With the Los Angeles Lakers officially beginning a new era after Magic Johnson was named president of basketball operations, the process of filling out the rest of the front office has started in earnest.
There are already plenty of rumors about who could be the team’s next general manager, and whether or not Jerry West could return to the organization, but one name that Magic continually brought up during his interview rounds last week was Kobe Bryant.
Magic had said that Kobe would be one of the first calls he makes and according to Sam Amick of USA Today, Magic would like for Kobe to take a player relations role in the organization:
Also, Magic wants Kobe Bryant to come back on board with some sort of player relations role. He recently intimated as much publicly.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 21, 2017
Whether or not Kobe would take a full-time role remains to be seen. He has been pretty open about enjoying his time focusing on his business ventures but said that he is always there for the Lakers if they need him. Taking on a role like this is a whole other issue, however.
The Lakers are looking to turn things back around and return the franchise to its former glory and Magic is the face leading the way. Bringing on Kobe would be a nice addition to the organization, but it would be up to Kobe to accept it.
There also may be another connection for Kobe as his agent Rob Pelinka is reportedly the front runner to be the Lakers’ new GM so that could potentially persuade him as well. For now, all anyone can do is sit back and wait to see what ultimately happens as things around the Lakers are changing.
