The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Thursday that both Joey and Jesse Buss have been relieved of their duties in the front office. It appears the organization is remaining busy, making several key changes, as reports indicate the scouting department is being changed.
Los Angeles is cleaning house completely, as a majority of the staff in the scouting department are being let go, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. It's not clear what direction the Lakers want to go in the front office right now, but the franchise seemingly felt it was necessary to change things up with the scouting team.
“In addition to Joey and Jesse Buss being terminated by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, much of the scouting staff has also been let go, sources told ESPN.”
For years, the Lakers' strategy has been to acquire star talent either through free agency or via trades. The changes being made on Thursday could indicate that general manager Rob Pelinka wants to change up that strategy altogether.
With an 11-4 record and firmly in the mix of the Western Conference, perhaps the Lakers aim to find better talent through future drafts to build around 26-year-old star Luka Doncic. That could give the team better stability for the long term, especially once LeBron James eventually retires.
We'll have to wait and see what moves the Lakers make in the coming days. For all we know, more fires could be incoming. But for now, it looks like the franchise wants to clean things up in the basketball operations and scouting departments.
