Magic Johnson pointed the finger for the Lakers’ bungling, public Anthony Davis trade negotiations on Monday morning. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t at himself.
Instead, the embattled former Lakers president of basketball operations said, then-Pelicans GM Dell Demps was at fault for the constant leaks of trade discussions involving Davis.
“I told Dell Demps, ‘Let’s just do this in private. What we offer, let’s keep it between us,’ ” Johnson said on ESPN’s “First Take,” part of Johnson’s wide-ranging blowtorch after his resignation. “Well, Dell didn’t do that, so that’s how it got out, right.”
Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart — in other words, the Lakers’ core, sans-LeBron James — were offered up by Johnson, along with draft picks ahead of the trade deadline. When the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, the Lakers were left to deal with the fallout of their players knowing they had been deemed expendable.
“I’m not a regretful guy,” Johnson said on “First Take.” “You’re right, I offered a lot of guys, but you have to do that for an Anthony Davis.”
The Lakers proceeded to crash out of the playoff race in embarrassing fashion for both Johnson and James. The dumpster fire has only raged on, with Johnson calling an impromptu press conference to announce his resignation and now, burning bridges on live television.
It didn’t work out for Johnson or Demps, who was fired after the trade deadline.
