The Lakers’ continued free fall, summed up in three bullet points

ESPN’s Baxter Holmes dropped a big, illuminating piece yesterday on the Lakers’ tire fire, which mostly served as an indictment against Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. The most viral anecdote was about Pelinka, who apparently lied about a meeting between Kobe Bryant and Heath Ledger, who was dead by the time Pelinka alleged they met. It’s all juicy and worth reading.

After the piece dropped and shock-waved the NBA, Stephen A. Smith hosted an NBA Finals preview last night that included Michael Wilbon, Magic and Doc Rivers. Smith allowed Magic to explain his side, which some people saw as a weak cop-out that undermined ESPN’s own reporting.

It’s hard to see Pelinka reasonably doing a good job after reading the whole piece, which basically depicts him as an inept and insecure rookie general manager without any experience to draw from.