Everyone knows things ran smoother when Dr. Jerry Buss was alive and well, running the Los Angeles Lakers. Unfortunately he passed away and all major basketball decisions have been left in the hands of his son Jim Buss. His sister Jeanie Buss (who’s also more popular) believes had their father still been alive then they would’ve been able to keep Dwight Howard. Read more after the jump.
The “Stay D12” billboards around town didn’t work. Neither did anything anyone said in the Lakers’ pitch meeting to Howard in early July. Howard’s mind seemed mostly made up by then.
But Lakers executive vice president Jeanie Buss thinks one person had a chance — her father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss.
“They would’ve probably had a better relationship if my dad hadn’t been sick,” Jeanie Buss said in a wide-ranging interview with hosts Mark Willard and Mychal Thompson on ESPNLA 710 Thursday morning. “When it came time to try to convince Dwight to stay, we lost the best closer in the business in Dr. Buss. Putting up the billboard maybe wasn’t the right thing. But we maybe have to learn to do things differently because Dr. Buss isn’t here anymore.
The Lakers’ organization hasn’t been the same since the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss and almost every Laker fan shares that sentiment. Many are unhappy with the way Jim is running things and some in fact want Jeanie to take over. We don’t know if Dr. Buss could’ve gotten Dwight to stay but I’m pretty sure the Lakers state of things would be going a lot better.
