Magic Johnson’s justification for not drafting Jayson Tatum is even dumber than you’re probably assuming

Magic Johnson offered defense of not selecting Jayson Tatum in the 2017 NBA Draft and it’s really bad.

Magic Johnson has been successful at many things in his life, both on and off the court. Serving as the president of basketball operations for the Lakers was not one of them.

His time in charge of the purple and gold was highlighted by landing LeBron James, but it also featured many mistakes. Lakers fans are reminded of one of the most notable any time they watch Ivica Zubac on the Clippers.

In hindsight, not selecting Jayson Tatum with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft could be considered among them, especially considering how much of a Lakers and Kobe Bryant fan he was.

Back in November, Tatum spoke on Jeff Teague’s podcast, Club 520, and talked about the Lakers not even working him out before the draft.

There’s some revisionist history regarding the 2017 draft, which we’ll talk about shortly. That’s not why we’re here, though.

On Monday, Magic appeared on SirusXM’s radio show with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson and offered a defense of why he didn’t work out or select Tatum. Buckle up for this one.

Hoo boy.

There’s probably a fair argument to be made about not drafting Tatum. At the time, there were some pretty clear tiers regarding the top picks in the draft.

Markelle Fultz was the surefire No. 1 pick with no debate. After that, Lonzo was pretty set as the No. 2 pick. The debates with him were far more centered on DeAaron Fox or Josh Jackson, not Tatum. There was a little bit of surprise or intrigue when Tatum was taken with the No. 3 pick because it wasn’t the obvious selection.

But those weren’t arguments Magic made. Instead, the argument was that he wasn’t drafted because the team already had three young forwards in Larry Nance, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram on the roster, two of whom didn’t play the same position as Tatum.

Even then, Magic and the Lakers traded Nance eight months later at the trade deadline. They let Randle walk in free agency a year after the draft. And then they traded Ingram the next year.

And is the argument here he would not have been as good because the team had some forwards on the roster? Are we just supposed to believe Tatum would not have been as good of a basketball player because Larry Nance was on the roster?

That is an insane argument.

Modern basketball hadn’t quite shifted to the positionless style it is now, but lots of people, myself included, have been in favor of taking the best player available in the draft, especially in the middle of a rebuild.

The Lakers did need a point guard, yes. Taking Lonzo was not a bad decision in the moment. And ultimately, this may have all been a moot point as the team traded Lonzo for AD and potentially would have just done the same with Tatum.

You know what the greatest flaw in this argument is anyway?

THE LAKERS DRAFTED A SMALL FORWARD WITH THE NO. 27 PICK.

Kyle Kuzma came in, wasn’t set back by having other forwards on the roster, excelled as a rookie and eventually helped the team win a title. There’s just no logic to Magic’s argument.

As a side note, if you wanted to play a fun what if game, say the Lakers drafted Tatum with the No. 2 pick and then wanted a point guard with the No. 27 pick. You know who was selected two picks after Kuzma? Derrick White.

ANYWAY….

All this clip and tweet have done is serve as a reminder that Magic was really bad at his job. And to get me annoyed at how bad he was at his job.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.