Magic Johnson said Sunday he does not want a spot on basketball's Dream Team III in the Atlanta Olympics.
"I don't want to do it," Johnson told NBC-TV in an interview at the Forum, where the Los Angeles Lakers were preparing for their game against the Houston Rockets."I've been wrestling with it, you know?" Johnson said. "I really wanted to do it, and then when I saw that schedule I said, damn, when is my time going to be with the family, for myself to recuperate to be ready for next season?"
Johnson said the Olympic training schedule, coupled with his business and Lakers commitments, would prevent him from spending time with his family and taking them on trips to Hawaii and Europe.
"I want to step back," Johnson said. "It would be too much because of my family commitments."
Already, the third installment of the Dream Team includes Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Glenn Robinson, Karl Malone, Grant Hill, Anfernee Hardaway, John Stockton and Reggie Miller.
The USA Basketball Committee won't pick the final two members of the U.S. team until after the NBA season.
The 1996 Dream Team will be coached by Lenny Wilkens of the Hawks, the winningest coach in NBA history.
Johnson, who began playing this season with the Lakers again, retired from the NBA in 1991 after contracting the virus that causes AIDS. He played the following year on the original Dream Team that won the gold at the Barcelona Olympics, even though some foreign players expressed concerns about banging elbows with someone who had contracted HIV.