The Los Angeles Lakers are making some significant changes to their front office as they let go of Joey and Jesse Buss, as well as a majority of their scouting staff, on Thursday morning.
When Mark Walter originally bought a majority stake in the Lakers, the plan was for Joey and Jesse to remain in their front office roles.
In an interview with Dan Woike and Sam Amick of The Athletic though, Jesse made it clear that his sister Jeanie Buss, who is still the team’s governor and will be for the foreseeable future, was involved in these firings:
“She’s fired everyone,” Jesse Buss said of Jeanie Buss’ dealings with other family members who have worked for the organization.
Jesse added that he has started to see the writing on the wall that he was being pushed out as he was dealing with some health issues:
“I kind of felt siloed quite a bit, dating back to before, I guess, the 2023 draft,” Buss said by phone. “And I kind of didn’t think much of it, but you know, as time went on and there was a lack of communication between not only my sister and I, but you know, the organization as a whole — while I was combating various health issues,” he said. “I kind of felt like the writing was on the wall.
Jesse Buss has been dealing with an unspecified illness over the past few years and is currently receiving immunotherapy treatments.
“The sale of the team happening kind of more or less just solidified it in my mind,” Buss continued. ”And I just, more or less expected it. Obviously this is, you know, a job I’ve loved for a very long time. And I love this organization. I love the fans. I love the city of Los Angeles. It’s pretty much all I’ve known my entire life.”
When the Lakers’ sale went down, reports indicated the decision wasn’t unanimous among the Buss siblings. Joey and Jesse were against the sale, and now the drama that created within the family appears to have cost them their jobs as they shift their focus to their new sports acquisition business.
Joey and Jesse Buss release statement on Lakers firing
When Joey and Jess Buss were notified of their firing, they took time to thank the Lakers organization.
“We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons,” they said in a statement to ESPN. “Thank you to Laker Nation for embracing our family every step of the way. We wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team.
“At times like this we wish we could ask our Dad what he would think about it all.”
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