It was 5:38 p.m. PST on Wednesday night as Magic Johnson was making his way down the 23 purple carpeted steps connecting the Los Angeles Lakers front offices to the parking lot. He was clutching his briefcase, signature smile in tow, even making time for small talk with a reporter, beaming about the new direction of the organization.
It had been 31 hours since Jeanie Buss announced that Magic would be taking over as Lakers president of basketball operations, removing both her brother, Jim Buss, and long-tenured Mitch Kupchak from their positions and things were moving quickly.