Magic Johnson once held a minority stake in the Lakers from 1994 to 2010. He bought in for $10 million and reportedly sold it for five to six times that and called the moment “bittersweet”. Since then, there have been rumors of him once again being part of the organisation in some capacity. Recently, the 5x NBA champion even revealed having an interest in another team. But due to his connections with the new ownership group, the return looks imminent, as per Matt Barnes.

“But with new ownership who’s obviously tied to Magic Johnson, which Magic is tied to Rob in the Commander deal. Do we smell what The Rock is cooking, or am I crazy to think that Magic could be on his way back to the Lakers at some point?” On his podcast, Barnes feels that Magic Johnson’s connection with Mark Walter will lead to the Lakers legend’s return to the franchise. For context, Walter is the primary owner of the LA Dodgers and the chief executive of TWG Global. He is also part of the LA Sparks, RC Strasbourg, and Premier League club Chelsea.

Recently, Walter, who already owned a 26% minority stake in the Lakers, completed the largest sale of a professional sports franchise in history, valued at $10 billion. Even the guest on Barnes’ podcast was excited about the plan. “The streets want Magic back.  We love to have Bob and we love to possibly like we’re kind of tired of Pelinka. Cuz we’re behind like we love with you absolutely, and everything he touches moves forward to a chip. Like, I can see what he’s doing with Washington with the Dodgers, we deferring a whole lot of money, like I hope we can defer money here too.”

Bob Meyers was the general manager for the Golden State Warriors from 2012 to 2023. Now, he works as an advisor for the Commanders, another team where Magic Johnson has a vested interest. That’s why Matt Barnes drew the parallels on his podcast. Speaking about interest, the 65-year-old billionaire also spoke about his interest in the New York Knicks. First, he spoke about the interest in coming back to owning an NBA team. “Yeah, I know. Maybe that’s what I have to do… I might have to get back into the NBA.” 

Then, during his conversation with Stephen A. Smith, “If Dolan ever puts the Knicks up for sale, I’ll be first in line.” He made it clear: “I only own teams to win.” As per Forbes, the Knicks’ value is around $7.5 billion. But there’s a hurdle in this reunion.

Magic Johnson previously revealed the one person behind his Lakers exit

In February 2017, Magic Johnson made a high-profile return to the Los Angeles Lakers, not in the ownership capacity. He assumed the role of the president of Basketball Operations, which he left in April 2019. Why was it unceremoniously cut short? Matt Barnes’ guest revealed on the podcast, “We’d love to have Magic back. But how are we going to have Magic and Pelinka coexisting together?”

The current President of Basketball Operations and GM, Rob Pelinka, was apparently responsible. “I start hearing, ‘Magic, you’re not working hard enough. Magic’s not in the office. So, people around the Lakers’ office were telling me Rob was saying things.” The Lakers legend also revealed that at first, he thought he would only answer to Jeanie Buss, but even that changed. “I got things happening that was being said behind my back. I don’t have the power that I thought I had to make the decisions…”

Because of this distrust in the first instance, it could be a reason for the 65-year-old’s interest in rivals New York Knicks. But with Walter at the helm, there could be new conditions in place, which might ease Magic Johnson’s return. With already 17th championships to his resume, from playing time to front office responsibility, there is no doubt that the team will only benefit from his addition.