Magic Johnson gets called out by Pacers executive over social media mistake
February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Magic Johnson before the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Magic Johnson had a goof of his get called out this week.
The retired Basketball Hall of Famer Johnson posted to his X page on Tuesday about the Indiana Pacers’ recent blockbuster trade for All-Star big man Pascal Siakam. Johnson credited Pacers GM Chad Buchanan for the move, saying that it was a great acquisition.
GM Chad Buchanan of the Indiana Pacers made a great trade move by grabbing Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors, making them a significantly more complete team as they advance toward a playoff run. With a healthy Tyrese Haliburton, no team in the East will want to see them!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 24, 2024
Johnson made a mistake though as Buchanan was not actually responsible for the trade. While Buchanan is indeed the GM of the Pacers, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard is the one who calls those shots for the team.
Pritchard pointed out Johnson’s mistake in a reply.
“Eh hem…yeah great trade Chad!” Pritchard sarcastically wrote.
Eh hem…yeah great trade Chad!
— Kevin Pritchard (@PacersKev) January 24, 2024
The average fan probably would not know the nuances of the Pacers’ front office structure and would thus be prone to making that kind of mistake. But you would think that Johnson might know better since he was a former NBA executive himself (for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2017-19). On top of that, the Pritchard-Buchanan hierarchy was already in place by 2017, and Johnson was once even fined for tampering with a Pacers player.
Nonetheless, Johnson’s X page is known more so for its entertainment value than its deep analysis (or lack thereof). Indeed, there was certainly plenty of entertainment value in seeing Johnson get cooked by Pritchard for all to see.