the back to back champions have raced ahead of the competition on the court and made do

   
But the Chase Center’s most memorable features are aimed at one-percenters. Premium courtside suites, built under the lower-bowl seats so they aren’t visible from the court, are equipped with a butler, a well-appointed dining room area for social events and a private wine cellar. Thirty of the 32 luxury suites have been snapped up, mostly by corporate clients, at a cost of between $1 million and $2.5 million for a year’s worth of basketball and non-basketball events. “The things that Oracle doesn’t have were the things we had to have to be able to compete for a championship for the next 30 to 40 years,” Moving one of the league’s most popular and profitable teams was inevitably going to leave some feeling left behind. The Warriors have played in Oakland since 1971, cultivating a die-hard local fan base through lean years that produced just four playoff series victories from 1978 to 2012. To critics, the move across the bay stands as a symbol of gentrification and urban abandonment, and Warriors Coach Steve Kerr has admitted that leaving Oakland for San Francisco is “bittersweet.

Should there be a co- winner in the end of the year awards?

For many years sports leagues have had so many awards in and out of it. In recent memory there has been so many good players the media and the fans have had a strong argument for who should win. But the new argument is rising that there should be a co-winner for the big awards.But can this happen and keep the awards with their prestige?

The issues with the suggestion is making winners less important. If the co-winners were to seriously considered then we would have to pick how it work. The system isn't fit for the required extra system. would it even matter if we consider the winners in history. People just might view the winners if it ever happens multiple times. The leagues would need to preserve there awards protegee. If two people were to get it the only good thing could be is players getting recognition.

The true reason this would ever bring is people don't like losing. But the fact is losing is a way of life but more importantly is a reason to compete with others. People who care will in my opinion will lose respect the of the awards.

Zion On The 2019 Fiba World Cup Team

The USA Basketball is interested in bringing Williamson to the FIBA World Cup this summer, according to a New York Times report, which cites unidentified sources. This means that Zion could be playing with the pros sooner than we thought.


This kid hasn't even declared for the draft yet and it is already talks of having on the USA team. But even though he hasn't declared yet we already know that he will be entering specially when he is locked in at first overall pick in the NBA draft. From multiple reports they are saying that Zion is waiting on signing a manager to represent him to confirm talks about the USA team.


 Playing for Team USA would give him the opportunity to test his game against high-level international competition and see how he stacks up with NBA-caliber players. We would get to see Zion against actual equal and better competition. Because lets be honest he was clearly a level above the competition he saw in college. His physicality made him nearly impossible to stop in one-on-one scenarios, and his athleticism allowed him to blow past defenders in transition or isolation sets to set up his highlight-reel dunks. Every game this season was like watching a highlight tape.


Zion averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game with Duke on his way to being named the ACC Player of the Year without a doubt. This could be really big opportunity for him he has the chance to become a gold medalist before he even enters the NBA. The only player to do that so far is Anthony Davis and Zion has a great chance at being the second.

The People Who Have The Most Power In The NBA

In today's game we often see NBA players and the writers having disagreements between each other. The writers often say that NBA players have more power and say that this is the player empowerment era, which it is. The story that never gets covered is how the writers around the league have too much power.

Many NBA writers have a lot of power that many people don't realize. Until the 1979-80 NBA season the MVP was picked by the players, during the 1980-81 season that award was picked by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The All-NBA teams are also picked by this panel of "experts." These votes are huge when it comes to these players paychecks.

The MVP award is a huge bonus in checks and the players legacy. With an MVP on their resume, a player can negotiate more money in sponsorships, like Nike, Jordan, or Adidas. After a player wins the MVP award they become a lot more marketable and are seen in more advertisements. The players legacy is also at stake for these votes. These MVP awards are often very debated about, especially with the GOAT debate. Michael Jordan has 5 MVP's, which helps add to the legacy of Jordan to help him become the greatest NBA player off all time.

All-NBA teams are fun for the fans to see if their favorite players made the cut, but for the athletes these teams could mean millions of dollars. Karl-Anthony Towns is an example of someone who has a lot of money on the line this year, if he is voted onto one of the teams he'll earn $30 million dollars. Another player who has a lot on the line is Kemba Walker, if he is voted on one of the teams he'll be eligible for a Super Max contract. The Super Max is worth $221 million, that would be life changing money for Kemba Walker and it would make sure his grandkids are set.

These writers are in control of millions of these players dollars and their legacies. This is just some of the power these writers have. If a writer doesn't like a player they could destroy their life and career.

When a group of writers doesn't like a certain player they tend to sway the public opinion of them. A great example would be Carmelo Anthony. Anthony is one of the greatest scorers of this generation and is arguably the greatest olympic basketball player of all time. Carmelo Anthony averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a game. He was cut after 10 games and no team would pick him up due to the fact that they would be ridiculed by the media. Carmelo Anthony has been ostracized by the league partly because of the media dragging his name through the mud. Anthony has went from one of the best players in the league and one of the greatest offensive players of our generation to him being portrayed as one of the most overrated players ever.

These writers can drag a player through the dirt and force them out of the league. Some players have tried to clap back at these reporters, like Damian Lillard. Lillard has went to twitter to break some of the news that has to do with the reporters. Lillard broke the news that reporter Chris Haynes was leaving ESPN for Yahoo to become a Senior NBA insider. Damian was getting sick of the reporters always being on him for anything he did, so he decided to answer back and break news about them.

There's some of the NBA media who have mastered social media and became larger than life figure in the basketball world. Adrian Wojnarowski (Woj) is someone who has mastered twitter and essentially became the 31st franchise. Woj has so much power around the league that what he says is considered true. Woj has became the biggest media member in the NBA and his power is so great that when he tweets anything, the NBA world listens. Some players even learn that they are traded through twitter, like Blake Griffin who learned he was traded to Detroit through twitter. NBA media member on twitter are getting so powerful that they are become their own franchises and breaking the news to players that they just have been traded.

NBA writers have more power thank players today. The best solution to solving this problem is to first have the All-NBA and MVP be decided by half players and half reporters votes. The players are the ones who have to play against these guys, while the reporters look at more of the analytic side of voting. This would begin to lessen the power of these reporters. The other solution is that these players start to use social media more to give their side of the issues that surrounds them, instead of letting the media run wild with the stories.