Magic Johnson's stunning resignation as the Los Angeles Lakers' president of basketball operations Tuesday night left the basketball world in shock.
But to some extent, Danny Ainge can understand his decision.
"I don't know what happened," Ainge told 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Toucher & Rich" on Thursday morning when asked about the news. "I know that this work is a grind, and if you don't really enjoy the people you're working with and the work you're doing, then you shouldn't be doing it."
Ainge admitted he didn't watch Johnson's bizarrely candid press conference, in which the Lakers legend said he didn't tell Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss he was stepping down.
The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations seemed a bit perplexed by that move.
"I don't really understand the dynamic of how he did it by not telling Jeanie," Ainge said. "That seemed a little bit interesting. But I like Magic, and he's a good guy, but it sounds like to me he just wants to go back and have the life he had before he had this job."
Ainge and Johnson have a long history that began on the court during the fierce Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the 1980s. But when Ainge was asked if he'd reach out to his contemporary after Tuesday's news, he responded simply:
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"Probably not, no," Ainge said. "I don't really have that kind of a relationship with Magic. I respect his decision -- I like him as a person, when we see each other at events we always say hi and all that -- but it's not like we're friends."
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