The one person in the Los Angeles Lakers organization that has gotten the brunt of the blame for the franchise’s recent struggles has been Jim Buss. No matter the circumstance or who may actually be to blame, Buss seems to be the scapegoat regardless.
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With the worst season in franchise history coming to a close with much uncertainty moving forward, Buss had some interesting and somewhat bold things to say recently. According to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times, Buss will step down if he’s unable to right the ship in the coming years:
“I was laying myself on the line by saying, if this doesn’t work in three to four years, if we’re not back on the top — and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship — then I will step down because that means I have failed,” he told The Times about the meeting. “I don’t know if you can fire yourself if you own the team … but what I would say is I’d walk away and you guys figure out who’s going to run basketball operations because I obviously couldn’t do the job.”
At this point in time, the fans aren’t all that happy with Buss or head coach Mike D’Antoni. Many believe different moves could’ve been made over the last two years to get the team back on track as a perennial title contender, but decisions were made that has resulted in a much different outcome.
Although D’Antoni is currently in the crosshairs of the fans, Buss won’t be far behind if the Lakers continue to struggle next season and beyond. The fact that Buss has given a timetable for the team to rebound shows that he’s willing to embrace the challenge and may have won over some fans in the process.
Only time will tell heading into an uncertain future whether Buss is able to right the ship. The organization is a mess right now, but if any franchise is capable of bouncing back quickly it is the Lakers.
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