Just like the 10-East when I drive from Santa Monica to Crypto.com Arena on game nights, the brain trust atop the Los Angeles Lakers organization seems a bit overcrowded.
The past month or so — and really, years — has brought a deluge of insight into the Lakers brass. Each new report, it seems, reveals a different entity that owns a portion of Jeanie Buss' ear.
On the heels of The Athletic's latest insight into the power structure of the NBA's most marquee franchise — and as a controversial show about Dr. Jerry Buss establishing that infrastructure gets rolling — let's cobble together what we know about who wields influence behind the scenes of a Lakers organization that's currently stumbling through a mess of a 2021-22 season.
10) Anthony Davis
Ideally, AD will officially become the Face of the Franchise post-LeBron. If he can stay healthy enough to step into that role, he'll undoubtedly play an integral role in personnel decisions (if he wants). He worked alongside LeBron in the star-chasing efforts of last summer.
9) Phil Jackson
Jeanie's ex-fiance and the ex-Lakers head coach has remained out of the spotlight since he was fired as president of the New York Knicks in 2017 — the year after his romantic relationship with Buss ended.
Yet, the 11-time champion coach — who made a rare cameo at a Lakers home game last Saturday, where he witnessed LeBron James drop 56 points — advises Jeanie and has been “in frequent contact with Buss about team matters all season long.” Jeanie reportedly reached out to Phil on how to handle the Russell Westbrook situation.
LeBron is not a fan of Phil after the infamous “posse” comment. Carmelo Anthony also criticized the remark amid his beef with Phil in New York. Regardless, do we really think Jeanie hasn't asked Phil if he'd consider a return to the Lakers (assuming the organization, as expected, moves on from Frank Vogel)?
8) Magic Johnson
Buss revealed that Magic — despite abruptly abandoning his presidential post and then going scorched earth on Rob Pelinka — remains an influential voice in basketball decisions. Jeanie told The Athletic:
“To me, he’s still working with us,” “In terms of an official capacity, in the NBA, you have to be very clear as to who can negotiate on your behalf and who can’t. So he doesn’t have that official designation. But in terms of his support, his wisdom, his insight, I freely call on him as needed.”
Magic also constantly about the Lakers and what's going on with them, so he's clearly still invested in the franchise.
7) Tim Harris
Harris is Chief Operating Officer and President of Business Operations. He has been cited as one of the handfuls of executives in Jeanie's inner circle with whom she trusts with her life. Certainly, the Lakers' financial situation has significantly impacted personnel moves.
6) Joey and Jesse Buss
Joey, 37, is VP of research and development, while Jesse, 34, runs the scouting department and serves as assistant GM. Unlike oldest brother Jim, who was booted by Jeanie after being bequeathed basketball responsibilities, the youngest Buss siblings have excelled in their roles. The pair was just featured in The Athletic's NBA 40 Under 40:
The Buss brothers have had emerging voices in the Lakers front office since Magic Johnson exited the organization. They have contributed to some recent under-the-radar finds for L.A. — like second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker and the undrafted Austin Reaves — with Jesse’s scouting portfolio and Joey overseeing player development. They also are positioned as the future of the Lakers ownership group behind their older sister, Jeanie.
This is interesting, to say the least.
5) LeBron James
The Lakers moved mountains to clear space to sign LeBron, trade for Anthony Davis, and eventually Russell Westbrook. For an institution as gigantic as the Lakers, they have ceded enormous power to James and his team for the past 3+ years. It resulted in a 17th banner.
However, at age 37 and with one year remaining on his deal — in the wake of the Westbrook misfire — Los Angeles' front office has reigned in LeBron's clout a bit, as evidenced by their trade deadline inactivity.
LeBron is eligible to sign a two-year extension on Aug. 4 (he can verbally commit whenever). Despite his efforts to downplay his All-Star Weekend overtures after a clear-the-air summit between Rich Paul, Pelinka, and Buss, we all know LeBron was putting pressure on this Lakers front office to impress him before he re-ups.
How will the Lakers respond? After all, they are the one franchise in the NBA whose brand is bigger than LeBron's — and he's not getting any younger. Will they f*ck them picks to appease a 20-year vet?
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EgzP7taFiZULFQXPKD78T?si=f749fcc8330c42dc
4) Rich Paul
Eventually, LeBron will move on. Klutch isn't going anywhere.
Paul's standing with the Lakers was first illustrated in a 2019 piece by ESPN's Baxter Holmes, which revealed that Paul, among other things, would ride the team's charter plane a la front office staff. Last May, Paul used “us” as a pronoun for the Lakers to The New Yorker's Isaac Chotiner:
We started talking about the Lakers, who were in a slump. Paul brought up the Nets, saying that they were “the only team that can beat us.” This sounded like a strangely partisan observation for an agent with clients across the N.B.A., especially after all the criticism he had received when bringing Anthony Davis to the Lakers. “I’ve got six guys on the team,” he said, shaking his head. “C’mon.”
Los Angeles has employed 11 Klutch clients over the past four years, by my count, including the two current Lakers signed past 2023: AD and Talen Horton-Tucker.
How much power the Lakers are willing to give Paul and Klutch — who are not decades-long members of the “Lakers family” — after LeBron's departure is one of the most important questions facing this franchise over the next decade.
3) Rob Pelinka
The hiring of Pelinka — Kobe Bryant's best friend and agent — as general manager and vice president of basketball operations in 2017 was considered an intra-family move by Jeanie. (His two predecessors, Jerry West and Mitch Kupchak, were also family.) His presence in the building represents Bryant, too, whom Jeanie was planning on offering a front-office position, per The Athletic.
Understandably, Rob is a deeply important friend and ally for Buss. Plus, he delivered a championship. Despite the mistakes of the past two offseasons — and the general direction of the franchise post-bubble title — don't expect Buss' faith in Pelinka to suddenly wane. According to Marc Stein, Pelinka has the “unwavering support” of Buss and “is firmly entrenched as a pillar of the club’s” brain trust.
“His relationship with Kurt and Linda and Jeanie, it is very much a mom and pop shop,” an assistant GM told B/R's Jake Fischer.
2) The Rambii
The mysterious power couple.
Linda is Jeanie's best friend of 40+ years and the two have worked closely together across various ventures — Lakers, World Team Tennis, film and TV producing, etc. — since the 1970s. Linda was even present when Dr. Buss purchased the franchise.
In 1985, Linda married Kurt, then a pivotal role player for the Showtime Lakers. Rambis was a lead assistant and trusted confidant of Phil Jackson during the 2009 and 2010 title teams. (Jackson hired him to be an interim coach with the Knicks, which did not go well.)
Rob and Linda's day-to-day responsibilities are opaque, even to those within the organization. Kurt's title is Senior Basketball Adviser. Linda is, formally, Executive Director of Special Projects. Kurt sits in on coaches' meetings and personally threatens their jobs. He was behind the Kidd/Vogel hirings and has been labeled a “shadow president.”
Linda's “actual level of influence far outweighs her job title,” writes The Athletic:
To this day, with Linda’s far-reaching and ambiguous Lakers role often inspiring confusion and criticism both inside the organization and out, that long-ago endorsement from Dr. Buss still matters a great deal in terms of the unique dynamics here.
Linda sits next to Jeanie every game and likely interacts with the boss more than any person on a daily basis.
1) Jeanie Buss
Ultimately, the buck stops with Jeanie, controlling owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jeanie bleeds purple-and-gold and there's nothing inherently wrong with loyalty and patience. Jeanie is, refreshingly, not irrational. She is wholly devoted to ensuring that the Lakers brand is continually synonymous with winning and star power. The decision to remove Jim from the organization was brutal — personally and legally — yet necessary. Seeking advice from trusted Hall of Famers wearing rings isn't necessarily problematic.
But the muddled chorus of voices at the top, flurry of leaks revealing behind-the-scenes tension and politicking, inexplicable luxury tax stinginess, and, frankly, the mediocre on-court track record since 2010 doesn't bode well on her as the steward of this massive enterprise. There's a reason the expression “too many cooks” carries a negative connotation, rather than implying, you know, a healthy excess of delicious food.
In fact, this crowded Lakers front office seems to be on a similar trajectory to that classic Adult Swim short:
Having said that, don't expect Jeanie Buss to change her ways — or ever truly trust anybody outside the “family.”
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