Report: Jim Buss believed Lakers would sign LeBron James, Kevin Durant, others
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in shambles since the legendary Jerry Buss passed away, and his son Jim is to blame for a lot of that. If Jim Buss stopped being so delusional, the Lakers might have an easier time of moving forward.
A lengthy feature from Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report provides an in-depth look at some of the recent failures of the once-dominant Lakers. According to Ding, Buss has been walking around for the past three years talking about how L.A. is going to sign all of the biggest names on the free agent market. We’re talking LeBron James, Kevin Durant and others.
Here’s more:
Within three years, the Lakers would be “in contention for a championship,” he promised his siblings.
Some believe Jim was so blatantly confident because he figured LeBron James was coming to the Lakers as a free agent that summer.
Indeed, his father had shot for the stars often and hit. So why wouldn’t it happen again?
So Jim told people that Carmelo Anthony was coming the next summer. He told people that Howard was staying the previous year.
He told people as soon as the Lakers’ recent season was winding down that Kevin Durant was coming this summer…with Russell Westbrook the next.
Buss was also supposedly confident that the Lakers would keep Dwight Howard, and we all know how that turned out. The team has gotten progressively worse over the past three seasons, winning a franchise-worst 17 games this past year.
Jeannie Buss, Jim’s sister, said last summer that Jim is planning to step down from his current position if the Lakers do not make a deep run into the playoffs over the next two seasons. One of those seasons is in the books, and it was horrendous. That is likely what prompted Jeannie to make these threats several months back.
Once the model NBA franchise, the Lakers have become a disaster. Oh, and by the way, Durant is reportedly not even going to give them the courtesy of a meeting. It’s easy to get the impression that Jim Buss has to go before the Lakers can truly start rebuilding.
H/T Pro Basketball Talk
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
