Magic Johnson helped deliver Kliff Kingsbury (but not Ben Johnson or Mike Macdonald)

Kliff Kingsbury was the Raiders offensive coordinator until he wasn't. And Magic Johnson might have had a key role in making that happen.

In his introductory press conference, Kingsbury declined to address whether and to what extent Magic actively recruited the former Cardinals coach to pivot from Las Vegas to D.C.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce has addressed it, during an appearance on the Pivot podcast.

"I thought we had a guy, but not for long," Pierce said, via USA Today. "[Until] you put pen to paper, that’s the one thing I’ve learned. No different than in free agency. Teams are recruiting, and things are going on. Listen, Magic Johnson is pretty good. I guess he can still dish it out a little bit. If I’m losing to Magic, I’m OK with that. At the end of the day, if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be."

Pierce gets it. Nothing is done until it's done. We've seen it time and again. From Josh McDaniels bailing on the Colts to multiple trades that didn't become official because the two teams didn't separately communicate the deal to the league office in time to a fax machine snafu that prompted the Broncos to cut Elvis Dumervil after his contract was not timely revised.

Basketball's version of Elvis has entered the building in Washington, and if he can help the Commanders win a jump ball or two in recruiting, so be it. Especially with free agency approaching.

But let's also be realistic. The Commanders whiffed on at least two head-coaching candidates before hiring Dan Quinn. Ben Johnson passed, and Mike Macdonald chose Seattle, Washington over Washington, D.C.

So Magic is not necessarily 1-0 when it comes to closing deals. He's quite possibly 1-2.

Either way, he'll get a chance to improve his recruiting record next month, when it's time to sign players away from other teams.