Magic Johnson went over the top in his complaining about the Lakers hiring Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson, undermining D’Antoni’s credibility with a segment of Lakers fans already predisposed to support Jackson.
Eventually, Johnson pledged to stop complaining.
But apparently D’Antoni resigning expired the statue of limitations on that (or at least allowed for back-handed grousing).
https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/statuses/461685511481212928
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Soon, the Lakers will have a new coach for Magic to complain about. Whoever takes the job, it’s difficult to see him having much success next season.
D’Antoni was dealt a bad hand in roster quality, even though a Steve Nash-Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol-Dwight Howard core once seemed so promising. Those players just never stayed healthy (or, in Howard’s case, in Los Angeles) long enough to thrive.
It’s impossible to know how D’Antoni would have done with a better roster – and more support.