Magic Johnson Wants Kobe Bryant to Return to Lakers in Player Relations Role

After the Los Angeles Lakers announced Tuesday they hired Magic Johnson to be their president of basketball operations, an official return for Kobe Bryant may be in the works as well.

USA Today's Sam Amick reported Johnson is looking to bring Bryant back with an official role in the organization, one potentially connected to player relations.

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne played down the speculation:

The move wouldn't be a surprise. During the Feb. 14 edition of ESPN's First Take, Johnson laid out what he'd do if he were in a position of power with the Lakers (h/t the Orange County Register's Mark Medina): "First call I make if I'm in charge? [Bryant]. Because Kobe understands winning. He understands, also, these players. So I would call, 'What role you want? If you've got a day, just give me that day. I'll take that. Whatever time he has, I want him to come and be a part of it."

Amick's report comes shortly after Shelburne reported Los Angeles is pursuing agent Rob Pelinka for a front office post. Pelinka represents a number of players, one of whom is Bryant.

Beyond Bryant's obvious ties to the Lakers, the potential of Pelinka working with the team could provide further incentive for the 18-time All-Star to reunite with Los Angeles in an official capacity, which ESPN.com's Arash Markazi argued:

While Bryant is one of the biggest stars in NBA history, it's fair to wonder whether he could transfer that success in a player relations role.

It's no secret Bryant wasn't the best teammate. Speaking before the start of the 2016-17 season, D'Angelo Russell seemed to indicate Kobe's retirement created a more positive atmosphere, per the Los Angeles Times' Lindsey Thiry:

As Bryant aged and the Lakers' fortunes started trending downward, he did little to attract marquee free agents to sign with the team.

In October 2014, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Henry Abbott that Bryant was "scaring off the free agents we're trying to get." Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding also detailed in July 2015 how Kobe failed to convince LaMarcus Aldridge to join the Lakers.

Given his inexperience in an NBA front office, Johnson will need to surround himself with a strong supporting cast in order to thrive as the Lakers' new president. Targeting Bryant this early would run counterintuitive to that idea.