End the Jim Buss Deadline

[Trips71]

Hear me out on this. I believe that Jeannie should remove Jim's self imposed deadline and publicly say that he is safe and doing a good job. The problem with the deadline is that it puts pressure on him and Mitch to make decisions based on short term goals, and not long term success. Success for the Lakers has never been just making the playoffs, or being in the playoffs multiple years. In fact, Laker fans and management probably wouldn't be happy with a single championship. We want (and expect) multiple rings, dynasty talks, dominating a decade. Again, this deadline almost forces Jim and Mitch to make short term decisions that are not good for the team. Keep the young talent, draft a great future piece, and sign young players that make long term sense.

Agree, disagree? Interested in everyone's thoughts.

[MrWaffles]

Mitch has already stated he's not going to make bone head choices in order for us to be in the middle of the pack. We're not winning a championship next year or making the playoffs, bottom line.

Once we fail to make the playoffs next year, expect Jim and Mitch to step down.

[Slava]

I agree. Working with specific timelines makes the front office seem like a lame duck when it comes to recruiting free agents or even backing the players and the new coach. Now is the time to start with a clean slate and make smart decisions.

[crazyeights]

That would be very comforting, but I don't think she would do that because:

She's just one year away from getting to reunite with Phil.

Personally, I don't want him back. I want to move forward with someone younger and creative.

Also, I don't believe Mitch should be on the same timeline as Jim, and I'm not entirely sure that he is. He should be VP of Bball Opps and get a new GM. If he's gone too, I'd like to see fresh blood.

Something the Lakers simply don't seem to do, as they are all about their "family business." I can only hope the rest of the Buss children see that PJ would take this team backwards.

[Marionettetc]

I think there is much more political intrigue and espionage going on in all your minds then there is in reality.

I believe there is a deadline, as everyone involved has stated. I also believe that the Lakers (being controlled by the entire Buss family - and not just Mitch/Jim) will not strip mine the organization's future to become a .500 win team, as everyone involved has stated.

[gts1]

He did say in the family meeting "3 to 4 years" so theoretically next summer is not the deadline the media has made it out to be.

If the team makes marked improvement next season expect the deadline to come and go with barely a word said.

If this team looks like a team on the rise with a bright future Jeanie would be a fool and become the laughing stock of the league if she were to enforce a deadline that she didn't even impose to begin with

I'll add Jeanie is not above being removed form her position... It's a family business with each member holding the same voting power as the other so as much as the media has zeroed in on the easy target Jim any move she makes could be countered by her siblings if they feel it's taking the team in the wrong direction


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[TylersLakers]

Yeah, they should end the timeline or have him step back now. It would provide so much more clarity for free agents. Quite frankly, I'm shocked we got Walton considering the timeline. That had to have been brought up by Walton and his camp in negotiations.

[Trips71]

I think there is much more political intrigue and espionage going on in all your minds then there is in reality.

I believe there is a deadline, as everyone involved has stated. I also believe that the Lakers (being controlled by the entire Buss family - and not just Mitch/Jim) will not strip mine the organization's future to become a .500 win team, as everyone involved has stated.

"political intrigue and espionage"? Lol, if I want that I'll read a Jason Bourne novel. What's in my mind is business decisions potentially being based on self preservation.

I hope you are correct that the family "will not strip mine the organization's future to become a .500 win team". Unfortunately, based on the rumors I keep reading, I'm not so sure. Big trades for Jimmy Butler or Boogie, maxing out DD, trading our #2 pick for Okafor??? PLEASE just be stupid rumors, because those are the type of moves that might move the needle in the short term, but rob us of our long term potential.

[Jon Snow]

Especially with NY hiring Hornacek and most likely moving away from the triangle after the two-week camp? I read some articles that Isiah Thomas was "behind" the hiring. Seems to be Phil is on his way out. I honestly think Mitch and Jim are playing this smart that its like there was no pressure. Hiring Walton and keeping the 2nd pick was a good start. Let's wait in the off-season and see from there.

[Kilroy]

The deadline was manufactured by Jeanie anyway... Jim just was stating his goal. Plus from what they said about how the Dr Buss' will was structured, Jeanie may be over-stating her power anyway. Not sure she could legally remove Jim from his role. He'd have to agree to it... Which he might for the sake of the franchise, but it feels like Jeanie's a paper-tiger in this...

Which I think it a great thing...

I will never understand why Jim is perceived as this bumbling drunken playboy heir to Dr Buss wealth, while Jeanie has this weird perceived respectability... If anything, she was the more overt and rudderless of the 2 growing up... She wanted to be and eventually was a playboy model for crying out loud.

[Frank Dux]

I think that self imposed deadline was just Jim talking out of his ass. I really don't think he's sitting around sweating about how he can turn this team around within the next year so he doesn't get fired from the team he owns.

He made those comments to show he's serious about winning, and turning this team around.

[PKABOOICU]

The Buss family is a family first. They can say all they want to keep the fans happy. At the end, its their team, I'm sure theres no legit time constraint that Jeanie put on Jim. If they can't figure it out, it doesn't mean Jim is going to step down in any way except from the media. He'll always have atleast some say in his inherited team for as long as he owns it. He's the son of the original owner, how can he not?
Jeanie is no mastermind either, but she's better than Jim. But the fact that she was for keeping Byron Scott got me a little iffy. Magic Johnson is one of the few dudes on the planet who is capable of running the team properly.

If they dont make the playoffs next year, guess what Jim will say...
"We turned this team around 180* and we look forward to making the playoffs in the foreseeable future"

I would say the same damn thing if I was an owner of a Multi-Billion dollar ball club.

[kblo247]

The deadline was manufactured by Jeanie anyway... Jim just was stating his goal. Plus from what they said about how the Dr Buss' will was structured, Jeanie may be over-stating her power anyway. Not sure she could legally remove Jim from his role. He'd have to agree to it... Which he might for the sake of the franchise, but it feels like Jeanie's a paper-tiger in this...

Which I think it a great thing...

I will never understand why Jim is perceived as this bumbling drunken playboy heir to Dr Buss wealth, while Jeanie has this weird perceived respectability... If anything, she was the more overt and rudderless of the 2 growing up... She wanted to be and eventually was a playboy model for crying out loud.

Her dad was a nba owner that won titles but he also exploited women, threw sex parties, and was known for cocaine with the showtime crew in their wild days

Jim was given horse which he failed at, given a piece of the soccer team where they cut their losses, and then sent to LA and tried to or Phil in his first power move with Goddard backing in 05 and failed there too. He failed so bad Phil was back collecting 8 figures and Kobe made his dad comeback down with the trade me tirade because he didn't try to win in Kobes prime either. Then we hear how he treated shaw in their meeting, how he pink slipped all Phils stuff before game 1 vs Dallas, and how Dantoni and the other coaches as well as traders failed and they can't lure a free agent

Jeanie is seen as better because posing for Playoboy wasn't a sin. It isn't hustler or some magazine like that. She also ran the wnba sparks to their titles and flipped them for a profit for her dad. She took over marketing and the business numbers of the Lakers once they entered staples. They made huge money off Kobe and Shaq without ever having an outside biz to fund them like other owners. They negotiated the TWC billions deal with her there every step of the way. She is the one who went out and constructed a new practice facility. She remade the Dfenders when they were losing money at staples by letting them run games out of El Segundo. She made the NBA board of governors. She has no history of drinking like Jim or Drug use and sex parties like her dad.

Come on you really asking why she is the more grounded and respected one? Hell Melo and LA didn't bash her presentation to them, they bashed Mitch and Jim for not knowing anything about actual basketball when questioned about sets, players they want to add and basics any team taking a meeting should know going in. She earned her spot and had successes, Jim has always had daddy step in to save him and now hat he doesn't he's f'd which is why the timeline should stand

[Michael Lucky]

The idea that Jeanie is better than Jim is one of the most ludicrous ideas out there. I want her nowhere near making decisions regarding the basketball operations or management decisions of this team. The fact she was not consulted about Byron being let go was a blessing for all of us.

[kblo247]

The idea that Jeanie is better than Jim is one of the most ludicrous ideas out there. I want her nowhere near making decisions regarding the basketball operations or management decisions of this team. The fact she was not consulted about Byron being let go was a blessing for all of us.

Wasn't consulted when Brown or Dantoni got hired either .. was that a blessing?

[Michael Lucky]

The idea that Jeanie is better than Jim is one of the most ludicrous ideas out there. I want her nowhere near making decisions regarding the basketball operations or management decisions of this team. The fact she was not consulted about Byron being let go was a blessing for all of us.

Wasn't consulted when Brown or Dantoni got hired either .. was that a blessing?

No need Jerry still had the final say.

[Kilroy]

The deadline was manufactured by Jeanie anyway... Jim just was stating his goal. Plus from what they said about how the Dr Buss' will was structured, Jeanie may be over-stating her power anyway. Not sure she could legally remove Jim from his role. He'd have to agree to it... Which he might for the sake of the franchise, but it feels like Jeanie's a paper-tiger in this...

Which I think it a great thing...

I will never understand why Jim is perceived as this bumbling drunken playboy heir to Dr Buss wealth, while Jeanie has this weird perceived respectability... If anything, she was the more overt and rudderless of the 2 growing up... She wanted to be and eventually was a playboy model for crying out loud.

Her dad was a nba owner that won titles but he also exploited women, threw sex parties, and was known for cocaine with the showtime crew in their wild days

Jim was given horse which he failed at, given a piece of the soccer team where they cut their losses, and then sent to LA and tried to or Phil in his first power move with Goddard backing in 05 and failed there too. He failed so bad Phil was back collecting 8 figures and Kobe made his dad comeback down with the trade me tirade because he didn't try to win in Kobes prime either. Then we hear how he treated shaw in their meeting, how he pink slipped all Phils stuff before game 1 vs Dallas, and how Dantoni and the other coaches as well as traders failed and they can't lure a free agent

Jeanie is seen as better because posing for Playoboy wasn't a sin. It isn't hustler or some magazine like that. She also ran the wnba sparks to their titles and flipped them for a profit for her dad. She took over marketing and the business numbers of the Lakers once they entered staples. They made huge money off Kobe and Shaq without ever having an outside biz to fund them like other owners. They negotiated the TWC billions deal with her there every step of the way. She is the one who went out and constructed a new practice facility. She remade the Dfenders when they were losing money at staples by letting them run games out of El Segundo. She made the NBA board of governors. She has no history of drinking like Jim or Drug use and sex parties like her dad.

Come on you really asking why she is the more grounded and respected one? Hell Melo and LA didn't bash her presentation to them, they bashed Mitch and Jim for not knowing anything about actual basketball when questioned about sets, players they want to add and basics any team taking a meeting should know going in. She earned her spot and had successes, Jim has always had daddy step in to save him and now hat he doesn't he's f'd which is why the timeline should stand

No, I'm saying she isn't the more grounded and respectable one... Everything else you wrote smacks of boy-hood crush.

Everything Jim did was BAAD! Everything Jeanie did was right and good!

Think the sight of those basketball boobs at a young impressionable age, ruined you for life...

[milesfides]

That would be very comforting, but I don't think she would do that because:

She's just one year away from getting to reunite with Phil.

This can't be emphasized enough. The fracture between the two Busses is a fact. Jeannie's public statements and interviews are all about putting public pressure on Jim Buss and setting up Phil's return.

The Knicks are a mess, they hired Hornacek so the triangle is abandoned. Phil has an opt out after next season.

It's set up for a takeover.

Jim and Mitch are going to go out with guns blazing. I firmly believe Mitch is also invested, because I'm sure he saw how meddlesome Phil was when he was with them. He's also been in Jim's foxhole for years. They unquestionably have a good relationship - no fracture at all in management, both of them are low key.

So the Lakers' getting the 2nd pick was huge, because it gives them one step closer for both of them to be employed. That 2nd pick can be a rookie stud or yield a proven all-star. Huge.

I think what would be interesting is if the Lakers make it to the first round and get eliminated. Would Jim Buss step down, or would he consider it a major step forward, and fight for his job? As far as I know, there's no binding contract about the deadline. I see the Buss family warring over this. I wouldn't be surprised if many of them actually side with Jim, who's keeping it within the family, as opposed to Jeannie, who's wants to hand over control to an outsider.

Deadline will remain. But a fight will ensue.

[kblo247]

If you've failed at everything you did that daddy gave you before he decided to just bring you back to the lakers to be watchedand have a rep as a party boy to boot ...

How are you not seen as less grounded than the chick who made the board of governors, negotiated contracts with TWC and sponsors, and ran the Sparks when they won the title then flipped them for a profit?

Playboy was/is seen as art by a lot of folks compared to porn. Now Being grounded means having business sense, making good deals, being well liked, and staying prepared. By every account of her work Jeanie is always prepared and negotiates well. Again she had whole campaigns ready while Mitch and Jim outright got called out for not being able to answer anything basketball related the last 2 summers. It was so bad Mitch admitted they f'd up and tried to get a second sympathy meeting with Aldridge to try and come up with something basketball related which last I check him and Jim are supposed to know about and be in charge of yet have failed horribly at without Jerry Buss holding their hand

[kblo247]

Deadline will stick just so Phil can return with Mitch being nothing more than what Lester had became