Lakers team president Magic Johnson is in Charlotte for NBA All-Star Weekend. On Sunday, he'll watch hometown star Kemba Walker play for Team Giannis against Team LeBron.
Does Johnson believe that Walker, a potential free agent, would look good in royal purple and gold next season? Does he believe the point guard would mesh with King James?
Well, we're not sure, because Johnson has decided he has cost his employer enough money and caused it enough grief by talking about other teams' players.
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He turned aside a question about Walker on Thursday before entering an event for retiring Heat star Dwyane Wade. Johnson also complained that the league treats the Lakers differently than other teams.
Asked Magic about Kemba and he said y’all aren’t going to catch him slipping anymore. pic.twitter.com/sQZtIWnQbn
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) February 15, 2019
Johnson and the Lakers have earned scrutiny after a series of incidents.
The NBA fined the LA organization $500,000 in 2017 for tampering with Paul George while he was still a member of the Pacers. George was eventually traded to the Thunder and then re-signed with them. The league fined the Lakers $50,000 in February 2018 after Johnson talked about Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This week, the league announced it would investigate the circumstances surrounding 76ers point guard Ben Simmons' request to meet with Johnson in the summer. Sixers general manager Elton Brand denied permission for the men to meet in person.
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James, too, has been accused of tampering, most notably with Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who has asked New Orleans to trade him (James and Davis share an agent). The Lakers tried unsuccessfully to acquire Davis at this year's deadline.
James tweaked the NBA and media after a Pelicans-Lakers game in December by listing stars other than Davis with whom he'd love to play. James was responding to the outcry over him saying it would be "awesome" to play with Davis. The league announced James did not break any rules with that statement.
