Jeanie Buss may be preparing to clean house in the Lakers’ front office amid the team’s struggles. Such a move would entail pushing her brother Jim out from his executive role, getting rid of GM Mitch Kupchak, and potentially bringing Phil Jackson back to the Lakers.
ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith shared the information on the radio Monday:
Stephen A: "If (Jeanie Buss) does that, you know she's gonna bring Phil back. And I think Dolan will let him out of his deal to go to LA."
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) February 8, 2016
Jeanie and Jim have had a contentious relationship ever since their father, former Lakers owner Jerry Buss, passed away in Feb. 2013. Prior to that, there was a report saying the siblings hadn’t spoken since Jim decided to hire Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson. Then over the past summer Jeanie said that Jim would step down if the Lakers did not make a deep run in the playoffs over the next two seasons.
With the Lakers contending for the top overall draft pick and having one of the worst records in the league, it seems they are on track for Jim to step down. They are looking like a lock to finish last in their division for the third consecutive season and to possibly finish with fewer than the franchise-worst 22 wins they had last season.
