Magic Johnson to help Jeanie Buss with evaluation of Lakers franchise

— -- Magic Johnson will return to the Los Angeles Lakers as an adviser to co-owner and president Jeanie Buss as she evaluates the direction of the franchise, the team announced Tuesday morning.

"We are thrilled and honored to add Magic's expertise and abilities, and I look forward to working alongside him," Buss said in a statement released by the team.

Johnson has held titles with the Lakers in the past, including honorary vice president, which he resigned from in June. He has also previously owned shares in the team, which he sold to Dr. Patrick Soon Shiong in 2011.

Jim Buss, a co-owner and the Lakers' executive vice president of basketball operations, has said publicly he would step down from his post if the team is not heading in the right direction by the end of this season.

Jeanie Buss has repeatedly said she will hold her brother and general manager Mitch Kupchak to that timeline.

"Magic Johnson is one of the NBA's greatest players, and it is terrific to see him returning to the Lakers," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "He is a truly special person and a natural leader with a relentless passion for basketball and profound knowledge of the game."

ESPN reported last month that Johnson and Jeanie Buss had met for dinner at a Lakers game.

The Lakers described the role Johnson will play broadly as "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."

Johnson, currently an analyst for ESPN's NBA Countdown, has an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers and has been close to the Buss family since he was drafted by the Lakers in 1979. Jeanie Buss worked for her father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, at the Forum in Inglewood in those days.

"Everyone knows my love for the Lakers," Johnson said. "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."

There had been speculation former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, now the president of the New York Knicks, would be an option to take over the Lakers. However, Jackson and Buss announced they had ended their four-year engagement in late December.

Sources said that announcement had no effect on or correlation to the timeline Jim Buss has set for the franchise or Jeanie Buss' decision-making on it.