Lakers News: Jeanie Buss Stands Behind Jim’s Promise
All those Lakers fans so willing to can that dummy Jim Buss might have something to look forward to, at least according to Jeanie Buss. On whether Jim’s promise to step down if the Lakers aren’t in contention within three years, Jeanie had this to say:
"3 years, one has already passed in the plan."
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Woah.
Say what you will about whether Jeanie would actually fire Jim if things haven’t turned around to the levels Jim promised – his definition of “contending” when he originally made the promise was to compete in the western conference playoffs. Do you honestly see that happening, without some type of miracle?
Here’s the thing: How positive are we on whether Jim deserves all the blame he seems to gets sent his way. It’s been said by a few people now, but when a good move is made, fans cheer Mitch Kupchak’s greatness. When a deal falls through or doesn’t pan out (See: Nash, Steve)… “JIM BUSS IS AN IDIOT RAWR.” Fans can’t have it both ways. To take that a step further, if Jim runs the basketball operations as his dad used to, he probably backs off to let Mitch work, with the power of final say.
If that is the case, isn’t Kupchak the one we should be hollering at?
When I put it that way, isn’t it interesting how fans might back off their ridiculous sentiment? I mean, let’s look at the timeline.
The infamous veto. The Dwight Howard acquisition (which everyone cheered). The Steve Nash acquisition (which the vast majority cheered). The entire 2012-13 season (which went about as poorly as it possibly could have). From there, the Lakers had few options other than to bottom out and hope for high picks. Meet: Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell.
When rumors came up about whether they should trade for DeMarcus Cousins with all their picks, and again later with the prospects they took with said picks, can you honestly blame the Lakers for not pulling the trigger given how well putting all their eggs in one basket went only a few years ago?
Which brings us back to today. What’s Jeanie supposed to say there?
“I know we made that promise but can you believe our luck by golly.” Yeah, that’d go over just fine.
At the end of the day, we’re frustrated as Lakers fans. We have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes as free agent after free agent passes up on the opportunity to sign on to all the madness I laid out above.
Instead, how about we stay patient about this rebuild? Those young guns we were all so stoked to watch play will take the court together next weekend in Las Vegas. Then, they’ll do so officially as Lakers. Those two moments in and of themselves will be more interesting than anything we’ve seen over the last few years.
Let’s enjoy that for what it is: A professional franchise trying to rebuild with the pressure of greatness holding it down.