1. Not Firing Jim Buss
There’s no rule in life that states that a successful father always breeds a successful son. Undoubtedly, that is the case in this situation.
Dr. Jerry Buss proved to be one of the greatest franchise owners in NBA history before his passing. He also proved that he didn’t pass any of those traits onto his son Jim Buss.
Jim’s reign as Lakers’ Executive Vice President has been filled with foolish mistakes and ego-driven errors. Buss has been the mastermind behind many of the Lakers biggest stories over the past few years including:
- Choosing Mike Brown over Brian Shaw, although Kobe Bryant had endorsed the latter
- Hiring Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson, although Phil was ready to come out of retirement specifically for this job
- Not trading Dwight Howard when it was clear that he was unhappy
- Thinking that he alone could convince Dwight Howard to stay during free agency
- Consistently promising with no basis to land top-tier free agents such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and most recently Kevin Durant
Essentially, Jim Buss appears to be no more prepared for this job than a child at “bring your son to work day”. The Lakers biggest blunder over the past few years is continuing to let this man make basketball decisions as if he really knows what’s going on.
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Hopefully, the Lakers are able to retain this momentum they currently have and make strides in their development without being derailed by the Buss train.