Jeannie won't consider trading LeBron even if he doesn't sign extension

[sonnyhill]

It is not beyond just being speculative that LeBron will move into an ownership position when he retires from playing and have control of a franchise. Signing with the Lakers was not just to play basketball with the team; it was also a move to solidify his "mogul" status within the ecosystem of "Sport-Entertainment."

The NBA wants to have a franchise in Las Vegas and more diversity representation in its owners' boxes. The Laker brand is not local to only Angelenos, but is international, and can thrive anywhere there is glamor and glitz. The fans who reside in Los Angeles might not be aware that the Lakers had originated in the city of Minneapolis; the team has a legacy of moving to a new city. I would not be too surprised if LeBron, Klutch, and their corporate "keiretsu" may be positioning themselves to eventually buy out Jeanie and move the team to Vegas (hence, why Jeanie sounds hell bent on keeping LeBron on the Lakers). Vegas advantages: No state income tax, new arena, out of the crosshairs of Balmer, and a fresh start, too.

[zimpy27]

It is not beyond just being speculative that LeBron will move into an ownership position when he retires from playing and have control of a franchise. Signing with the Lakers was not just to play basketball with the team; it was also a move to solidify his "mogul" status within the ecosystem of "Sport-Entertainment."

The NBA wants to have a franchise in Las Vegas and more diversity representation in its owners' boxes. The Laker brand is not local to only Angelenos, but is international, and can thrive anywhere there is glamor and glitz. The fans who reside in Los Angeles might not be aware that the Lakers had originated in the city of Minneapolis; the team has a legacy of moving to a new city. I would not be too surprised if LeBron, Klutch, and their corporate "keiretsu" may be positioning themselves to eventually buy out Jeanie and move the team to Vegas (hence, why Jeanie sounds hell bent on keeping LeBron on the Lakers). Vegas advantages: No state income tax, new arena, out of the crosshairs of Balmer, and a fresh start, too.

LeBron likely owns an expansion team in Vegas or even in southern LA. The league will use his popularity to help with an expansion team being relevant. I'd be interested if he could play for that team while owning it. I could see it for sure.

LA Lakers won't be moved.

[LAL1947]

Los Angeles = Lakers.

I'm sorry but talking about moving the Lakers away from Los Angeles is just crazy talk. Not until a zombie apocalypse happens at least.

Send the Clippers/Dippers to Las Vegas instead.

I also don't think the Buss family will yield any portion of their ownership to anyone else, they would be very foolish to do that. I certainly wouldn't if the Lakers belonged to me. If they ever decided to dispose of their shares in the trust, there'd be a bidding war the likes of which has never been seen before in the sports world. The only other team in the whole world that has the same amount of global recognition and winning history is Real Madrid. That team will never be sold (for different reasons, it is owned by its fans) or moved from their city either.

[Landsberger]

I think it would be nice if our own fans were a little more sensible with hot takes. Perhaps, think a little before saying stuff that makes us look like a clown show when we're not one.

Our owners are not like other owners

That's true. The Laker's owners are not the sort of mega-billionaires who have looted the middle-class and the poor... or hedge funds or venture capital groups either. I kinda like that they're not TBH.

No.... you're right.... she got it by being born. Generational wealth vs building it. Oh... and the real estate development business is, of course, the most virtuous one around isn't it?

Defending the sewing circle that is our FO is what makes someone look like a clown. Jerry made the Lakers what they have been in large part. Like a lot of trust fund kids who had it handed to them they didn't develop the skills that created the wealth.... you know... looting the poor and stuff.

It's obvious she doesn't have the skills. Jerry traded A player who healed on company time and yelled "pay me" at him. She says publicly that she won't trade someone who might not want to be here and is dominating the personnel decisions.

[sonnyhill]

It is not beyond just being speculative that LeBron will move into an ownership position when he retires from playing and have control of a franchise. Signing with the Lakers was not just to play basketball with the team; it was also a move to solidify his "mogul" status within the ecosystem of "Sport-Entertainment."

The NBA wants to have a franchise in Las Vegas and more diversity representation in its owners' boxes. The Laker brand is not local to only Angelenos, but is international, and can thrive anywhere there is glamor and glitz. The fans who reside in Los Angeles might not be aware that the Lakers had originated in the city of Minneapolis; the team has a legacy of moving to a new city. I would not be too surprised if LeBron, Klutch, and their corporate "keiretsu" may be positioning themselves to eventually buy out Jeanie and move the team to Vegas (hence, why Jeanie sounds hell bent on keeping LeBron on the Lakers). Vegas advantages: No state income tax, new arena, out of the crosshairs of Balmer, and a fresh start, too.

LeBron likely owns an expansion team in Vegas or even in southern LA. The league will use his popularity to help with an expansion team being relevant. I'd be interested if he could play for that team while owning it. I could see it for sure.

LA Lakers won't be moved.

The diehard Southern California Laker fanbase, while loyal to the franchise, is not growing in size nor at the pace of the Clippers. With the advent of Steve Balmer's mega-dollar investments into the Clippers (arena, facilities, front office, scouting, facilities, free agents, branding), it is highly unlikely that Jeanie will be able to compete for the next generation of Southern California basketball fan. Also, while many feel nostalgic loyalty to the Buss family, Balmer views the Lakers and the Buss family only as targeted roadkill. Balmer already has Jeanie and Lakers in his crosshairs. The man lives, breathes, and loves cutting off the oxygen of his competition; ask Novell, WordPerfect, Lotus, and Netscape what happened to their enterprises. Each of those companies had first mover advantage; each was the category creator in their market spaces; each dominated their competition; each had top notch VC investors, boards, and executive management teams; each had multi-billion dollar valuations; and each company was destroyed by Balmer. Balmer views Jeanie and Lakers as arcane and spoiled, private school kids who are going up against Star Trek's Borg. Jeanie will either "acquiesce" or she will be left owning a franchise with a decimated valuation.

LeBron did not join the Lakers to just play basketball. LeBron's strategic plan includes owning a NBA franchise, which is also aligned with the NBA's strategic plan to have diversity in its ownership ranks, as well as planting its flag in Las Vegas, too. Jeanie is no match for Balmer; she is no match for LeBron, Klutch and their sports and entertainment money ecosystem; and she is no match for the NBA.

Phil recognizes this bigger picture problem and his idea on ridding the team of LeBron may have more meaning than just reconstructing the roster.

[Kilroy]

It is not beyond just being speculative that LeBron will move into an ownership position when he retires from playing and have control of a franchise. Signing with the Lakers was not just to play basketball with the team; it was also a move to solidify his "mogul" status within the ecosystem of "Sport-Entertainment."

The NBA wants to have a franchise in Las Vegas and more diversity representation in its owners' boxes. The Laker brand is not local to only Angelenos, but is international, and can thrive anywhere there is glamor and glitz. The fans who reside in Los Angeles might not be aware that the Lakers had originated in the city of Minneapolis; the team has a legacy of moving to a new city. I would not be too surprised if LeBron, Klutch, and their corporate "keiretsu" may be positioning themselves to eventually buy out Jeanie and move the team to Vegas (hence, why Jeanie sounds hell bent on keeping LeBron on the Lakers). Vegas advantages: No state income tax, new arena, out of the crosshairs of Balmer, and a fresh start, too.

LeBron likely owns an expansion team in Vegas or even in southern LA. The league will use his popularity to help with an expansion team being relevant. I'd be interested if he could play for that team while owning it. I could see it for sure.

LA Lakers won't be moved.

The diehard Southern California Laker fanbase, while loyal to the franchise, is not growing in size nor at the pace of the Clippers. With the advent of Steve Balmer's mega-dollar investments into the Clippers (arena, facilities, front office, scouting, facilities, free agents, branding), it is highly unlikely that Jeanie will be able to compete for the next generation of Southern California basketball fan. Also, while many feel nostalgic loyalty to the Buss family, Balmer views the Lakers and the Buss family only as targeted roadkill. Balmer already has Jeanie and Lakers in his crosshairs. The man lives, breathes, and loves cutting off the oxygen of his competition; ask Novell, WordPerfect, Lotus, and Netscape what happened to their enterprises. Each of those companies had first mover advantage; each was the category creator in their market spaces; each dominated their competition; each had top notch VC investors, boards, and executive management teams; each had multi-billion dollar valuations; and each company was destroyed by Balmer. Balmer views Jeanie and Lakers as arcane and spoiled, private school kids who are going up against Star Trek's Borg. Jeanie will either "acquiesce" or she will be left owning a franchise with a decimated valuation.

LeBron did not join the Lakers to just play basketball. LeBron's strategic plan includes owning a NBA franchise, which is also aligned with the NBA's strategic plan to have diversity in its ownership ranks, as well as planting its flag in Las Vegas, too. Jeanie is no match for Balmer; she is no match for LeBron, Klutch and their sports and entertainment money ecosystem; and she is no match for the NBA.

Phil recognizes this bigger picture problem and his idea on ridding the team of LeBron may have more meaning than just reconstructing the roster.

I swear... sonnyhill is literally Steve Ballmer... Every post has an anti Lakers and pro Clippers tilt to it, based on a manufactured narrative not based on reality... I live in so Cal... Lakers gear is everywhere... Clippers gear is no where... Unless we're trying to say all those Dodgers hats are really hipster Clipper hats...

Sure, Ballmer would love to 'beat the Buss family and Jeannie' but he's no closer to doing that now, than when he bought the Clippers, which in actual reality have been one of the biggest disasters in the league during his tenure...
And, if he ever does get close to 'beating' Jeannie, she'll just sell the Lakers to one of the other rich ownership groups and they'll immediately have the upper hand over Ballmer. Because despite the fake narrative that the Clippers fanbase is growing... It's still nowhere near as large as the Lakers fanbase in California... And when's the last time there was a headline about anything Ballmer says... We've had like 10 in the last 2 weeks alone from Jeannie... She's the perfect LA owner right now... The team may not be that great but the media in LA absolutely love her...

[sonnyhill]

LeBron likely owns an expansion team in Vegas or even in southern LA. The league will use his popularity to help with an expansion team being relevant. I'd be interested if he could play for that team while owning it. I could see it for sure.

LA Lakers won't be moved.

The diehard Southern California Laker fanbase, while loyal to the franchise, is not growing in size nor at the pace of the Clippers. With the advent of Steve Balmer's mega-dollar investments into the Clippers (arena, facilities, front office, scouting, facilities, free agents, branding), it is highly unlikely that Jeanie will be able to compete for the next generation of Southern California basketball fan. Also, while many feel nostalgic loyalty to the Buss family, Balmer views the Lakers and the Buss family only as targeted roadkill. Balmer already has Jeanie and Lakers in his crosshairs. The man lives, breathes, and loves cutting off the oxygen of his competition; ask Novell, WordPerfect, Lotus, and Netscape what happened to their enterprises. Each of those companies had first mover advantage; each was the category creator in their market spaces; each dominated their competition; each had top notch VC investors, boards, and executive management teams; each had multi-billion dollar valuations; and each company was destroyed by Balmer. Balmer views Jeanie and Lakers as arcane and spoiled, private school kids who are going up against Star Trek's Borg. Jeanie will either "acquiesce" or she will be left owning a franchise with a decimated valuation.

LeBron did not join the Lakers to just play basketball. LeBron's strategic plan includes owning a NBA franchise, which is also aligned with the NBA's strategic plan to have diversity in its ownership ranks, as well as planting its flag in Las Vegas, too. Jeanie is no match for Balmer; she is no match for LeBron, Klutch and their sports and entertainment money ecosystem; and she is no match for the NBA.

Phil recognizes this bigger picture problem and his idea on ridding the team of LeBron may have more meaning than just reconstructing the roster.

I swear... sonnyhill is literally Steve Ballmer... Every post has an anti Lakers and pro Clippers tilt to it, based on a manufactured narrative not based on reality... I live in so Cal... Lakers gear is everywhere... Clippers gear is no where... Unless we're trying to say all those Dodgers hats are really hipster Clipper hats...

Sure, Ballmer would love to 'beat the Buss family and Jeannie' but he's no closer to doing that now, than when he bought the Clippers, which in actual reality have been one of the biggest disasters in the league during his tenure...
And, if he ever does get close to 'beating' Jeannie, she'll just sell the Lakers to one of the other rich ownership groups and they'll immediately have the upper hand over Ballmer. Because despite the fake narrative that the Clippers fanbase is growing... It's still nowhere near as large as the Lakers fanbase in California... And when's the last time there was a headline about anything Ballmer says... We've had like 10 in the last 2 weeks alone from Jeannie... She's the perfect LA owner right now... The team may not be that great but the media in LA absolutely love her...

Steve Balmer? LOL!!! While I it would be nice to have achieved what he has in both the business (technology) and financial world, I find him and his public behavior to be both awkward as well as embarrassing. What you label as anti-Laker and pro-Clipper are neither, but instead, are views that are steeped in reality. In a competition for both franchise relevance as well as capturing the next generation of fans, smart money would bet on Balmer (and his deep pockets and the much more modern and state-of-the-art Clippers over Jeanie and the tarnished-and-sullied Laker brand.

Please elaborate on how Jeanie is the "perfect LA owner right now?" Perfect for what? A soap opera disguising itself as a NBA franchise? The media attention which you are referring to is not the kind of media attention that positively contributes to a franchise that is accustomed to competing for-and-winning championships.

Lastly, Phil's crazy strategy of trading away LeBron and keeping Westbrook does actually make sense: A LeBron trade would bring back to the Lakers a haul of draft picks and expiring contracts, and keeping Westbrook for another season allows for the Lakers to open up money as Westbrook's contract comes off the books following this upcoming season.

Is the following the kind of media attention that the "perfect LA owner right now" is generating to help raise the fortunes of the Laker franchise?

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/latest-news/they-are-a-marquee-franchise-thats-being-run-like-a-dave-busters-chris-mannix-shreds-the-los-angeles-lakers

“They are a marquee franchise that's being run like a Dave & Busters”
— Chris Mannix shreds the Los Angeles Lakers
The solution is obvious, but it's not likely the Lakers will implement it.
FILIP TRIVICMAY 13, 2022

The Los Angeles Lakers may be the most famous NBA franchise, but under the hood, it's a small family operation. One of the ways it's reflected is in how much the Lakers spend on anyone who isn't a superstar player. (If you ask around the league, the word "cheap" might pop up.) But the current s**tshow in LA is more than just not spending on front office staff. It's the ultimate example of nepotism.

Dave & Busters
Having such a lean front office increases the variability of outcomes. When you have Jerry West running the show, great things happen. Mitch Kupchak takes over, with West as an advisor? We're good. It seems Jeanie Buss thinks Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis are on that level, and Chris Mannix went on a rant explaining how delusional that position is.

“Jeanie Buss seems to believe she's got the best and the brightest in that organization, which, she does not. They are a marquee franchise that's being run like a Dave & Busters.” said Mannix on the Bill Simmons Podcast.

Mannix made sure to point out this isn't on Rob Pelinka. We've seen successful agents move to a front-office role, like Bob Myers in Golden State, and succeed. There's a logic behind that hire. The other people on the core team are the ones that raise everyone's eyebrow.

“To read Jeanie Buss defend Kurt Rambis by describing his 40 years of experience that have led to nothing consequential, and then kind of denying that Linda Rambis is involved in basketball operations, but affirming that she is an advisor, which kind of suggest she is involved in basketball operations,” Mannix explained.

If you didn't pick up the hints in numerous podcasts and articles, it seems that alongside Pelinka, the Lakers' decision-making committee consists of Linda Rambis, Jeanie Buss' best friend, Kurt Rambis, and Phil Jackson. As much as their thinking aligns with LeBron James and Rich Paul.

What are their credentials? Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches ever, but we all know his GM track record is on the other side of success. Kurt Rambis is one of the worst coaches in NBA history and only got jobs when Phil Jackson gave them to him. Linda is, well, Jeanie's BFF and Kurt's wife.

“I don't know how a team like that, which should have limitless resources, which should go out of its way to have the best front office in all of basketball, can be run in such a mom-and-pop way,” Mannix summarized.

We do - it's called nepotism. While that's nothing out of the ordinary in professional sports -- a lot of friends and family members get "special advisor" positions -- but usually, they are low on the totem pole. With the Lakers, they seem to be the entire totem pole.

The Sam Presti cunudrum
As Simmons pointed out, 29 teams in the Association hope nothing changes with the Lakers. Their current front office is a major competitive advantage for the other 29, maybe even to the point where it outweighs the prestige of playing for the Lakers and living in LA.

The solution for the Lakers seems simple - call Sam Presti and offer him a ton of money to get your house in order. Anytime someone's GM job is in question, Presti comes up as a target. OKC's GM is highly respected and is running, well, a team in Oklahoma City.

”Presti is sitting there, as Masai is in Toronto, the Boston situation is stable, Golden State is stable - if you're talking who's the big ticket name that would immediately fix your franchise, I would say it's Presti.” Bill Simmons, The Bill Simmons Podcast

Let's say the Lakers do what they never did and pay market money for a top-level front office guy - Simmons mentioned $15 million a year. And for the sake of argument, let's say Presti actually wants to deal with LeBron/Klutch, the Westbrook situation, not having control over their first round picks until 2027, and the pressure of doing it all for the Lakers. Guys like him prioritize one thing above else. Chris Mannix explained it nicely.

“I'm 100% sure that if Sam Presti took a job like that, he would only take it if he could pink-slip everybody in the organization, and he could tell every member of the Buss family besides Jeanie that they should lose his number. That they have no access to the front office and that their input is no longer required.”

How can he be 100% sure? Must've gotten it from a very reliable source. Could this be Sam Presti signaling his conditions to Jeanie Buss? Absolutely. Will she pull the trigger? According to everything she said in the interview Buss gave to Bill Plaschke, she won't.

She's not happy and doesn't understand why she's paying luxury tax for such a poor team, but Jeanie Buss doesn't seem to think the decision-making process and the people involved could be the cause. Her solution? Find a coach that can make the Westbrook situation work.

Good luck Laker Nation. You're gonna need it.

[Landsberger]

So.... the tread has devolved into LeBron owning a team and Steve Balmer. Laker fans don't handle missing the playoffs well it seems.

I'll bring it back to center with the thought that we may never get our of this hole under current ownership. I'm not seeing anything that would change the path that we've been on since Jerry passed. Swing for the fences ever 3rd offseason to create teams with 3 top stars and borderline NBA talent. This offseason will be more of the same and next year will be as well I'm afraid. No one is giving us a Gasol to get out of it this time.

[danfantastk32]

\ This offseason will be more of the same and next year will be as well I'm afraid. No one is giving us a Gasol to get out of it this time.

Nope...they gave us an AD. And we won #17

[danfantastk32]

In a competition for both franchise relevance as well as capturing the next generation of fans, smart money would bet on Balmer (and his deep pockets and the much more modern and state-of-the-art Clippers over Jeanie and the tarnished-and-sullied Laker brand.

How so? Ballz mortgaged his future draft picks on 2 players who hardly see the floor. Our two players gave us #17. Do you guys even have 17 playoff wins? Looks like Jeanie and the Lakers won again.

You call the Laker brand tarnished.....well let me know when HBO makes a series about the Clippers. I'm sure Sterling will get a moment on the show.....groping his players like they were cattle. Other than that little chestnut.........there's really not much to say about the clippers. Is there? You don't even have a brand. Go get one, and then we can start comparing.

[sonnyhill]

In a competition for both franchise relevance as well as capturing the next generation of fans, smart money would bet on Balmer (and his deep pockets and the much more modern and state-of-the-art Clippers over Jeanie and the tarnished-and-sullied Laker brand.

How so? Ballz mortgaged his future draft picks on 2 players who hardly see the floor. Our two players gave us #17. Do you guys even have 17 playoff wins? Looks like Jeanie and the Lakers won again.

You call the Laker brand tarnished.....well let me know when HBO makes a series about the Clippers. I'm sure Sterling will get a moment on the show.....groping his players like they were cattle. Other than that little chestnut.........there's really not much to say about the clippers. Is there? You don't even have a brand. Go get one, and then we can start comparing.

Please do not link me to the Clippers; I find Balmer to be an embarrassing clown-show. He is, however, formidable, smart, thinks and acts strategically, and is running circles around Jeanie and her sewing group.

#17 allowed for the franchise to hang another banner in the rafters was, however, an anomaly and was more like winning a summer camp tournament than a NBA championship.

The issues is not about legacy (the Lakers and the Celtics are the legacy brands of the NBA); it is about the current and future direction of the Laker franchise.

Since the last few seasons of the Kobe era, the Lakers have only made the playoffs twice (winning the "bubble 'summer camp' championship). It is disturbing that Jeanie pridefully whined about "having the fourth highest payroll" and still missing the playoffs, instead of deconstructing how the team has become the "Dave and Busters" of NBA franchises (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/latest-news/they-are-a-marquee-franchise-thats-being-run-like-a-dave-busters-chris-mannix-shreds-the-los-angeles-lakers) and what she is doing to correct the course.

While some, maybe many, are critical of Phil and his "old school" ways, he may be the one person who has the courage and integrity to tell Jeanie the truth about what franchise needs to do in terms of improving the product on the court, including trading away LeBron, building around Westbrook this upcoming season, and load up on younger talent as soon as possible.

[danfantastk32]

Please do not link me to the Clippers; I find Balmer to be an embarrassing clown-show. He is, however, formidable, smart, thinks and acts strategically, and is running circles around Jeanie and her sewing group.

No he's not. He's out plenty of picks, he's got his stars in street clothes more so than the Lakers. He got to sit and watch the playoffs from home, just like we did.....only unlike the Lakers, he's got nothing to show for all his "smarts". Just a grip of embarrassing dance clips on soc-media.

And you can call the Lakers title a "summer camp title" all you want. Beats anything your clippers have done. It's real...and it's #17 for the Lakers. And despite you clipper fans trying to pull the "live in the now, and stop looking back" mantra (cause you can't look back) this title was just around the corner. With our "sewing group's" work. Not people from the past. People in the now.

Seriously.....you clipper fans are out of excuses, and it's just embarrassing when you try to insult the 'quality' of our title. Like you'd even know a title to compare. Go get a handful (everyone but you can get at least 1...so do better than that at least) of titles, and stop boring everyone with nonsense about Ballz being worth half a **** in LA. Nobody cares about them.

[sonnyhill]

Please do not link me to the Clippers; I find Balmer to be an embarrassing clown-show. He is, however, formidable, smart, thinks and acts strategically, and is running circles around Jeanie and her sewing group.

No he's not. He's out plenty of picks, he's got his stars in street clothes more so than the Lakers. He got to sit and watch the playoffs from home, just like we did.....only unlike the Lakers, he's got nothing to show for all his "smarts". Just a grip of embarrassing dance clips on soc-media.

And you can call the Lakers title a "summer camp title" all you want. Beats anything your clippers have done. It's real...and it's #17 for the Lakers. And despite you clipper fans trying to pull the "live in the now, and stop looking back" mantra (cause you can't look back) this title was just around the corner. With our "sewing group's" work. Not people from the past. People in the now.

Seriously.....you clipper fans are out of excuses, and it's just embarrassing when you try to insult the 'quality' of our title. Like you'd even know a title to compare. Go get a handful (everyone but you can get at least 1...so do better than that at least) of titles, and stop boring everyone with nonsense about Ballz being worth half a **** in LA. Nobody cares about them.

Even with an injury-decimated roster, the Clippers maintained relevance this past season before getting knocked out by the T-Wolves; and yet, you still seem to conveniently forget (selective memory?) that the "LeBron-and-Klutch-built" Laker roster did not even make the Play-In this past season. Neither a Clipper fan nor a Balmer fan either, I am, however, able to acknowledge that Balmer is a superior strategist with deep pockets and is making investments into the Clipper franchise, and that Jeanie is not able to do same (think and act strategically and make proper financial investments) with the Lakers.

Nobody believes that the bubble summer camp title, while novel, cute, and a "feel-good story" is a legitimate NBA championship: No hostile road game crowds = no legitimacy.

How many more seasons of poorly constructed rosters and embarrassing front office moves will Laker fans be forced to endure?

Jeanie, by only keeping LeBron on the roster because she wants to see him break the NBA all-time scoring record while in a Laker uniform, is disrespectfully "clowning" everyone in Laker nation.

How is this acceptable to the Laker fanbase?

Jeanie and her sewing group are now subjecting the fans of this once-proud Laker franchise to not only cheap parlor tricks, but also to aging and bad rosters and to also now having to read in the local paper her complaining about the team having the "fourth highest payroll" in the league!