Magic says he would consider ownership of Knicks

Magic Johnson's love for his Lakers has kept him from considering ownership of any other NBA team.

The New York Knicks would be the one franchise that could make him have second thoughts.

“I think it would be intriguing,” Johnson said Tuesday. “The only team I would actually probably think about is the New York Knicks.”

Johnson arrived in New York for a speaking engagement at a YMCA from Washington, where the member of the Commanders' new ownership group watched his NFL team lose to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Once back in Los Angeles, he will gear up for his Dodgers to begin play in baseball's postseason. But the basketball Hall of Famer repeatedly has passed on opportunities for ownership in the sport he knows best.

Johnson named the Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks as teams he turned down, rather than find himself in competition with the Lakers. The Knicks, though, offer something different.

“I think because of the way fans love basketball you might have to think about that one, because I love coming to New York and going to the Garden and watching the Knicks play,” Johnson said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I love being with fans who are so passionate about their team and the Knick fans are, and they're smart. They're smart basketball fans and so that one I would have to think about. I think that other than that, I would probably never think about ever being a part of another franchise.”

Johnson said he hasn't spoken with Madison Square Garden Executive Chairman James Dolan about the idea and isn't looking for an opportunity, content to watch the Lakers as a fan after serving as their president of basketball operations for two seasons before resigning in 2019.

But if the conversation did happen, Johnson would listen.

“That one you would really have to think about, in terms of being a minority owner of that team,” he said. “But other than that, I would just stay with the Lakers and even with my role now, just being a fan, I'm happy just doing that with the Lakers because, again, I bleed purple and gold.”

Johnson, who was in charge when the Lakers signed LeBron James, believes they can play for a second NBA title in five years.

“I think they're going to be the best team in the West this year,” said Johnson, 64.

• Ben Simmons is set to begin training camp next week with no restrictions after two injury-shortened seasons in Brooklyn.

If he stays healthy, Simmons may even be able to return to his roots as a point guard.

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said Tuesday that the former All-Star has been playing 5-on-5 this summer and will have an expanded role offensively if he can avoid further injuries.

Simmons didn't play after the All-Star break last season, slowed by a sore left knee and then shut down early because of a nerve injury in his back. Simmons had largely fallen out of the rotation even before then, with Vaughn now saying he his learned through their discussions this summer that the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft simply didn't have the strength to do some of the things his coach wanted after undergoing back surgery the previous offseason.

“But the things that I'm asking him to do going forward, I think he can physically do now,” Vaughn said.

Simmons still views himself as a lead guard, the position he played while earning three All-Star selections in Philadelphia. He played as a forward or backup center last season in Brooklyn, where Kyrie Irving was the point guard when Simmons arrived in a trade for James Harden in February 2022.