Magic Johnson, who recently was named an adviser to Los Angeles Lakers co-owner and president Jeanie Buss, is not shy about sharing his ultimate goal in regards to his new role with the Lakers organization.
He wants to call the shots.
“Working to call the shots, because it only works that way,” Johnson told USA Today Sports. “Right now I’m advising. I get that. But at the end of the day, then 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.”
Johnson stated that his role will be outlined and defined by Jeanie Buss.
When the Lakers announced Johnson’s new role they stated that the Lakers legend will be “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.”
“Look, Jim knows where we are, Jeanie knows where we are, as a franchise, and so some decisions have to be made,” Johnson said. “I may only be in this role for a short term, I may be here for a long time. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I can’t tell you that right now.”
Johnson knows that there is a long road ahead of him in rebuilding the Lakers and bringing back to title contention. Johnson seems to embrace the challenge.
“It’s going to take time, and we know that,” said Johnson. “I’m not going to fool nobody, and I don’t want the fan base to think, ‘Oh, I’m back, so it’s going to turn around tomorrow.’ It doesn’t work like that. You have to make some good decisions, you have to make sure we use the money wisely when we have it for free agents, and then we’re going to draft well.”