Around Magic Johnson, the pressure and criticism continued to mount. Here he was, an iconic figure in NBA lore, brought in as President of Basketball Operations by his beloved Lakers to help guide them out of obscurity, now facing all the fallout of a failed season and a franchise in crisis.



So before his unforeseen resignation on Tuesday night, Johnson told confidants that he was becoming uncomfortable with the shots coming his way, uncomfortable with the people surrounding him on the job, and that he wanted to return to being just Magic Johnson instead of president Magic Johnson, the one who was charged with scouting, managing a staff and many other day-to-day responsibilities.



One of the headaches and near-debacles of the final stretch of Johnson’s tenure came in late February. In what could have been a catastrophe, the Lakers needed to prevent point guard Lonzo Ball from undergoing a potential unauthorized surgery on his left ankle that was planned by...