Tag: Jeanie Buss

Rich Paul: Jeanie Buss made the call to draft Bronny James

Rich Paul, the agent for both LeBron James and Bronny James, claims Lakers owner Jeanie Buss pulled the trigger on drafting the latter.

Even though he was only the No. 55 pick in last month’s NBA draft, Bronny James is the most talked-about incoming rookie in the league right now. Obviously, it is because he is the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, although some feel he has some real potential himself.

Others who aren’t as optimistic about his potential feel the only reason the Lakers drafted him was because of the influence of his father, as well as Rich Paul, who is the agent for both the younger and elder James. The perception is that Paul, at the behest of the elder James, dictated the entire pre-draft process to make sure the younger James would end up with the Lakers.

In an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Paul said Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was the one who decided to draft the 19-year-old.

“Look, Jeanie Buss decided that she’s making this call, and she’s been able to see Bronny in all aspects not only from a basketball perspective but also from a character perspective,” said Paul. “And he has everything that aligns with the Laker brand. And so, you have to make that type of call. At the end of the day, we’re not going to spend too much time on that. Bronny has to work his way, and he will.”

In the end, this statement won’t convince critics that the decision to draft the younger James was an organic one rather than an orchestrated one that was meant to appease the elder James.

The former University of Southern California guard shot very poorly in his first four summer league games this month. But on Wednesday, he finally broke out with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting while also going 2-of-5 from 3-point range. Prior to Wednesday’s game, he had missed all 15 of his 3-point attempts.

Report: Jeanie Buss took away Jerry West’s Lakers season tickets

Even after doing so much to build the Lakers into the gold standard of basketball, Jerry West wasn’t treated well by owner Jeanie Buss.

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.

Via Ethan Strauss’ Substack:

“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.

Two insiders reveal troubling facts about the Lakers organization

The Lakers’ front office doesn’t have a good reputation around the NBA, and the reality may match that perception.

After University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley said no to a generous offer made to him by the Los Angeles Lakers, the nagging issue of whether the Lakers are really a world-class basketball franchise has come up yet again.

Perhaps Hurley saying no had everything to do with Hurley and nothing to do with the Lakers’ deficiencies. However, his decision has made the organization look bad and inadequate once again.

The situation has reminded some of 2019, when the Lakers courted Tyronn Lue, who had coached LeBron James to an NBA championship in 2016 while with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two sides haggled over the length of the contract offered, and Lue said no.

Lue would instead join the Los Angeles Clippers, and he has been their head coach for the last four seasons. While the Clippers have failed to reach the NBA Finals and have routinely crashed and burned early in the playoffs despite having Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, they haven’t hesitated to pay Lue. In fact, they just gave him a generous extension that will reportedly pay him approximately $14 million a year.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report wrote that not only do the Lakers have the reputation of being “very frugal,” but they also lack some modern resources that ultimately help coaches out.

Via Bleacher Report:

“The general opinion around the league is that the Lakers have a very frugal front office,” Pincus wrote. “The Clippers spare no expense with a massive staff, but the Lakers’ sparse front office lacks common features, such as a pro personnel department. Outside of the scouting department for the draft, L.A. doesn’t have scouts spread throughout the league watching NBA talent on a nightly basis in person like other franchises.”

Lakers insider Anthony Irwin went a little bit further.

Via Lakers Daily:

“Sources say the Lakers are seen as a skeleton crew that does not provide its coaches with proper resources.

“‘It just isn’t a good job,’ one NBA assistant coach said. ‘They negotiate as if it’s some grand honor to coach the Lakers, but the reality is you’re looking at a couple years before you’re going to get scapegoated. That’s obviously the case with most coaches, but the Lakers in particular don’t seem to value the position.'”

Some would blame James and Klutch Sports for the fact that head coaches haven’t lasted long for the Lakers in recent years. Their next head coach will be the fourth man to occupy that job since James arrived six years ago.

On the other hand, owner Jeanie Buss isn’t wealthy by NBA standards. Even her father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, had to take measures to control costs during his 34 years as the Lakers’ owner, although they did win 10 world championships during that time.

The paradox of the Lakers’ head coaching job

Is the Lakers’ head coaching job an attractive and coveted one, or is it a toxic one?

Dan Hurley rejecting the Los Angeles Lakers’ relatively generous offer to be their head coach and deciding to stay at the University of Connecticut had people talking on Monday. Did he say no because the Lakers offered him “only” $70 million over six years, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski?

Did he say no because he didn’t want the headache or the pressure of coaching the Lakers?

Or did he say no simply because he’s very happy and content at Connecticut and he’s lived in the Northeast his whole life?

Now the Lakers are going back to the drawing board. As was the case before they reached out to Hurley, JJ Redick seems to be a big-time candidate for their head coaching job, as is James Borrego.

Lakers fans may ask, “Who wouldn’t want the job?” But others around the league may feel the opposite way.

It’s a Great Gig — But it Isn’t

On one hand, being the head coach of the Lakers is a very attractive and lucrative job. One has the opportunity to coach a franchise that has won 17 NBA championships, is the gold standard of basketball, has more worldwide fame and cachet than any other basketball team and is among the top five sports teams in the entire world when it comes to accomplishments and cachet.

For those who have what it takes, coaching the Lakers can take them to heights they previously only dreamed of. It happened to a 36-year-old former bit player and assistant coach named Pat Riley when he replaced the deposed Paul Westhead in 1981. At that point, no one other than perhaps Riley himself knew he had the makings of a great coach and leader.

Nine years and four world titles later, he had become a coaching titan, and after he left the Lakers in 1990, the New York Knicks sought him out to return them to greatness.

The current Lakers may not be championship-caliber, but they have a good, perhaps a very good, roster that may be able to be tweaked into an elite one this summer. Coaching them means the opportunity to work with LeBron James (presumably, at least) and Anthony Davis, who make up what is still one of the very best superstar duos around.

All this can make the Lakers’ head coaching gig shine like a crazy diamond, to paraphrase the title of the 1975 Pink Floyd song.

That song was written about one-time Pink Floyd singer, songwriter and guitarist Syd Barrett. As was the case with Barrett, the Lakers have allure and greatness, but they can also be seen as dysfunctional.

For that reason, being the Lakers’ head coach is also seen by some as toxic.

It is seen as toxic for the same reasons it can be seen as attractive: Because it’s the Lakers, and because it gives one the opportunity to coach LeBron James.

James is obviously one of the all-time greats, and even at age 39, he’s still an elite player. But he also has a reputation, at least among some, for undermining the authority of coaches and dictating a team’s personnel moves to his personal whims.

Why would a coach want the job when it could mean having James ignore him during huddles and passive-aggressively engineer a team-wide coup? James reportedly ignored Darvin Ham, the Lakers’ last head coach, and it was likely one of the factors that led to Ham being fired.

There is also a perception that the team’s front office is in disarray. Whether it’s because owner Jeanie Buss is unwilling or unable to pay enough money to non-stars, not to mention coaches, or because the front office doesn’t know how to build a winning time over time, or because of James’ alleged meddling, it doesn’t have the best reputation around the league.

Then there is the inherent pressure of coaching the Lakers. When they don’t meet expectations, someone has to be the scapegoat. During the James era, that someone has often seemed to be the head coach.

No matter what happens, or who ultimately takes the job, one thing is certain: It will not be boring. Unfortunately, boring and stable is exactly what the franchise could use right now.

What LeBron James said to Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis in viral video

LeBron James went viral on social media when he sat in between Lakers president Jeanie Buss and executive Linda Rambis on Friday.

Friday, March 8, was International Women’s Day, an unofficial holiday meant to celebrate the achievements of women across the globe in many different areas.

That evening, the Los Angeles Lakers, who are one of just a handful of major pro sports teams owned by a woman, hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. LeBron James sat out due to ankle soreness, but without him, the Lakers managed to overcome a late deficit to win 123-122 behind D’Angelo Russell’s 44 points and his barrage of clutch baskets.

During the contest, James was seen sitting in between Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss and executive director of special projects Linda Rambis. A video of the three went viral on social media, and it turns out James was complimenting the two on being “two of the most powerful women in sports,” as he put it (h/t Lakers Daily).

James returned to action on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he dropped 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Anthony Davis put forth a historic game with 27 points, 25 rebounds, five assists, seven steals and three blocked shots as Los Angeles won again, this time by 11 points.

LeBron sitting with Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis during a Lakers timeout led to so many jokes

What was LeBron talking about during this hangout with the Lakers owner?

LeBron James didn’t play in Friday’s Los Angeles Lakers win over the Milwaukee Bucks due to ankle soreness, but the spotlight was still on him thanks to photos and videos on X (formerly Twitter).

During a timeout, he walked over to hang out with team owner Jeanie Buss and Linda Rambis, who works in the front office (and is married to Kurt Rambis). Videos show them joking around and laughing, which led to a lot of jokes online, including a whole bunch of talk about how the Lakers should fire embattled head coach Darvin Ham.

Here’s a roundup of some we found:

Jeanie Buss on how Lakers’ 2023 playoff run led to the return of their core

Owner Jeanie Buss says after the Lakers reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals, bringing back their core made sense.

During the 2021 and 2022 offseasons, there was a great deal of roster turnover for the Los Angeles Lakers, leading to fans complaining that executive Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss had essentially dismantled the team that won the 2020 NBA championship.

Los Angeles failed to reach the play-in tournament during the 2021-22 season after trading Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell for Russell Westbrook, not re-signing Alex Caruso and adding several free agents who were over the hill. About a year ago, it looked like it was headed toward the same fate.

But then came multiple midseason trades that transformed the roster and the organization. All of a sudden, the Lakers were considered championship contenders, and despite having little time to jell with their new supporting cast, they reached the Western Conference finals.

Although they got swept there by the eventual world champion Denver Nuggets, they decided to maintain the core that got them there, despite some fans wanting them to again go after a third star. Buss told Dan Woike and Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview that such a decision was an easy one (h/t Lakers Nation).

“It absolutely did,” said Buss regarding whether that run influenced such a decision. “When you think about where we started the season, 2-10, 2-11, and at that point, you kind of feel like are we ever gonna be able to dig our way out of it? So the idea that we got to the trade deadline, the All-Star Game, and the momentum started to go in a direction that hey, now we see a team that’s kind of coming together. Then they started making a run for the play-in and we’re gonna make the play-in and then we win that game and then we start winning rounds in the playoffs. You just get swept away. And it is a familiar feeling that we haven’t had in a long time, but as Laker fans know, that’s what we’re used to as Laker fans is going late into the season, into May and hopefully into June. I didn’t want it to end. Certainly we came up on a Denver team that was headed their way to a championship and so it was tough to lose to them but it was kind of nice to knock off the sitting champions when we beat the Golden State Warriors. So when we headed into the offseason, conversation around the office was let’s just stay on this roll, let’s bring this team back and build on it and see what we can do.”

Although this season’s Lakers are just 7-6 right now, their potential is clear, and they’re still building chemistry after having only three months together last spring. After being saddled with an old and undersized roster a year or two ago, they now have a young and athletic roster that has plenty of depth and length, especially in the backcourt and at the wing position.

Jeanie Buss: It wouldn’t surprise me if LeBron James played another five years

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss says she can see LeBron James continuing to play in the NBA for quite some time, even though he is 38 years of age.

At the age of 38, LeBron James may not be winning the greatest of all-time debate, but he has been winning the longevity debate.

He averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists a game while shooting 50% from the field last season. The year prior he put up 30.3 points a game, which was the second-highest scoring average of his career. As long as the right foot injury that hampered him late last season is fully healed, another year of elite or near-elite play seems likely.

James has become the greatest late-30s player in NBA history, and he is chasing the longevity of legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who won two Super Bowl championships in his 40s.

While talking to Sports Central LA, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said she could see James playing five more seasons.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if LeBron (James) played another five years. We’ve seen him do things in the last couple seasons that defy anything we’d seen before. But that’s his decision.”

James is under contract for two more seasons, including the 2023-24 campaign. He can opt out of that deal and become a free agent at the conclusion of this season.

Jeanie Buss said she got death threats after Lakers’ poor start last season

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss made a stunning admission about the dark times she went through when her team struggled to start last season.

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss is a congenial and engaging woman who presided over an NBA championship team as recently as 2020. But afterward, the team went through some dark times, and some fans scorched her with criticism as a result.

Some felt she was too obsessed with going after a third star to put around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The 2021 trade for Russell Westbrook was clearly a disaster, and Buss got lots of criticism for that ill-fated move.

She has also been criticized for her hire and support of general manager Rob Pelinka, who had no prior front office experience when he came on board in 2017.

But both Buss and Pelinka rebounded in terms of public opinion when the Lakers made a couple of trades prior to last season’s trade deadline that turned everything around. They turned Westbrook, four little-used no-impact players and limited draft capital into Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt, and all of a sudden, L.A. was a title contender again.

Buss admitted to The Athletic that prior to those life-saving trades, she was receiving death threats.

The Lakers lost their first five games and 10 of their first 12 last season, and their offense was absolutely abysmal at the time. According to analytics geeks, they had only a 0.3% chance of making the playoffs.

Not only did they make the playoffs, they reached the Western Conference Finals, and they’re now one of the favorites to win another world championship this coming season.

An 18th NBA title for the Lakers next summer would make Buss an extremely happy woman.