While the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James last summer in what was a significant feat for the franchise, the tenure under president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka has also brought about some rocky times.
The Lakers were found to have violated the NBA’s tampering rule ahead of Paul George reaching free agency, and then were fined a second time after Johnson praised Giannis Antetokounmpo and predicted he would win a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Although Johnson’s comments appeared innocent enough in nature, NBA commissioner Adam Silver explained prior transgressions were a factor in the Lakers being fined again.