Magic Number May Be Malone’s

If Karl Malone chooses to play for the Lakers, and that was still undecided as of Wednesday night, he could wear Magic Johnson’s No. 32 jersey, retired for more than 11 years.

Johnson has given Malone permission to wear the uniform, one of eight Los Angeles Laker jerseys that hangs on the wall at Staples Center. Malone wore No. 32 for 18 seasons in Utah, giving it up only in All-Star games, where five times he was a Western Conference teammate of Johnson’s.

The jersey has come down once before, when Johnson wore it for 32 games in his 1995-96 comeback season.

A day after Gary Payton verbally committed to the Lakers, Malone still was considering a standing offer to join him in Los Angeles.

He also was said to be mulling interest from the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs have asked Malone to delay his decision until early next week, when Jason Kidd is expected to announce his decision to stay in New Jersey or relocate to San Antonio.

Already wary of the Lakers’ addition of Payton, which cannot be official until July 16, the first day teams may sign player contracts, the Kings and Mavericks apparently have made late sign-and-trade runs at Malone and his former team, the Jazz.

Malone told the Lakers last week he would play for their $1.5-million exception if it meant they could also sign Payton. The Spurs are under the salary cap, even if they sign Kidd, and would be particularly flush if Kidd opted to re-sign with the Nets. The Kings and Mavericks, contenders along with the Spurs, could put together attractive trades that would give Malone a much higher salary.

The Lakers could put together a sign-and-trade scenario to boost Malone’s salary somewhat, but they do not have the roster depth of the Kings or Mavericks.