what happened to paul westhead

Paul Westhead, an American retired basketball coach, was fired from the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981 during his third season as head coach. The decision to dismiss Westhead came shortly after the teams star guard, Magic Johnson, asked to be traded. The exact reasons for Westhead's firing were tensions with Johnson and disagreements over coaching philosophy, particularly regarding the team's offense. The Lakers' owner, Jerry Buss, had reportedly wanted to fire Westhead prior to the actual occurrence, suggesting that Johnson's role in the decision was not mutually exclusive. The Lakers replaced Westhead with Pat Riley, who had previously been hired as an assistant by Westhead.