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Lakers Nation > Blog > Lakers News > Lakers News: Luke Walton Was Surprised By The Firing Of Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak
Lakers News

Lakers News: Luke Walton Was Surprised By The Firing Of Jim Buss, Mitch Kupchak

Trevor Lane
Published: 03/07/2017
2 Min Read
Lakers News: Shaquille O’neal Calls Luke Walton ‘only Rookie’ He Never Hazed
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
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There is never a dull moment in the world of the Los Angeles Lakers, and this season has proven to be no exception. The team recently shook up their front office by removing Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss from their positions at the head of the team’s basketball operations department.

In their place, the Lakers brought in Magic Johnson as President of Basketball Operations and Rob Pelinka will join him as general manager.

While the writing was on the wall for Buss and Kupchak with the team on pace for another season near the bottom of the league, head coach Luke Walton was still caught off guard by their dismissal. Walton told Sam Amick of USA Today that he was surprised when he learned that Kupchak and Buss were on the way out:

“Honestly, it wasn’t ever clear to me (that Jim and Kupchak would be on their way out) because when I interviewed that was one of the questions I asked, was ‘Are we going to be in this together?’ And they said ‘Yeah,’ so I was under the assumption that (it was) Jimmy and Mitch. So I wasn’t worried about this or that. I was expecting that that was the front office, the whole time I was going to be here, at least for a while, so there wasn’t any uncertainty with me.”

Both Buss and Kupchak were widely praised for the decision to hire Walton as the team’s new head coach after parting ways with Byron Scott. Walton’s relative lack of experience was a concern, but the feeling was that he could breathe new life into the play on the court.

Ironically, the Lakers now hope that replacing Buss and Kupchak themselves will do the same for the front office. Change is never easy, but then again, neither is clawing your way back to the top.

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TAGGED:Jim BussLos Angeles LakersLuke WaltonMitch Kupchak
ByTrevor Lane
Trevor Lane is a longtime NBA and Los Angeles Lakers fan who had the good fortune to grow up during the glory days of the Showtime Lakers, when Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the rest ruled the Great Western Forum. He has written about basketball, soccer, fantasy sports, MMA, and even pro wrestling over the course of his career, but the spectacle that is the Lakers is his true passion. He made the leap into podcasting for Lakers Nation and provides voice-over analysis for our YouTube channel. With a who's who of stars gracing the Lakers lineup over the years, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and many others, the Lakers always provide plenty to talk about. When he isn't writing or recording, Trevor can be found spending time with his wife and daughter or on the sidelines for one of the youth teams he coaches. Outside of the Lakers, Trevor is a supporter of the LA Galaxy, US Soccer, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Contact: trevor@mediumlargela.com
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