And-Ones: Motiejunas, Blatt, Lakers, Free Agency

Heat president Pat Riley and Lakers president Magic Johnson participated in a panel discussion earlier this week, with Riley joking about how expects to land “a treasure of players” from Johnson in trades. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel outlines, Riley also talked about Johnson’s transition to the front office, and the challenges the former Lakers star will face as he adjusts to a role that doesn’t involve much interaction with his players.

“When I went from coaching to the front office, my first three months I was actually in fits, because I had lost control. You lose control of the team and the game, because you’re just selecting players,” Riley said. “And one thing you don’t want to do as president is second-guess your coach too much, go down to the locker room, don’t hang around too much. … [Magic] will sit up there in that box of his, and when things aren’t going good the first, he’s going to want to go down there and be Lonzo Ball‘s mentor.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• Donatas Motiejunas has new representation, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that the free-agent-to-be has signed with Octagon Sports. Motiejunas was previously repped by Wasserman, but left the agency in the wake of his tumultuous restricted free agency last season.
• Former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, who coached Turkey’s Darussafaka Dogus in 2016/17, may return to Israel for the coming season. David Pick reports (via Twitter) that Maccabi Tel Aviv executives appear ready to offer Blatt a long-term deal in the $3-4MM range. Blatt coached the Israeli club from 2010 to 2014 before he headed to Cleveland.
• Ex-Lakers guard Darius Morris tells Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that he has worked out for the Lakers, Grizzlies, and Pistons, and has a session lined up with the Jazz as well.
• In a feature for Bleacher Report, Howard Beck examines how free agency decisions by LeBron James and Kevin Durant may have changed the landscape for star players, inspiring more of them to change teams in the future.