Jayson Tatum was one of the biggest fans of Kobe Bryant growing up. Thus, it was pretty normal for him to fancy a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately, Tatum had his heart broken when the Lakers bypassed him and drafted Lonzo Ball instead back in 2017. However, despite the somber outcome, there was a particular reason why the Lakers did not want Tatum in the first place.
In a recent episode of SiriusXM NBA Radio, Magic Johnson reflected on the Lakers’ decision not to draft Tatum. Johnson also opined that the decision was also heavily influenced by none other than his agent. “I wanted to address that and let him know – yes, we looked at him, but his agent also didn’t want us to work him out because he didn’t want him to end up with the Lakers because we are already top-heavy with forwards,” said Johnson.
[Jayson Tatum’s] agent didn’t want him to work out for [the Lakers]…because we already had too many forwards
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) December 17, 2024
Magic Johnson, Lakers Pres. of Basketball Operations (Feb. 2017–Apr. 2019), tells @JumpShot8 and @TermineRadio why LA didn’t draft Jayson Tatum with the 2nd overall pick pic.twitter.com/SYQjOF3854
The NBA legend further explained that the Lakers already had Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram warming the bench. Thus, there was no feasible reason for the Lakers to draft another forward. On the contrary, it might have resulted in Tatum getting benched, which would have hampered his own progress in the long run. Meanwhile, the NBA is not the only area of interest for Magic Johnson, it seems. The NBA legend also made a sad statement following Mike Tyson’s loss to Jake Paul.
Magic Johnson Gives His Two Cents On Mike Tyson’s Heartbreaking Loss
November 20 was a historic day for the boxing fans. 58-year-old Mike Tyson came back from retirement to face 28-year-old Jake Paul. While the hype was skyrocketing, the match, in reality, turned out to be a dampener. Tyson’s age proved to be a deciding factor, as he looked visibly tired as the game progressed. Ultimately, it was Jake Paul who picked up the victory.
Just sad smh. I cut it off because I couldn’t watch anymore. It’s sad to see Mike Tyson like this because I went to every Tyson fight.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 16, 2024
This fight tonight was not great for boxing.
And this outcome did not sit well with Magic Johnson. While Johnson expected Tyson to win, the sorry display made him come to a saddening conclusion. “This fight tonight was not great for boxing,” Johnson said. Thus, keeping an opinion about every major happening in sports, Magic Johnson has established himself as an important sporting voice of recent times.
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