Can Magic Johnson revive once-proud Los Angeles Lakers franchise?
LOS ANGELES – The Magic Johnson appeal has always been impossible to ignore.
The transcendent talent, the dynamic personality, the rags-to-riches story of a kid from Lansing, Mich. who went on to become an NBA icon and business tycoon. As charming champions go, he may top the list.
But when Lakers president Jeanie Buss recruited her friend, first adding him as an adviser and later elevating him to the top basketball position while firing her brother, Jim Buss, and longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak, the only question that mattered soon became clear: as their once-proud franchise careens toward a fourth consecutive playoff absence, is Magic's magnetism still strong enough to save Laker Land?
It depends who you ask.
“If you have a free agent sitdown with a superstar, and Magic Johnson is in the room, that’s going to move the needle as far as getting that guy serious about wanting to come here,” said Dell Curry, who works for Michael Jordan's Charlotte Hornets, played against Johnson for nine NBA seasons, and who's the father of the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry and Dallas Mavericks’ Seth Curry. “LA is LA already, but if you have Magic Johnson pushing for you to come here, it’s going to make you think.
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“It’s success, man. That’s what every player wants on and off the floor, and he’s the epitome of it. He built his way up, built his brand once he got here. Being in LA, having Magic and all the doors he can open for you off the floor, that’s even more incentive for superstars to want to come here.”
As strategic NBA formulas go, this is more than just another former player returning to his beloved franchise. What Johnson has, that guys like the New York Knicks’ Phil Jackson, the Boston Celtics’ Danny Ainge and the Sacramento Kings’ Vlade Divac don't, is a profile on both the business and basketball fronts.
He boasts a massive net worth (more than $500 million, according to Forbes), a reputation as a devoted leader in the black community, and the on-court credentials that come with being the five-time champion who was captain of the “Showtime” era. Only Jordan can come close to making those kinds of claims, but his task – convincing stars to head for a small market in North Carolina – is a much tougher sell than the prospect of awaking a basketball wonderland from its slumber.
Still, not everyone sees it that way. Especially those who lived through these lean Lakers years.
“I really liked working with Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss; they weren’t the problem,” said Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, the former Knicks coach who resigned as Lakers head coach in April 2014 after two seasons. “When you have a superstar of the magnitude of Kobe (Bryant), and he retires. And…they had tried to make the trade for Chris Paul (in Dec. 2011 that was blocked by the NBA), and they had it, and that would’ve (kept them successful) another 10 years, and it didn’t work out."
“They make a couple good moves, get Dwight (Howard), and it didn’t work out. They were doing the right things ... You have to accept that ‘Ok, we’re not (good), and let’s take baby steps.’ And a lot of times, for New York and Los Angeles, that’s not good enough.
“I don’t see (Johnson’s appeal as) being one of the top factors in players deciding whether LA is (for them),” said D’Antoni. “It’s the players they have, the money you’re getting, the role you’re going to have. I see all that way before (the Magic appeal)."
When James Worthy was coming out of high school in 1979, it didn’t take him long to decide on North Carolina. But prospective college players were allowed to take six recruiting visits, and so Worthy decided to burn one of them on Michigan State for the strangest of reasons: meeting Magic, whose Spartans were coming off a national title, before he headed for the NBA.
“There was no way I was going to Michigan State; I was going to Carolina, for sure,” Worthy said. “But I just had to go see who this Magic (was)."
Three years later, after Johnson had already won two titles, Worthy would join him in Los Angeles as the top overall pick. They would win three more together, with Worthy noticing something telling about Johnson’s off-the-court persona.
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Johnson wasted no time in bonding with late Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, who would teach him about the business of basketball.
“(Dr. Buss) kind of opened up his entire business playbook to Magic, kind of took him in and was a son,” Worthy said. “My memories of Magic were of him always coming down from the front office before practice, having talked to (then Lakers executive) Bill Sharman, having talked to (longtime general manager) Jerry West, sometimes (play-by-play man) Chick Hearn. So he’s always been engaged, and he’s been a natural leader.
“He knows a lot of agents, knows a lot of players. Players will be interested in his business empire. There’s a lot of things that he brings to the table. He’s a very powerful asset in the room."
If this massive move is going to pay off, it’s Johnson’s ability to attract and select the right talent that will determine his value. He’ll have front office folks around him to shore up his weaknesses, including general manager-to-be and former Kobe Bryant agent, Rob Pelinka, who is expected to be formally announced soon.
Other valued voices remain, too, from assistant general manager Glenn Carraro to assistant general manager/scouting director Jesse Buss, director of player personnel Ryan West (the son of Jerry West) and CEO/president of the Lakers’ Development League team, Joey Buss. They will all be heard in June, when the Lakers (19-42) hope to retain their first-round pick, which only happens if it lands in the top three.
But if Magic shoots an airball on the free agency recruiting front in July, perhaps suffering the same fate as the Lakers’ jettisoned basketball execs who couldn’t convince Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, then he’s just another inexperienced former player who is learning on the job.
“I don’t get caught up in (questions about Johnson’s ability to attract stars) because we’ll find out; time will tell,” first-year Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously I think there’s been a lot of positive feedback about having Magic around. And in the time I have spent with him, he’s incredible at knowing what he wants and just doing it.
“Even as a player, those are the type of people you want to follow. It’s been nice working with him. But as far as what it means for the future, I’m not going to (speculate). I’ve got to spend my nights breaking down film, so I’ve got to prioritize who I’m spending my time with. For me, that’s coaching my guys and trusting that Magic and the (rest of the front office) are going to get the other stuff done and worked out. And I do (trust them), I believe that they’ll make the right calls and we’ll be back at some point.”
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.