With Mark Walter having officially purchased a majority share of the Los Angeles Lakers for a $10 billion valuation, at least some turnover within the front office was to be expected, though not with Jeanie Buss who will remain on as Governor for at least the next five years. Even still, it came as a bit of a surprise when news came down that Joey and Jesse Buss had been terminated from their roles within the Lakers front office.
Both Buss brothers had been major parts of the Lakers’ scouting department, which has been an overall strength of the organization and it had been reported they would remain with the franchise after the sale.
While there is clearly some tension within the Buss family, those feelings aren’t being put towards Walter. Jesse Buss spoke highly of Walter, believing the Lakers are in good hands with him as owner and hopes he can bring what he brought to the Dodgers to this franchise as well, although that also came with a caution, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
“I think Mark Walter has had a ton of success, obviously, in the sports landscape, and being able to see what he’s done with the Dodgers has been simply amazing. I think the Lakers are in great hands, honestly. Now, I think the team, as currently constructed, obviously it looks like that they could definitely make some noise this season. And it’s been an absolute thrill to watch them. I think JJ (Redick) is an absolutely fantastic coach and I think he’s proven that over the last year and some change.
“And I hope going forward that Mark can kind of bring a lot of what he brought to the Dodgers. Because I think if the vision, more or less, is the same from what I’ve seen over the last 10 years, then it necessarily isn’t always going to lead to the success that Laker fans have become accustomed to when my dad ran the operations and owned the team.”
There were clearly some shots towards Jeanie there as Jesse made it clear that he doesn’t believe the Lakers will reach the success they are known for under the vision of the last decade under his sister. But with Walter in charge, there is a new light within this franchise.
Regardless of the drama within the Buss family, one thing that they are all aligned on is that they all want the Lakers to succeed and with Walter as owner, they will be put in good position to do so.
Four members of Lakers’ scouting staff was fired as well
Jesse Buss and Joey Buss weren’t the only people let go either as four members of the Lakers’ scouting staff were also terminated, putting the franchise in an interesting position without much of a scouting department while the college basketball season is already underway.
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