As one of the most popular and valuable franchises in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers are always going to be held to a different standard than the rest. Year after year, fans and experts have come to expect the most from the franchise, and everyone from the players and coaches to the team owner herself has a role to play in order to keep things running.
For team owner Jeanie Buss, her focus remains on returning the Lakers back to a state of contention in the West. Her role is to put her team in a position to succeed by hiring the right people for the right jobs. In that aspect, a lot of fans haven’t agreed with how she has decided to run her team.
As it has been previously revealed, Jeanie has given some pretty significant power to her inner circle of close friends/advisors that includes Rob Pelinka, Kurt and Linda Rabis, and former head coach Phil Jackson.
Considering their lack of recent success in the NBA, many aren’t impressed with who Jeanie has picked to help her run the Lakers, and she has come to the defense of her people before.
“I know that there’s been some unfair criticism of Kurt Rambis. I want to remind people, he’s been involved in the NBA for close to 40 years, that he has been a part of championship teams both as a player and assistant coach, he is someone I admire for his basketball knowledge.”
Jeanie Buss Responds To Questions About Her Inner Circle Of Advisors
So when asked again to explain those in her inner circle, Buss was forced to defend her judgment once again, and she didn’t do it nicely this time.
“People are like fascinated with that for some reason,” said Buss. “I could ask you do you ever ask Mark Cuban who his inner circle is? Or Joe Lacob who his inner circle is? It’s just there’s something about being a woman I think that people feel like, ‘What crutches does she need or what does she lean on because she’s not capable of doing it herself.’
“I have great people that I work with. People seem most interested in Linda Rambis who I’ve been working with for over 30 years. I’ve operated in the same style since I started working with the organization and even before that with the Great Western Forum putting on events. I’m a leader, I’m not a dictator. I like to build consensus. I like to hear from everybody at the table and then ultimately people need to understand I’m the governor of the team and I’m held accountable for every decision that’s made both business and basketball. So if anything goes wrong, it’s on my watch and I’m held accountable for it.”
Jeanie Buss may not be a favorite among Lakers fans, but she is committed to winning and has done a pretty good job turning the team around from the post-Kobe Bryant retirement era.
With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and an NBA Championship to show for their efforts, something has clearly worked out favorably for the Lakers. Maybe Jeanie’s leadership, and her circle of advisors, are at least partly to credit for the team’s overall success.
