One of the most coveted jobs in all of sports now is open, and only a few individuals are qualified for the job.
Perhaps one of those individuals works for the Boston Celtics.
As you probably have heard by now, Magic Johnson stepped down as president of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, just minutes before the team’s final game of the season. Johnson announced the news in a bizarre, meandering press conference in which he revealed that he had yet to inform Lakers owner Jeanie Buss of his decision.
Again, running the Lakers might be the most coveted job in basketball, and you can bet the franchise will be aggressive recruiting a top-notch candidate. “First Things First” co-host Nick Wright believes the Lakers should leave no stone unturned in trying to fill the position and thinks Boston Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren should be on the radar.
Here’s what the FS1 talking head had to say Wednesday morning:
"The Lakers need to be big game hunting not just in free agency, but in this position. Call Masai Ujiri today! Call Gersson Rosas, Daryl Morey's #2, Mike Zarren, Danny Ainge's #2. The Lakers need to get a smart guy in that front office." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/TG2ITkL9nm
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 10, 2019
So, how does Ainge feel about Johnson skipping out?
“I don’t know what happened,” Ainge told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” on Wednesday morning when asked about the news. “I know that this work is a grind, and if you don’t really enjoy the people you’re working with and the work you’re doing, then you shouldn’t be doing it.
” … I don’t really understand the dynamic of how he did it by not telling Jeanie,” Ainge said. “That seemed a little bit interesting. But I like Magic, and he’s a good guy, but it sounds like to me he just wants to go back and have the life he had before he had this job.”
For now, Ainge and the Celtics are focused solely on their looming first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers.
Boston will have home-court advantage in the first-round matchup, the schedule of which will be revealed after the NBA regular season concludes Wednesday night.
