Magic Johnson shades Celtics after historic $10 billion Lakers sale
Lakers legend Magic Johnson applauded the agreement to sell the organization to Dodgers owner Mark Walter for an astonishing $10 billion — and found a way to poke fun at the Celtics.
The pending sale — reportedly the largest ever for a sports team — is set to end the Buss family's control of one of the NBA's marquee franchises.
'Job well done to my sister Jeanie Buss for striking an incredible deal and picking the right person to carry on the @Lakers legacy and tradition of winning,' Johnson, who owns a minority stake in the Dodgers, wrote on X shortly after the agreement was reported.
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Johnson then had some fun at the Celtics' expense, citing the March sale of the Boston franchise.
3 Magic Johnson and Jeanie Buss exchange a hug during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers on March 11, 2018.
NBAE via Getty Images
'Just like I thought, when the Celtics sold for $6B, I knew the Lakers were worth $10B!' Johnson wrote.
Johnson called Walter a 'business partner' and a 'friend' — as they are both in the Dodgers' ownership group — in the social media post before going on to extol the CEO and chairman of TWG Global's accolades.
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'Mark Walter is the best choice and will be the best caretaker of the Laker brand,' the Lakers' great wrote. 'The proof is in the pudding on what he's been able to accomplish with the LA Dodgers. Mark has been nothing short of a winner notching 2 World Series and 11 NL West divisional titles in the last 12 years!'
Johnson added on a second post that Walter is 'driven by winning, excellence, and doing everything the right way.'
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when Jerry Buss bought the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke in a $67.5 million deal, which also included the NHL Kings and the Los Angeles Forum, the two teams' home at the time.
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3 Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss attend Kobe Bryant's jersey retirement ceremony during a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on December 18, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
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Walter's sports portfolio includes the Dodgers, Spark and the Cadillac Formula 1 team.
He is also the primary financial backer of the Professional Women's Hockey League and has a minority stake in BlueCo, which holds a controlling interest in Premier League club Chelsea.
3 Boston Celtics owner William Chisholm reacts after a play during the second half against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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'He will put in the resources needed to win!' Johnson wrote on X. 'I can understand why Jeanie sold the team to Mark Walter because they are just alike – they are competitive people, l have big hearts, love to give back, and both prefer to be behind the scenes. This makes all the sense in the world.
'I am so so SO happy and excited for @Lakers fans all over the world!!
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New York Times
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He would design drills around the tactical set-up of their next opponent or based on what skills he felt individuals needed to improve. Along with Frank, he mainly focused on the attacking unit. It was their duty to push Mbeumo, Wissa and Schade to a higher level with regular finishing drills. Frank assigns each of his assistants with around six players to look after. They are responsible for analysing that individual's performances and discussing areas of improvement. They are encouraged to have conversations about their personal lives, too. It was Norgaard's idea to convert Keane Lewis-Potter from a winger into a left-back. Despite playing in an unfamiliar position, Lewis-Potter was one of Brentford's most consistent performers last season. Lewis-Potter was one of the players Cochrane looked after and he helped the 24-year-old to adapt. When you know, you know @justincochrane8 🔮 — Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 17, 2024 'Justin has done very well for us here,' Frank said at a press conference in April. 'He came in with responsibility for the offensive part of the game, giving input to myself, the coaching staff and the players around everything from build-up to phase two to phase three and the breakthroughs. He's been a big part of that, planning the training week, and developing individual players. He's developed very well the last couple of years.' Advertisement There are loads of other examples of Cochrane making small adjustments which have a positive impact. When Brentford beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 in April 2023, Josh Dasilva came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner. Dasilva's trademark finish was a curling left-footed shot towards the far corner but he surprised goalkeeper Keylor Navas by aiming for the near post. Cochrane pushed Dasilva to add variety to his strikes. 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Brennan Johnson was the only player to reach double digits for Spurs in the top flight last season, with 11. It feels likely that Cochrane will try and help Tottenham's attackers to become more efficient in the opposition box. Cochrane started his coaching career as a teenager in Queens Park Rangers' academy when he set up a grassroots team for local children under the age of 10. Cochrane only made one appearance for QPR before he went on to represent Crewe Alexandra and a variety of non-League sides including Boreham Wood, Aldershot Town and Hayes & Yeading United. He grew up in north London but played internationally for Antigua & Barbuda. Advertisement Before he retired, Cochrane started volunteering in Tottenham's academy at 27. He worked under Chris Ramsey and John McDermott, alongside Matt Wells and two future Premier League managers in Kieran McKenna and Scott Parker. He crossed paths and learned from Mauricio Pochettino too. McDermott spent over a decade with Spurs before he joined the Football Association in March 2020 and he played a role in Cochrane becoming part of Thomas Tuchel's backroom staff with England earlier this year. Cochrane will continue to help Tuchel in the build-up to and at next summer's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada alongside his duties with Spurs. Cochrane oversaw the development of future England internationals Kyle Walker-Peters and Noni Madueke in his first spell at Spurs, as well as Dane Scarlett, Oliver Skipp and Marcus Edwards. Scarlett made 22 appearances on loan at Oxford United in the first half of last season before he returned to Spurs. The 21-year-old scored in a 3-0 victory over Elfsborg in the Europa League but only played five times in total. Perhaps Cochrane's influence could help him to become more established in the first-team squad. 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Everyone connected with him easily. He was my coach at different age groups. He is not going to be the same with me when I was 14 and when I'm 20 — he adapts. When I was going through a few things, Justin would help out — like my mentality and not getting too frustrated — because that is something I definitely struggled with when I was younger.' Cochrane used to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League and design training sessions for Spurs' academy prospects based on what he had seen. Now he needs to prepare for the possibility of facing teams of that magnitude in that competition next season. In 2017, Cochrane graduated from The Open University with a degree in business, leadership and management. After nine years with Spurs, he became the England Under-15s head coach after seeing an advert online. He worked with then England first-team manager Gareth Southgate, his assistant, Steve Holland, and other age-group coaches including Steve Cooper and Kevin Betsy. 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