Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans have lamented the fact that, in recent years, their beloved franchise has resembled a soap opera more than a legitimate championship-caliber operation.
Ever since former owner Dr. Jerry Buss died in 2013, his daughter Jeanie has assumed control of the team. Jeanie Buss’ brother Jim was put in charge of basketball operations, but he was seen as incompetent in that role, and the two didn’t exactly seem to get along.
Then there was Jeanie Buss’ romantic relationship with Phil Jackson, who coached the Lakers from 1999 to 2004, then returned for six more seasons in 2005 after taking a one-year sabbatical. While that relationship may have been sincere, it rubbed some in the organization the wrong way.
The late Jerry West, who was an executive for the team from 1982 to 2000, was one of those who didn’t approve of the relationship between Jeanie Buss and Jackson. According to one report, she responded by essentially dislodging West from the organization.
“After Jerry Buss died, Jeanie Buss inherited the team and wholly excommunicated Jerry West from the franchise, even taking his season tickets,” Strauss notes. “According to sources, the bitterness started back when West was critical of Jeanie Buss’ relationship with then Laker coach Phil Jackson. Phil won that particular battle, and ultimately the power struggle with West.”
West is often credited with helping to transform the Lakers from a bridesmaid franchise to the gold standard of basketball. During his Hall of Fame playing career in the 1960s and early 1970s, they reached the NBA Finals nine times, only to lose there eight times. But once he took over as general manager in 1982, he made the shrewd moves that turned Showtime from a great team that won two world championships in three years to arguably the greatest NBA team ever.
He went on to work for the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors after leaving the Lakers in 2000. Once he left the Warriors in 2017, he wanted to return to the Lakers, but the team turned him down.
Two years ago, West expressed frustration about his fractured relationship with the Lakers in an interview with The Athletic.
“One disappointing thing (about my career) is that my relationship with the Lakers is horrible,” West told The Athletic. “I still don’t know why. And at the end of the day, when I look back, I say, ‘Well, maybe I should have played somewhere else instead of with the Lakers, where someone would have at least appreciated how much you give, how much you cared.’”
It is unthinkable that he was treated the way he was after all he had done to build up the Lakers brand for decades. But unfortunately, that’s the way it turned out.