Los Angeles Lakers: Should NBA intervene with organization?
By Ronald Agers
The minority owners reportedly are “quietly” protesting Jeanie Buss over her decision making!
Maybe those Lakers fans, like seemingly 20 of them, on the surface looked stupid standing out in front of the Staples Center, but they are not alone in their unhappiness.
It seems that the minority owners are starting a small ruckus behind the scenes with the direction (or lack thereof) of the franchise. Bill Plaschke laid all of this out on Dan Patrick’s show earlier in the week. This is something to pay attention to if the Lakers don’t land that free agent that has been promised.
"“There’s a lot of rumblings from the AEG’s of the world and some of the partners. I think they’re going to wait to see what happens this summer. But obviously, she’s never going to sell, herself. Don’t forget, she took over the team in a coup from her brothers. So the team can be taken over in a coup. I don’t see that happening until at least they see what happens this summer and see what happens next year. People are upset. The real money-movers and shakers and money people, those are the people who are quietly protesting and they’re upset. She has this summer to figure this out and next season. And if they don’t make the playoffs again, I think that becomes a reality.”"
No matter how small the crowd was in front of the Staples Center, they used this wonderful new invention called social media. ESPN had some interest enough to have some tweets, which means a potential 33.9 million people or more can be reached. Couple that with others talking on various social media platforms, the mission was accomplished on the exposure of the issues of this team.
Now let’s talk about the people that matter. The ones that are financially tied to this team.
Most think that the Buss family owns the team outright. That is not the case. They own 66 percent of the team in a trust that is divided six ways. Philip Anschutz who owns the AEG company that Plaschke was talking about. Rounding out the ownership group is Edward P. Roski and Patrick Soon-Shiong. Soon-Shiong seems to be about his money, considering that he also owns the LA Times.
Jeanie Buss and the front office can ignore the Lakers fan base and collect the money from season ticket sales. That’s one thing. But you can’t ignore the rest of the owners that have money tied into the franchise that you share a boardroom with.
This is a business. The Los Angeles Lakers and many others invested in the belief that LeBron James could lead this team to the playoffs and collect on revenue streams connected to the playoff run.
With the Lakers watching the playoffs on TNT and ESPN, many interested parties know that millions (potentially billions) of dollars were lost in revenue because LeBron James did not participate.
You don’t think Adam Silver noticed?