Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol react to Magic Johnson buying the Dodgers

When a Lakers icon buys the Dodgers, you can bet current Lakers take notice. Lakers stars Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol had a lot to say after the news broke Tuesday night that the group headed by Magic Johnson will be the Dodgers’ new owners.

“I’m upset he didn’t cut me in,” Bryant said jokingly. “I’m going to have to talk to him about that.”

But Bryant has a hard time seeing himself ever owning a sports team.

“No. Well, I mean, if it’s in a big market like Los Angeles or something like that, then yeah.”

Gasol seems to be a lot more receptive to buying a team one day, however.

“Why not? I think if you have a chance to enjoy it and it’s something you’re passionate about, absolutely if you have the chance and have that opportunity to find a group of guys that you get along with and they all come together and chip in, though $2 billion is a big amount.”

Gasol though, says buying the Dodgers just adds to Johnson’s incredible legacy on and off the court.

“It’s incredible. He’s a great model to follow as a top athlete that has accomplished so much on the floor. I think what he’s been able to do off the floor has been even more impressive, so you really have to take your hat off to him because it’s just remarkable what he’s doing,” Gasol said.

“He just continues to build on it and it’s a great example for many athletes to understand what he did, what it took. He actually came into the locker room last year and gave us a little talk about how he got there and all the things that he’s done. How much he’s done is incredible. But also it takes good partnerships, good relationships and he invested his time to do that, so I think he’s definitely somebody we all should all look up to as far as post-career basketball.”

Or, as Bryant put it, “Magic’s got his hands everywhere, man. But I’m happy for him. Obviously, everybody knows how well loved he is in Los Angeles and he’s starting another chapter in his life and another chapter in his post-NBA career of rebuilding the Dodgers’ franchise.”

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Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol react to Magic Johnson buying the Dodgers