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Lakers Imperiled by Buss Family Feud

March 3rd, 2017 · No Comments · Basketball, Lakers, NBA

This was a day when the strains inside the Buss family came out in the open and were shown to be a clear and present danger to the stability of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise.

Jim Buss, who ran the basketball operations side of things for the Lakers, last week was fired by his sister, Jeanie.

Today, according to reports in the L.A. Times and ESPN, Jim and older brother Johnny struck back, attempting to set up a board meeting that could have ended sister Jeanie’s control of the team and returned it to Jim.

Jeanie Buss responded with a restraining order, and the brothers backed down from what has been described as a “coup” attempt. But that may not end the palace intrigue.

As the attorney for Jeanie Buss said: “This is no doubt the beginning and not the end of the legal game-playing.”

Which is bad for the Lakers. Not just that Jim wants back after three-plus miserable, out-of-the-playoffs seasons, but because it suggests that the franchise remains in chaos — which can’t help attract talent during a rebuild.

It has been noted that the Lakers, a team once considered an attractive option for free agents, could not even get a meeting last summer with Kevin Durant, who signed with Golden State.

If the Lakers hope to pull out of this four-season tailspin, they need an injection of talent. Like, say, Miami center Hassan Whiteside this summer.

What players and their agents want to see is stability among decision makers and a path to making the playoffs — or even winning a championship. That had been assumed, in the Lakers, for decades.

But not now. Not after the club’s competitive face-plant.

And especially as long as the Buss children — the six of them control 66 percent of the club — are going after each other with legal knives.

It would be best if the two older brothers accepted the changes made when Jim was pushed aside and general manager Mitch Kupchak was fired.

Jeanie did that, and named Magic Johnson to run the operational side of the franchise, with a GM yet to be identified.

Jim Buss had his chance running the team and his tenure is pretty much the definition of “fail”. (Johnny had no role with the team, but apparently supports Jim’s efforts to overturn Jeanie’s mandate.

A swift resolution is needed but seems unlikely.

A judge set a May 15 date for the start of a trial in which Jeanie Buss wants guarantees the provisions of a trust set up by the late Jerry Buss — which seems to make clear Jeanie is in charge of the basketball team — are followed.

The longer the intra-family fighting continues, the longer it will take to get the Lakers back on track.

Fans think it already has taken too long.

 

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