MAGIC'S REAPPEARING ACT EARVIN JOHNSON HAS A RIGHT TO ANOTHER NBA COMEBACK--BUT IS IT RIGHT FOR HIM?

The game is not out of his system. We can understand that. No
athlete's love for his sport has ever been greater than Magic
Johnson's affection for basketball, and a bond that strong
cannot be broken simply by holding a retirement press conference
or watching a number raised to the rafters. Magic cannot walk
away that easily, nor should anyone expect him to.

But there comes a time when a clean break is necessary, when
holding on becomes undignified, even a bit unseemly. It is
getting to that point with Johnson (right), who, despite his
success as a businessman and as vice-president and part owner of
the Los Angeles Lakers, cannot seem to give up his vision of
himself as a player. He has been hinting for weeks that he wants
to return to the court, and last week Laker executive vice
president Jerry West finally took the hint, saying Los Angeles
is interested in a Magic reappearing act. But as enticing as the
mental image is of Johnson leading the fast break once again, he
has been down the comeback trail before, and one more trip would
be one too many. Love the game, Magic. Don't chase the game.

Johnson retired before the 1991-92 season, when he learned that
he was HIV-positive. But after exhilarating performances in that
season's All-Star Game and the Olympics in Barcelona, he
attempted a return to the Lakers in the fall of 1992. He ended
that comeback after only five preseason games, when he
discovered how strong the fear was among his fellow players that
he could infect them if he bled on-court. Then there was his
return as coach of the Lakers for the last 16 regular-season
games in 1993-94. He quit again at season's end, disgusted with
the selfish attitudes of some of his players--many of whom, by
the way, could be his future teammates.

Now he is knocking at the door again, and as happy as we are to
see him, there is something sad as well. The repeated comebacks
imply that Johnson hasn't found a way to replace basketball in
his life. Where it once seemed that Johnson merely wanted to
come back to the NBA, it now appears that he needs to. And that
is a different thing entirely.

The irony is that Johnson always seemed to be one of those
lucky athletes who would be able to put the ball down and move
easily into the next stage of his life. As a player, he always
talked of how he was laying the groundwork for life after
basketball. But now it appears he has become the one thing he
promised he never would be: an athlete unable to live without
the game.

Johnson will face several obstacles if this comeback is to be
more successful than his previous attempts. Age and rust will be
his first opponents. When Michael Jordan returned to the Chicago
Bulls last March at age 32, he had a difficult time playing up
to his old standards after 21 months away from the NBA. Johnson
will be 36 on Aug. 14, and his layoff will have been almost
three times as long as Jordan's. He has been playing exhibitions
with his touring club against international teams, but going
from that level to the NBA is like jumping from a friendly round
of cribbage into a high-stakes poker game.

There is also the question of how Johnson's presence will affect
the growth of a promising young Laker team, especially point
guard Nick Van Exel, a budding star. The 6'9" Johnson, who is
more muscular but perhaps a step slower than he was in his
previous playing days, now sees himself more as a power forward
than a point guard. But regardless of his position, in the final
minutes of close games will the Lakers be Van Exel's team or
Magic's?

Looming over all others is the issue of Johnson's health. He
looks stronger than ever, and his apparent vitality is a daily
reminder of how people can live active, productive lives for
years after testing HIV-positive. But although Magic believes
society is far better educated about the disease now than it was
three years ago, no one is naive enough to believe Johnson won't
face much of the same trepidation he saw then, particularly if
he plays power forward. The area under the basket is a brutal,
sometimes bloody place. Will players again object to trading
elbows with a known HIV-positive opponent?

However, if Johnson is healthy enough and still skilled enough
to play in the NBA, he has every right to do so. Magic has
always played as if he was enjoying himself so much that he
welcomed everyone to join him, and he deserves to be made just
as welcome if he decides to come back. But perhaps the best
anyone could wish for him now is not that he gets what he wants,
but that he learns to want something else.

COLOR PHOTO:JOHN W. MCDONOUGH [Magic Johnson dribbling basketball]