Did Magic Johnson Really Dis Mike D’Antoni On Twitter?
Mike D’Antoni is now the former head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, after electing to step down and after two most ineffective years.
Now, it’s clear to many that the Lakers problems go beyond the coach, and even the legendary Phil Jackson was unable to get the best out of a group which just seemed to be out of gas during the year 2011 that saw him lose the job.
And it didn’t help that then-Commissioner David Stern nixed the deal that would have made Chris Paul an LA Laker instead of an LA Clipper.
So with that, we know Mike D’Antoni had a tough road and was in a job that, at times, seemed much bigger than his ability to handle it.
It’s understandable that Ervin Magic Johnson, perhaps the greatest Laker in history, and minority partner in ownership of the team, would be happy that Coach D’Antoni decided to resign, but so happy he’d issue this kind of tweet:?
Happy days are here again! Mike D’Antoni resigns as the Lakers coach. I couldn’t be happier!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 1, 2014
The reactions on Twitter ranged from chocked, to angry, to hurt:
Positive news for Laker fans RT @MagicJohnson: Happy days are here! Mike D’Antoni resigns as the Lakers coach. I couldn’t be happier!
— XII•XXI•XCVI (@DheConnorKidd) May 1, 2014
@MagicJohnson wow, really? Not the type of stuff I’d expect to hear from you
— Seth Klein (@SethDaSportsMan) May 1, 2014
Stay classy Magic RT @MagicJohnson: Happy days are here again! Mike D’Antoni resigns as the Lakers coach. I couldn’t be happier!
— Nick DiPillo (@NickDiPillo) May 1, 2014
@mikekiley Yeah… Doesn’t sit right. He’s better than that.
— Jon Finkel (@Jon_Finkel) May 1, 2014
So the obvious question is, “Was this Magic Johnson?” Even Charles Barkley expressed surprise on TNT on NBA tonight when he said “Magic’s bigger than that. Magic’s bigger than that?”
Well, it looks like Magic Johnson’s not bigger than that, and has a history of animosity toward Mike D’Antoni. Take Magic’s appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in January, where he took dead aim at D’Antoni, saying that he wasnt’ a championship coach, and that “we made a critical mistake”:
But it wasn’t the first time Magic Johnson went after Mike D’Antoni, and the Lakers brass for letting Phil Jackson go.
So, that Twitter tweet some of us though was fake, wasn’t at all. Magic Johnson was serious. He’s happy D’Antoni’s gone.
Stay tuned.