Jim Buss sat down with Eric Pincus of the LA Times for a wide ranging interview on Thursday and provided plenty of insight on all things Lakers. Pincus’ entire interview is well worth your time as the Lakers’ part-owner and top executive on the basketball side takes us behind the curtain on where his mindset is heading into a critical season in the team’s rebuild.
And while Buss’ thoughts on D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and more deserve your attention, the most intriguing part of their discussion, at least for me, relates to none other than Kobe Bryant, his future with the team, and whether this upcoming season may be the superstar’s last:
“We’re going to approach it like it is, but that doesn’t mean it is,” Buss said of Bryant. “I’m not going to sit there and say, ‘This is it, Kobe, you’re done,’ because it’s not my decision, it’s his decision.”
While this seems like the politic answer, Buss does elaborate further:
So is this Bryant’s final year with the team? “My arms are like this,” Buss said, holding his arms wide open, about Bryant’s future.
“He just has to know, at that age, and that many miles on you, what is your role? We’ll explain the role, and if he still wants to do that and that’s how he wants to go out, that’s fine with me.”
This is the first time anyone within the Lakers’ organization has ever even hinted at there being any sort of conditions for Kobe returning or that he might need to accept a reduced role if he does want to return. And, frankly, it’s good to hear the organization is taking this approach.
I, like many other Lakers’ fans, have immense and total respect for Kobe, what he has provided the franchise over the course of his career, and how much he means to the city of Los Angeles. There are no caveats that come with that statement, no qualifiers.
But, as the old saying goes, father time is undefeated. The Lakers, at some point, will move on from Kobe to the next era of Lakers’ basketball. That transition will be one which involves discussions with Kobe, but the terms of that transition won’t just be set by the franchise icon. The front office and the coaches will have a say in those terms and Kobe will likely have to accept them.
How those conversations go remains to be seen and, of course, there may not even be much to say. Kobe could easily tell the front office he’s not interested in returning at all, essentially ending the need to have any sort of talk which could be uncomfortable for both sides. I mean, Kobe could easily follow through on what he told Jerry Colangelo and want to ride off into the sunset for Team USA at the Rio Olympics.
But, if that’s not the case and there is more Lakers’ basketball in him, it’s good to hear that Buss is prepared to talk with Kobe about what (Buss) and the rest of the organization want that to look like rather than it only being what Kobe wants it to. That won’t be an easy conversation to have, but props to Buss for seemingly being ready to have it.
Mike says
Yes but only because he’s willing to let you build for the future, & act in what’s in the best interest of the franchise, but you’d better honor that & in the end, resign him last & pay the luxury tax that you’ve avoided over the past horribly terrible 3 straight losing seasons.
rr says
From the article:
“It’s just that it takes time to build a core that guys want to play with,” Buss said. “I understand a superstar doesn’t want to come in and say, ‘Oh, we still have two or three years of rebuilding.’ I think with Jordan Clarkson, Russell, Randle, even Hibbert … we’re getting a core of seven or eight players.”
With the NBA’s new national television deal kicking in next year, the Lakers could have up to $60 million to spend in July, enough to go after two max-level free agents, including Kevin Durant.
“If a big name or two came, we have the room. That’s the key,” Buss said. “We’ve kept our flexibility.”
Buss also believes strongly in Coach Byron Scott.
“He has the Laker blood in him,” Buss said. “[Mike] D’Antoni and Mike Brown, they weren’t Lakers. They loved the Lakers and they tried their best and I think they’re both great coaches.
“I’ll take blame for that, but there was a lot of people, including my father [the late Jerry Buss] and Mitch [Kupchak], who were in favor of these changes. But it feels like we’ve righted the ship. We’ve got the coach, we’ve got the players.”
Renato Afonso says
To me, the most important part of that interview is when he says that he’ll take the blame for the hiring of MB and MDA. He also says that both Mitch and his father were in favor of those hirings but he implies that they were indeed a mistake. However, the part that worries me is the part where he says that they’ve “righted the ship” mainly because Byron Scott is a Laker. Righting the ship would mean getting a coach that not only develops players but maximizes our chances to win any game. Byron Scott may be that man (I doubt it) but that has certainly nothing to do with being a Laker.
On Kobe, I’m all for signing him as long as it doesn’t hurt our chances of improving the team. I’m talking about both minutes played.
Todd says
Jim, I think correctly realizes that the Lakers are not a free agent destination yet. I guess its better to realize the error of your ways too late than not at all. In turns out that many of us were correct: wagering that an older elite FA will join a rebuilding team is a losing hand. Implementing the cap ‘flexibility’ strategy was a failed approach from the start and has produced the worst the two worst records in the team’s history.
Unfortunately, the team has painted themselves in a corner. For the next two years the FO will be forced to push all the chips onto the table betting on the kids. This feels very much like the scenario around Kobe’s last extension. When pressed on the length and cost Jim and Jeanie’s response was, “Who else were they going to spend the money on?” Well, evidently the answer this time around is the same: no one.
Corey says
I can only remember the Lakers signing 1 top 10, still in his prime free agent; Shaq. Every other great: kobe, west, Baylor, wilt, kareem, magic, worthy etc.. was drafted our traded for. And even though chasing big free agents was wrong, it never took away from the bottoming out that needs to happen if you don’t have a star. Today, rather be the Lakers than the Mavs or Brooklyn or NY or Philly. We’ve got youth, upside & cap space. Its been a lot bumpier than we’re accustomed, losing a titan like Dr. Buss can have that affect, but getting stars through the draft is the Laker way. Just need to develop the kids now.
Keith says
Let’s hope Jim waits until after the season before offering Kobe the extension. It would be beneficial to see if Kobe can stay healthy and produce before setting aside salary for the 2016/17 season.
Anonymous says
It was good to hear Jim’s admission that, “I understand a superstar doesn’t want to come in and say, ‘Oh, we still have two or three years of rebuilding.” I wonder, if knowing now that the ‘sign two max free agents and everything will be better’ silver bullet was a doomed solution, if Jim would have done things differently:
1) Would he still have given up so many picks for Nash?
2) Would he have allowed DH to leave for nothing?
3) Would he have allowed Pau to leave for nothing?
4) Would he have pursued Greg Monroe as a restricted free agent two years ago?
It might just be me but this acknowledgement, when put in perspective of the FOs actions these past 3+ years, has had a significant impact on the trajectory of the franchise. In the real world there are usually consequences for implementing a failed strategy. Evidently, not in Lakers land.
George says
“I’ll take blame for that, but there was a lot of people, including my father [the late Jerry Buss] and Mitch [Kupchak], who were in favor of these changes. But it feels like we’ve righted the ship. We’ve got the coach, we’ve got the players.”
_
– Parsing out portions of the blame to your deceased father and a subordinant is weak leadership.
– ESPN just picked the Lakers to finish 26-56. That’s not what I call righting the ship.
Darius Soriano says
– Parsing out portions of the blame to your deceased father and a subordinant is weak leadership.
I find it funny that this is the stance so many people take. I don’t say this to pick on George, but it’s a sentiment I hear a fair amount. Many fans want to know the way decisions are made, until they actually learn how. Then, if it doesn’t fit the narrative they want for those decisions being made, it’s ridiculed in one way or another. If the moves worked out and Buss took all the credit, I can only imagine the blow back from fans who would want to spread that credit out to people like Mitch Kupchak.
– ESPN just picked the Lakers to finish 26-56. That’s not what I call righting the ship.
Not to sound harsh, but what ESPN says has little to do with whether the “ship is righted” or not. That will play out on the floor and with the development of the players under the coach in place. Further context to Jim’s comments about righting the ship are him stating
So, again, ESPN’s prediction has little to do with this, honestly. I’ll add, as I typically do, Jim may end up being wrong, of course. I’m not a big fan of this coach and the players on the team may not end up being “core players” who can be key contributors to a good team. That will only play out in time.
Anonymous says
7 or 8 core players are Randle, Russel, and Clarkson. Then throw in Tarik, Jabari, Nance Jr. And AB. That’s why they keep signing guys to training camp, and have guys like Bass, Lou, Roy and Swaggy P so that if a guy becomes available by Feb they can make a trade or 2. Wave or cut Sacre and Kelly because they’re not going to get any thing of value for them or from them. Bring in Holmes, Frazier and Upshaw see what happens. They have higher upsides. And the minimum to Metta someone needs to play the 3, good rotation with him and Kobe.
George says
Darius: As always, I respect your comments. I’m not always the calmest contributor on the site.
However, Jim’s interview demonstrates a complete 180 in his thinking and approach. We just endured two horrible years based on his, ‘sign two elite free agents and everything will be OK’ mantra. Of course this dovetailed into his promise to take the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals or to the Championship Series by the 2016/17 season.
Now that the cold water of reality has splashed his face and he realizes, what many of us have known for a long while, that the Lakers were cratered and building back up to a competitive level will take a long time. Sure Jim’s making sense now but because he has no other choice but to face the hard facts.
But that hasn’t always been the case, he has managed the Lakers roster to maximize salary flexibility to sign elite free agents. He took risks with the Lakers few remaining assets (draft picks and DH and Pau) and turned them into nothing. He pursued Melo and LA, which in light of his current comments makes their pursuit even more ridiculous.
So now that he has changed his tune he gets a pass on where the Lakers are and his role in putting them there? How many of us get to change the criteria in which we are graded on midstream? This wasn’t an interview for Lakers fans. It was directed at Jeanie in the hopes that she doesn’t fire him.
Darius Soriano says
George,
I think mentioning free agency as much as he has was a mistake. I also think maintaining flexibility is good as that often leads to being able to strike when an opportunity presents itself. It’s also worth mentioning that as the CBA evolves, teams must evolve with it. The last lockout churned out a CBA that everyone is adjusting to. I by no means think there’s no blame to be passed out. But I always try to balance that with seeing the entire board and understanding where one is and is not fully in control of the circumstances that help shape how good a team is.
rr says
Darius,
It isn’t complicated: whatever actually happened with the D’Antoni hire, it is simply weak PR/leadership, as George says, to put some of the blame for a bad decision on your dead father. And Jeanie has made it clear in public a couple of times that she resents it. It is simply a people skills/image thing that Jim (and you, apparently) don’t get. Jim did do a little better with it in this interview, but the right public answer for Jim to give about any bad decision is a simple one: “What happens to this is on me.” It has nothing to do with fan narratives and Mitch Kupchak and parsing out credit.
Whether it actually matters in the big picture is unknown; that will depend on how much Jeanie actually cares about it, and like everything else, it won’t matter if the team starts getting better.
Robert says
I think when you are coming off the worst 2 year span in team history and that is “projected” to be the worst 3 year span, then it is a bit premature to consider the “ship righted”. It is also worth noting that Jim’s “righted the ship” comment is in reference to the fact that he now feels we have the right coach in place after 2 mistakes (his words). In any case, whether the ship is righted or not – Byron is at the wheel and he is there at Jim’s direction.
Aaron Wayne says
Kobe should play 16-17 in China and make $30 million per.
Joel says
Darius – I respect your need to have an even hand on this site. I am no where near as vocal in my frustration with the FO as some (George – I do like your passion).
However, as I read the Times interview I also sensed a 180 change of perspective from Jim. I couldn’t help nut think that this change of heart was all too convenient in light of the fact he was on record holding to his promise.
I also couldn’t help think about Anon’s comments above. If Jim knew the risks of rebuilding through free agency would he have given that extra pick to the Suns for Nash. Would he have pushed for a sign and trade with Houston for DH, would Pau have been traded for at least one young piece?
Bottom line, I guess politicians aren’t the only ones that can flip flop of issues.
Erika Wooten says
He needs to say that he messed up and will step down before the end of the month thus allowing Jeanie to hire a more competent person. The fans would adore him for his biggest leadership decision thus restoring his credibility. Now that would be great leadership instead of trying to hang on. He needs to know when to fold his cards
Darius Soriano says
“It isn’t complicated”
No one called it complicated. I said I find it funny that this is what a vocal set of fans say often when, in fact, it’s just the truth. If this bothers fans, I think it says more about what offends/bothers the fan, than what it actually is. I, for one, have been someone who’s managed a large group of people and been in a leadership position who is tasked with final decision making responsibility. I lead by trying to build a consensus and making the the final call. Fact is, Jim’s saying “blame me” so fans are. He’s also reiterating what’s true about the decision making process within the organization. Something Mitch often does too. So, Jim’s comments, for me, reflect a style that does not bother me. If it bothers someone else, that’s fine, but I’ll call it like I see it just like those calling out Jim the way they see it.
So, it’s not about me “not getting it”, it’s about me not agreeing. Which, is not the same thing.
BigCitySid says
– Glad to see Laker ownership becoming more logical, a couple of years late, but better than never. Same can be said for many here. Welcome to my world.
– Interesting I’m only hearing two options hinted for Kob, retire or take a smaller role w/ Lakers. Kob may choose a 3rd option…another NBA team. After all, Jordan did. And we all know how much Kob admires Jordan.
– Lakers smelling just a little sweeter today.
Robert says
Let’s not forget the headline: “Jim Buss is Open to Kobe Returning After Next Season”
So Jim is open to it; Jeanie is in favor of it; and Mitch backed off his previous “last season” comments.
So 21 + 22 are going from wild dream to distinct possibility.
Hey – some dream of the 8th seed this year, others dream of retaining the pick, and Jim dreams of righting the ship. So amongst those – is my dream so far fetched?
LT Mitchell says
“If the moves worked out and Buss took all the credit, I can only imagine the blow back from fans who would want to spread that credit out to people like Mitch Kupchak.”
One of the moves that worked out for Jim was drafting Bynum and Jim made sure everyone knew it was his decision…repeatedly. I thought he threw Mitch under the bus at the time by taking all the credit, and he’s doing the same by blaming his deceased father and Mitch for the MDA/Phil fiasco.
A good team leader distributes credit when things work out and takes the blame when things don’t. Jim has a ways to go.
Calvin says
Robert – shouldn’t you be supporting Jim now? He likes your man Byron. And Kobe will probably still play for a few more years. In terms of winning, I’m honestly more concerned about Jeanie than Jim. Jeanie’s twitter posts are all about fans and baby pictures. I don’t know if she knows, or is interested to know, about basketball ins and outs.
david h says
Darius: call it kismet; I too can appreciate that Jim Buss is reaching out publically to let fans know the organization is open to extending kobe’s basketball career with the lakers after this upcoming contract season (with but a couple of restrictions/clarifications).
Despite Kobe’s age and recent injury history, why do I get the feeling that there is another injury just waiting to happen now that Jim Buss has given Kobe an open arm endorsement. Or did I just do that??
Like how you walk us thru these dog day afternoons.
Go lakers
Robert says
Calvin: Glad to see you are back. Yes – Jim loves Kobe and Byron, so maybe I should give him a break (don’t count on it though) You are right about Jeanie, but that is the good thing. She knows better than to supervise “basketball” decisions. The real solution lies in the form of someone who will just offer the Trust an amount that will be too much to say no to.
Erika: End of the month? Wow – nice.
Toma says
Kobe signing for 1 year or two years is a sign that the FO does not expect to be able to make any significant personnel acquisitions. Kobe is the Buss kid’s opiate for the masses — give folks a distraction while nothing else can be done to improve the team.
The future is now tied to the Summer of 2017. We’ll keep our pick and it’s a deep free agent market. We are half way through the roughest four year stretch in the history of the franchise. Heaven help us if the core (Russell, Randle and Clarkson) aren’t foundational players. The rest of the decade could easily slip away from us.
Anonymous says
Kobe is the Buss kid’s opiate for the masses — give folks a distraction while nothing else can be done to improve the team.
__
I envision a one year extension at $25/mil. Not that Kobe is worth it but because the Lakers will need to spend a certain amount of the CAP. No, I don’t think Kobe can stay healthy or perform to a level remotely close to his peak. However, Kobe is popular and as such provides a distraction for the mess that the franchise has become.
The Lakers would have paid Kobe $75 million from 2014/15 through 2016/17. All the better if he’s injured because it provides additional cover for the FO. This is a franchise that has tied its own hands with so many bad business and basketball decisions to the point that resigning a soon to be 38 year old is seen as a good move.
It’s a bad move by a desperate FO.
Craig W. says
There is simply nothing Jim Buss can say that won’t bring down the wrath of some of the posters here. Jerry Buss only agreed to a yearly interview to avoid some of this grumbling, but he didn’t have to deal with Twitter.
We read his comments about free agency as his being at one extreme. Now we interpret his latest statements as having taken a 180 on his previous position. Talk about avoiding nuance and imposing your own pre-conceived bias into a position – Jim, like most people in a public leadership position, learn the ropes as they encounter problems. They may have a philosophy, but it undergoes changes as time goes on. However, rarely do people completely reverse course in their beliefs. Normally it is evolution, not revolution. That is another reason wholesale change often fails to accomplish its intended result.
Justin says
@rr and George, So what do you want from him. He takes the blame and it isn’t good enough for you because he mentions the factual evidence that both his father and Mitch agreed. That is not blaming your dead father. I think you just want to believe that he somehow went rogue and his dad (who would literally still have signed off on the deal being the owner) and Mitch got duped by him at the last minute. I have said this before, no GM or owner acts alone. I promise you, if Jim had never signed onto the Lakers the exact same things would have happened. Why? Because they have a team of people and Jim never makes a decision without Mitch agreeing (same as Jerry Buss never made decision without Jerry West’s approval). Jim doesn’t even make the final say. It has popped up just after the draft, Jim was split between Oakfor and Russell and was leaning towards Oakfor. But he let Mitch make the final call. Mitch was the one that took Russell (and has made all the moves the fans blame Jim for. But to be far Jim says they think alike so Jim likely would have done everything but the Russell pick exactly the same). Mitch by the way knew he had Hibbert in a trade if they couldn’t get a big in FA. Anyways I think it is big of Jim to take the blame publicly. Some people would have blamed Mitch (I mean that is partly he job to shield the owners). Again if you don’t understand that it is the entire organization, look at the Kings. They got a new owner and everyone thought they would be fine. But the new owner didn’t fire anyone. So the same things that happened with the Maloofs are happening with Vivek.If Jim goes and even if Mitch follows, the Lakers will make the same moves. Those won’t change until you have many no front office and management faces.
And the truth is the Lakers have not done a poor job at all in the last two years. They have drafted 3 players they hope are their core and not hurt their future. If those three players work out they did an outstanding job. People seem to think results are all that matter but then ignore that the Lakers have only been rebuilding for two years. Umm the Thunder took 4 years (and thats with Durant, one of the best players of his generation). The Bulls took 8 years after Jordan. The Warriors missed the playoffs 11 out of 12 years (and when the new owners got the team, they were booed by fans and it took 4 years before they were contenders and 5 before they won a championship. And let’s also ignore that if Curry goes to the Wolves with either pick the Warriors are still not a playoff team. Or if they don’t blatantly tank games, record went from 18-21 to 5-22 to finish out. Without that they don’t get Barnes and who knows if Iggy then wants to go there). In fact outside of the Spurs you can’t find a team that became contenders in less than 4 years.
R says
@Justin “outside of the Spurs you can’t find a team that became contenders in less than four years.”
Well how about when the Celtics signed Garnett and Allen, improved more than 40 games, and beat the day lights out of our heroes?
rr says
So what do you want from him
—
This is Leadership 101, true for almost any field, including mine: if you have the top job, and there is public blame to take, take the blame. To look at it another way, you obviously very much want Jim to succeed. So, ask yourself a question: how does deflecting the MDA hire on to his late father help him? It doesn’t—people will still blame him for it, it makes him look bad, and it may have alienated his sister. All he had to do was say, “My dad was a great man and a great owner. I will take the blame for anything that has gone wrong on my watch.”
As many have said, T Rogers most succinctly, Jim will have better PR when his decisions start working and getting on-floor results, in terms of wins and/or core talent development, as Jim himself said in the interview. Until then, he will (and should) take heat. That doesn’t mean he is an “idiot”; he’s not. It is just life as the decision-maker for an NBA team. Specifically, that means
Russell showing he has All-Star ability and was the right pick at 2
Randle showing he can be an impact starter on a good team and stay on the floor
Clarkson consolidating/adding to last year’s performance.
It will also help if:
Larry Nance Jr. shows that he is an effective role player and was worth the 27th pick.
ABrown or another young guy surprises
Hibbert either shows that he can be the center for 3-4 years and/or the cap space from his deal is used to bring in elite talent
Williams’ presence helps the development of the young guys by taking pressure off them and/or he is flipped for a late first-rounder
If all or most of those things happen, Jim will start to get credit and people will feel better about him and the Lakers. If they don’t, then Jim and Mitch will gone in a couple of years. Right now, those things only may happen, and the actual record, stuff that has happened, is not easy to defend.
Eric says
It turns out that Jordan Clarkson, DeAngelo Russel, and Roy Hibbert don’t sell luxury boxes or convince people to watch the Lakers on TV. Only Kobe does.
This is a business decision. The Lakers are now business first, basketball team second. Hope you all enjoyed your championships.
Craig W. says
It is very unlikely that ‘most of those things’ will go exactly right. Several will simply tread water and one could actually be a failure. That’s the nature of team building in sports.
Jim certainly is not a ‘hero’, but setting up an exacting measurement of success and saying he is an abject failure unless most of it goes ‘quite right’ is also a rather extreme point of view. I know, you are ‘pi**ed off’ at him and want him out, no matter what he does.
Justin says
@R Check again, those Celtics in 2006 won 33 games, 2007 they set a record of 2-22. In 2005 they won 45 games but were not contenders and lost in the 1st round. In 2004 they won 36 games. No they weren’t a contender since 1992. I am not kidding when I say teams don’t go from contender to lottery to contender under 4 years and they really is a stretch. But even if you found one team, is your argument that the Lakers should be the second and anything less should result in the firing of your GM.
@rr He took the blame and added the facts. So in leadership 101 it says ignore facts. Do you really believe people would be fine with him if he made your statement? I think people may like him slightly more but that is just PR. As a leader I believe he shouldn’t worry about people.
Lakersoldier says
2 things. First we need to get the different phases of the NBA from doing all the hatred: commissioner’s office please no more Chris Paul situations (which we now know was to increase the value of the Clippers so they could get sterling the most money and sell for more than they’re worth), getting these Cubans and Gilberts to leave us alone (Gilbert should have NOTHING ever to say about us again in life & Cuban? man what owner says they want another franchise to suck forever; the least you can do is have respect for another owners’ franchise), and ESPN (enough said).
Lastly, Kobe’s primary job for us now is to do what Magic did for us when he came back in 1996: get us into the playoffs and make us worthy enough for a superstar to come to us. That’s what Magic’s job was in helping us to get Shaq. And people if Kobe does play in the Olympics, it’s to recruit for us.
R says
Ha Ha Justin, I don’t need to double check my facts they are correct as stated above. If you wish to believe otherwise that is fine with me.
R says
Hmmm I did take a careful look at my post and no where does it say the Lakers GM should be fired if they fail to duplicate a 40+ game improvement year over year which has happened only once so far in NBA history. That would be a pretty extreme position even for the most entitled Lakers fan, don’t you think?
rr says
Justin,
You simply don’t grasp this, and you appear not to be reading my posts very carefully. I said that he was going to get blamed anyway, so he might as well have handled it right, and avoided possibly alienating his sister. It is a minor issue to the fans; it may bother Jeanie, though—Jerry was her dad, too. And you’re right—leaders don’t worry too much about outsiders. That is why they step up and take the blame because that usually builds loyalty/respect on the inside.
Craig,
I have said several times now that if I ran the Lakers, I would give the FO some more time. So, presuming that was directed at me, as it appears to be, you are either deliberately misrepresenting what I have been saying, or you need to read more attentively.
As to the rest, the Jim Buss FO can’t afford any more big misses. You at times act as if the Jim Buss Era began with drafting Russell; it didn’t. Nothing the FO has done, save for the Clarkson pick, has worked. And in the NBA, executives generally have to have a higher batting average than that to keep their jobs. Randle needs to be a good starter, and Russell needs to be very good, or Jim and Mitch are likely finished. No amount of posts from you bashing the fans and the media will affect that calculus.
rr says
I, for one, have been someone who’s managed a large group of people and been in a leadership position who is tasked with final decision making responsibility
—
Me too. And one thing I have always avoided is putting a bad decision on someone else, since the final call is, as you say, my responsibility. Add that to the fact that his Dad is gone and I see no upside for Jim here.
rr says
Joel-
I think the Nash deal was made as part of a large all-out play to get and keep Howard and was Plan B since Paul fell through. I think the idea was that Nash and Howard would click, Nash would be the bridge between Howard and Kobe, and it might
a) Result in one more title for Kobe Bryant and Jerry Buss.
b) Failing (a) would still connect Howard enough to the Lakers that he would stick around.
So, I think that the FO thought the upsides were worth basically any price. I personally backed most of that play; my disagreements with the FO have mostly been with what they have done since then. I did attach the caveat at the time that giving up the 4th pick—the one still owed—in the Nash deal could burn the Lakers very badly, and it has.
Darius Soriano says
“And one thing I have always avoided is putting a bad decision on someone else”
I really don’t see these recent comments that way. He said to blame him for the decision while also explaining he had a consensus. I can see why that might turn people off, but it doesn’t for me and I don’t agree with a characterization that he’s passing off blame when he actually said to blame him. Fwiw, I have my own information on what, supposedly, occurred, but it’s not really reportable.
Darius Soriano says
I’d add there’s never really an upside for a bad decision.
rr says
Well, from the fanbase POV, it is just a blip. It may or not be a blip for Jeanie; I don’t know. But there is no upside to publicly saying that your late, legendary father was actually the guy who wanted MDA hired, even if it is true, and Jeanie’s reaction to it in the dual interview demonstrates why.
Also, Jim initially went much stronger about the issue earlier, back in 2014, than he did with Pincus:
“My dad said, ‘You know what? D’Antoni’s the guy. I’ve always liked him. Showtime. I think it will be fun basketball as we make the transition [from the Kobe Bryant era],’” Jim said.
He said his father also told them to hire D’Antoni quickly.
“He said, ‘Do it by Sunday night,’” Buss said. “He wanted to get it done before the weekend was over.”