3/23 - Jim Buss 710 espn q & a 4:30 pst

[dockingsched]

Lakers VP Jim Buss will answer an hour's worth of listeners' questions live at 4:30 pm PT Friday on 710/KSPN radio's "Mason & Ireland."

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/losangeles/play

[miggs]

Lakers VP Jim Buss will answer an hour's worth of listeners' questions live at 4:30 pm PT Friday on 710/KSPN radio's "Mason & Ireland."

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/losangeles/play

Doc, you do realize you've just confirmed a war from us RGM fans. We're gonna ask so many questions he won't be able to answer. Most of us can see past the usual answers so I'll be ready with the radio on speed dial!

[dockingsched]

yeah, i'm not sure if they'll just be taking pre determined callers, emails, twitter replies, not sure how it works.

[miggs]

yeah, i'm not sure if they'll just be taking pre determined callers, emails, twitter replies, not sure how it works.

So what you're saying is try every media outlet right?

[dockingsched]

looks like Jim Buss is making the rounds. he had a live chat on lakers.com earlier today:

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/120322ji ... echat.html

[dockingsched]

some highlights:

Q How would you rate Mike Brown's job?

I wouldn't put a rating on it. I'd just sum it up by saying he's ahead of what we expected, and therefore we are very pleased with what he's doing.

Q Would you consider using the amnesty on Kobe?

We look at Kobe as a Laker for life and wouldn't consider using the amnesty clause on him. Kobe being the player that we all love, one of the greatest Lakers of all time, we view him as family.

Q Are you still looking to add a player?

We are always looking at the waiver wire, but we don't expect anything to come our way.

Q When did you start looking at Sessions?

We first started talking about Ramon last season; he's been on our radar for a year or so.

Q Do you talk to player before they are traded?

As Mitch has stated, our policy is not to talk to players before trades because of the uncertainty about whether or not trades will go through.

Q Who is Chaz?

I've known Chaz for over 10 years, and when he was initially hired by the Lakers, it was as my assistant, a job which he performed for over two years. During that time, he accompanied me on a lot of scouting trips and showed a natural affinity for that type of work. So after a couple of years in his previous position, we felt he earned the right to be a scout, and that was under the direction of Mitch Kupchak and Bill Bertka. He does not work for me, he works for the Lakers under Bill and Mitch. In addition, I'd like to say that Chaz has many qualities that any employer would look for in an employee, including the fact that he's intelligent, hard working and trustworthy.

And by the way, I'd like to clear up a misperception that has been written about his past: Chaz has never been a bartender.

Q Who works on the basketball side of things in the FO?

The Basketball Operations includes Bill Bertka, our Director of Scouting, Rondre Jackson and Glenn Carraro, alongside Mitch and myself. Furthermore, we have seven scouts, including Chaz, who cover the global basketball landscape.

Q How does the lux tax affect things?

If we only had to deal with the luxury tax, it would have a slight affect on business decisions, but the new CBA, including the heavy burden of revenue sharing, has changed the landscape for tax paying teams, reducing our ability to improve our roster. We have less flexibility than teams under the tax. Among many different restrictions, here's one example: a non tax paying team can offer significantly more money and more years in a mini-mid-level contract than can a tax paying team.

[MiniMamba24]

i guess chazz was never a bartender

[Gek]

I call bologna on Chaz the Bartender.

[dockingsched]

i had posted an article a few weeks ago about chaz never being a bartender. u guys never read what i post.

[MiniMamba24]

link or it didnt happen

[Sofa King]

Good to see Jimmy getting out to the public. This will help the animosity that Lakers fans have had over Jim, or at least that is what he's trying to do.

i had posted an article a few weeks ago about chaz never being a bartender. u guys never read what i post.

I read it. Just more fun to make jokes and jabs.

[dockingsched]

i had posted an article a few weeks ago about chaz never being a bartender. u guys never read what i post.

I read it.

[The Skyhook]

So he and Mitch rid the team of its bad contracts and were able to improve the team's biggest weakness. Plus Chaz isn't a bartender. Maybe this Jim Buss guy isn't so bad after all.

[FullCircle]

The only question I have for Mr. Buss is what the hell was with the "Lets purge every thing Phil Jackson" mentality after he left. Why didn't B Shaw get a shot? Why were we so adamant about abandoning a system that won us 7 conference championships and 5 world championships in the past 11 years?

[crazyeights]

We just got swept out of the second round, to me at the time it was pretty clear we needed big changes. Teams had figured us out, we needed to evolve.

[dockingsched]

The only question I have for Mr. Buss is what the hell was with the "Lets purge every thing Phil Jackson" mentality after he left. Why didn't B Shaw get a shot? Why were we so adamant about abandoning a system that won us 7 conference championships and 5 world championships in the past 11 years?

i listened to parts of the interview today while driving home and this was one of the questions. basically ireland and mason asked if there was any truth to him jim buss wanting to distance himself from phil jackson. first he kinda laughed it off saying something like it would impossible to distance himself from his future brother in law. said that when they started the search, they weren't looking for a phil jackson replacement, they were looking for who would be the best coach going forward. when they decided on a new coach, it was natural for that coach to want to bring in his own assistants/trainers/etc, said this is common practice so he's confused why it got so much attention.

anything related to brian shaw wasn't mentioned, at least when i was listening which was 25% of the interview.

[iamworthy]

I listened to 75% of the interview live but I think 710espn podcast their shows so you can probably find it. Truthfully the guy came off humble to me. For all the stuff thats said about him...the bad stuff, he just didnt come off as that. Like the whole phil jackson thing, about going away from or trying to get rid of Phil Jackson and everything that had to do with phil, his reply was something to the affect, " yeah, Im really trying to get rid of my future brother in-law" and laughed it off

[LLcoleJ]

The only question I have for Mr. Buss is what the hell was with the "Lets purge every thing Phil Jackson" mentality after he left. Why didn't B Shaw get a shot? Why were we so adamant about abandoning a system that won us 7 conference championships and 5 world championships in the past 11 years?

i listened to parts of the interview today while driving home and this was one of the questions. basically ireland and mason asked if there was any truth to him jim buss wanting to distance himself from phil jackson. first he kinda laughed it off saying something like it would impossible to distance himself from his future brother in law. said that when they started the search, they weren't looking for a phil jackson replacement, they were looking for who would be the best coach going forward. when they decided on a new coach, it was natural for that coach to want to bring in his own assistants/trainers/etc, said this is common practice so he's confused why it got so much attention.

anything related to brian shaw wasn't mentioned, at least when i was listening which was 25% of the interview.

Pretty much this. I thought it was a great interview. As expected, Jim isn't the menacing-owner-to-be that the media makes him out to be.

I enjoyed the interview and the Q&A. Another point is that He has been working for the Lakers for 15 years and credits guys like Jerry West, Magic and of course his Dad for teaching him about the business. He doesn't see any immediate control of the team and seems vary comfortable working with Mitch.

Oh and his dad makes the final call, period.


Re: Shaw. He didn't talk about him. But Shaw simply wasn't a candidate, because this is a veteran team, with Kobe ( and Fisher at the time) that didn't want a coach that wasn't going to communicate with Kobe and co. as a friend but more of a coach.

This was told to me by the brother of a current NBA coach, who interviewed for the Lakers. Take that that for what it's worth.

[iamworthy]

The only question I have for Mr. Buss is what the hell was with the "Lets purge every thing Phil Jackson" mentality after he left. Why didn't B Shaw get a shot? Why were we so adamant about abandoning a system that won us 7 conference championships and 5 world championships in the past 11 years?

i listened to parts of the interview today while driving home and this was one of the questions. basically ireland and mason asked if there was any truth to him jim buss wanting to distance himself from phil jackson. first he kinda laughed it off saying something like it would impossible to distance himself from his future brother in law. said that when they started the search, they weren't looking for a phil jackson replacement, they were looking for who would be the best coach going forward. when they decided on a new coach, it was natural for that coach to want to bring in his own assistants/trainers/etc, said this is common practice so he's confused why it got so much attention.

anything related to brian shaw wasn't mentioned, at least when i was listening which was 25% of the interview.

Pretty much this. I thought it was a great interview. As expected, Jim isn't the menacing-owner-to-eb that the media makes him out to be.

I enjoyed the interview and the Q&A. Another point is that He has been working for the Lakers for 15 years and credits guys like Jerry West, Magic and of course his Dad for teaching him about the business. He doesn't see any immediate control of the team and seems vary comfortable working with Mitch.

Oh and his dad makes the final call, period.


Re: Shaw. He didn't talk about him. But Shaw simply wasn't a candidate, because this is a veteran team, with Kobe ( and Fisher at the time) that didn't want a coach that wasn't going to communicate with Kobe and co. as a friend but more of a coach.

This was told to me by the brother of a current NBA coach, who interviewed for the Lakers. Take that that for what it's worth.

Phil XI, we are honored by your presence

[DEEP3CL]

I never believed all that "distance from Phil" BS, it was media propaganda. And Phil XI, I believe what you said about that coaching situation. Shaw's relationship to the players was never going to be coach to player. He was already the buffer between Phil and the players.