Magic Passes a Last Time, Won’t Coach Next Year : Lakers: After a 105-100 defeat by the Trail Blazers eliminates L.A., he says losing is too hard to take.

He made the no-look pass his signature, but Magic Johnson’s move Friday was no surprise, only the confirmation of what he had been hinting at for weeks.

He will finish the season as coach of the Lakers, but not return.

The only suspense left in the season that continued with the 105-100 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at the Forum, which eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs for the first time since 1975-76, disappeared with the announcement Johnson had telegraphed.

“It’s not the fact of our record,” Johnson said after falling to 5-6. “I never wanted to be a coach. I’m just sticking by that.

“It was a decision I’m comfortable with (because of) my lifestyle. I take losses too hard. I hurt. I take it home with me. It’s tough for me to sit there and take it, hard. I wanted to win so bad. It just wouldn’t be right for me because I think I would hurt myself more than help. Then I would hurt the guys.

“I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve been here. It was a great experience, a great challenge. I hope they (the Lakers) benefited. I know I did.”

Johnson told the players of his decision after the game.

“For me, it’s not sad or disappointing,” longtime teammate James Worthy said. “It’s just a decision we all have to respect and go on.”

General Manager Jerry West said current assistants Larry Drew and Michael Cooper would be considered to succeed Johnson, but otherwise avoided speculation that will center on three of the biggest names from the college ranks--Rick Pitino of Kentucky, Roy Williams of Kansas and Bob Huggins of Cincinnati. The Lakers reportedly approached both Pitino and Williams before Randy Pfund was hired in the spring of 1992.

“This is something, frankly, that I anticipated all along,” West said. “This does not surprise me at all. We’ll get busy immediately exploring all our options.”

Johnson had said all along that he didn’t expect to stay beyond the 16-game stint, going so far as to say Monday it was 70-30 against a return and that he had planned to make an announcement sometime this week and as early as Friday.

When Friday came, Johnson said before the game he had reached a decision. He wouldn’t say what it was, hoping not to take any of the limelight away from former teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was honored at halftime to commemorate the 10th anniversary of becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Johnson said he would announce his intentions tonight before the game against the Clippers at the Sports Arena.

But when word that he would not be back began to spread shortly before tipoff, the Lakers made it official in the first quarter.

“Coaching requires a tremendous commitment of time and energy, so with all that Earvin is trying to accomplish in his life, I readily understand this decision,” owner Jerry Buss said.

“I am appreciative that he gave it a try. I am even more convinced now that he would have been a great coach, and I’m sure our younger players benefited from his tutelage.”

Is he disappointed?

“Yes and no,” Buss said. “Yes, I would have preferred for him to stay. But I’m not disappointed, because I would not have wanted him to do something he did not want to do.”

Said Johnson: “It’s been a tough decision. I never thought that (originally). I thought, ‘Boom, you’re out. Sixteen--hurry up and get here. But I enjoyed it. . . . This has been great for me, working with 12 guys, trying to teach them the Lakers way.”

According to his agent, Lon Rosen, Johnson still has interest in buying a percentage of the Lakers. However, he said that there had not been any discussions on that front with Buss, and that issue was not a factor in the decision to stop coaching.

Laker Notes

Randy Pfund attended his first game since being fired as coach 3 1/2 weeks ago, saying he wanted to be on hand as the Lakers honored Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The organization gave Abdul-Jabbar, who passed Wilt Chamberlain as all-time leading NBA scorer on April 5, 1984, a gold watch. Asked what his greatest memory from that day is, Abdul-Jabbar said: “The sense of relief that I had finally done it.” Abdul-Jabbar also reiterated previous comments that he would be interested in coaching under the right circumstances. “I’d join somebody’s staff if all of the logistics work out,” he said.

The Lakers came in with a magic number of two to be knocked out of the playoffs, but were actually eliminated despite Denver’s loss at Dallas because the Nuggets would advance on the fourth tiebreaker, best record against conference playoff teams. . . . Magic Johnson had threatened after Wednesday’s 29-point loss at Phoenix to shake up the starting lineup, especially the front line, but stayed with Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell and George Lynch against the Trail Blazers. Six Trail Blazers scored in double figures, led by Rod Strickland, who had 17 points. Elden Campbell had 21 points for the Lakers, and Nick Van Exel had 16 points and 10 assists and Divac 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Johnson, on those who say he shouldn’t have taken the Lakers’ coaching job in the first place: “I don’t care what anybody thinks. . . . I knew they were going to say something. I don’t care now.”

Magic on the Move

A look at Magic Johnson’s major career decisions with the Lakers:

* Nov. 7, 1991--Announces his retirement as a player at 32 after testing positive for HIV. He leaves NBA ranked first in assists with 9,921.

* Sept. 29, 1992--Announces he will return to the Lakers and play a limited schedule for the 1992-93 season.

* Nov. 2, 1992--Announces his retirement again.

* March 22, 1994--Becomes coach of the Lakers, replacing Randy Pfund.

* April 15, 1994--Announces his retirement as coach, effective at end of season.