Magic rips Lakers: If they don't sign a great player this summer, 'it's over for us'

Magic Johnson has been critical of Jim Buss's running of the Los Angeles Lakers before, particularly when the organization hired Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson in 2012.

Now the Lakers legend says the team and Buss's legacy are all riding on this summer. 

"If he doesn't have a big summer with a free agent, it looks like they'll have a good draft pick. Put that together with a good free agent, you can be right back into the mix," Johnson said Tuesday on ESPN's "First Take." "If this summer, that doesn't happen where they can sign a great player, it's over for us.

Related: Byron Scott says Jim Buss 'has done a great job'

"Jim is trying to do it himself and trying to prove to everybody that this was the right decision that my dad gave me the reins," Johnson said of Jim, the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations and son of Dr. Jerry Buss. "He's not consulting anybody that can help him achieve his goals and dreams to win an NBA championship."

Johnson later added on Stephen A. Smith's SiriusXM/Mad Dog Sports Radio show that Kobe Bryant should consider retiring if Buss and Co. don't surround him with better talent next season. 

"You almost gotta say that because if you come back with the same level of talent, you're just going to have the same results," Johnson said.

"Look, Kobe, put pressure on Jim to say, 'Look, man, you've got to bring me some talent, some help, so that this can be a great season for the Lakers and a great season for me, being my last season, and then I can retire.'"

While Buss's decisions since taking over for his father can certainly be called into question, Magic has to realize that in addition to the Lakers simply fielding a terrible team, Bryant's play this season was part of the problem, as is Byron Scott's coaching.

Not to mention, both Johnson and Bryant advocated for Scott's hiring, so they may not be the best candidates to set Buss straight.