LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is back with the NBA club as an advisor, assisting co-owner Jeanie Buss “in all areas of basketball and business,” the club said Thursday.
The team said Johnson’s duties will include advising ownership on all business and basketball matters, collaborating with coaches, mentoring and evaluating players, assessing future franchise needs and helping determine the best path for growth and success.
“Everyone knows my love for the Lakers,” Johnson said in a statement issued by the Lakers.
“Over the years, I have considered other management opportunities, however my devotion to the game and Los Angeles make the Lakers my first and only choice. I will do everything in my power to help return the Lakers to their rightful place among the elite teams of the NBA.”
Johnson, who won five championships and earned three Most Valuable Player awards in 13 seasons with the Lakers, will be lending his expertise to a club now enduring yet another disappointing season.
A part-owner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, he has formerly served as honorary vice president of the Lakers.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver welcomed Johnson’s return to an active NBA role.
“Magic Johnson is one of the NBA’s greatest players and it is terrific to see him returning to the Lakers,” Silver said in a statement. “He is a truly special person and a natural leader with a relentless passion for basketball and profound knowledge of the game.”
Johnson, who had a strong relationship with late Lakers owner Jerry Buss, has remained friends with Jeanie Buss, but has been critical of her brother Jim Buss, who holds the title of executive vice president of basketball operations for the Lakers.
Buss has said publicly he would resign if the Lakers weren’t headed in the right direction by the end of this season.
The team are currently 17-34 under first-year head coach Luke Walton. They have already won as many games as they did last season, but that might not be enough improvement for Jim Buss to maintain his role.
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