It was announced last week that quite possibly the great Los Angeles Laker and the most successful Laker of all-time was returning to the organization in an advisory role.
Johnson played 13 seasons for the team, winning 5 NBA championships and 5 Regular Season MVP awards.
He has also coached and been involved with the front office in the past, but this is his first return in a long time in an official role.
This led to excitement on the part of Lakers fans who revere Magic and are experiencing the darkest days the franchise has ever seen, but Johnson’s actual role was pretty cloudy when described by the organization. They described his role as such:
“…advising ownership on all business and basketball matters, collaborating with coaches, evaluating and mentoring players, assessing future franchise needs and helping ownership to determine the best path for growth and success.”
Magic Johnson has made it pretty clear in an interview with USA Today Sports on Friday that he ultimately plans to be calling the shots for the organization for major decisions.
“Right now I’m advising. I get that. But at the end of the day, when we all got to come together and somebody’s got to say, ‘I’m making the final call,’ all right? And who’s that going to be? So, we’ll see what happens.”
The Lakers are clearly in need to mix things up after what will be three worst seasons in franchise history. Co-Owner Jim Buss said he would step down in 2014 if the teams hadn’t improved in a few years so there is a good chance Magic does have the pull of say Phil Jackson with the Knicks in the near future.
If we’re being brutally honest, while having Magic Johnson back in the fold is nice on paper and in theory, his contemporaries in his era have not fared very well in front office roles such as Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas, the only one of which with some level of success is Larry Bird with the Indiana Pacers.
The Lakers should do whatever they can to avoid the nightmare that has developed in New York with Phil Jackson and the Knicks organization, although that fate almost seems fitting for the glitz and glamour of what has become an increasingly dysfunctional organization in recent years.
