Category — Jim Buss

We knew Laker fans would lower themselves to such things, but are you kidding us?
Although Laker fans are all giddy (hmmm, last time that’s happened?) with the No. 7 seed, do they really believe this squad is actually capable of anything in the NBA playoffs? Forgive us. I lost $5 to my old lady cuz I bet the Lakers wouldn’t make it, so maybe I’m a little bitter. And I surely forgot how the NBA sometimes figures into these things.
They don’t want to face my homies and the OKC Thunder. They want no part of that can of whip ass. Russell Westbrook again? Oh no, let’s take Timmy Duncan and his choir boy friends. Is that you T-Mac?
Some folks believe the Lakers are better off (is that you Magic Johnson?) making the playoffs instead of tanking for the lottery, like many of us dreamers gamble on everyday. But Dwight and the boys failing Kobe on the final night of the regulation…well the suicide hotline would have been working overtime.
The Lakers are 200-1 to win it all. Your point is?
We’re also pissed seeing the Spurs getting 8-1 since we bet them at 4-1. Someone trying to tell us something? Didn’t think so.
VegasInsider.com

We said months ago the Lakers wouldn’t make the playoffs. Ain’t no reason for us to punk out now. But does that mean Mike D’Antoni retuns as coach? Unfortunately, probably. Would the Lakers be on the hook for 2 ex-coaches? That plus a luxury tax? Probably not.
For Laker fans, that’s not a good thing.
Neither was that beatdown the Clip Joint gave the Lakers. With the win the Clippers clinch the Pacific Division.

Phil Jackson told the best story of the night, telling how Shaq mooned the Sacramento fans after Game 7 in 2002. We’d never heard that 1. Second best part was Laker fans chanting “We want Phil.” And Shaq “I want Phil too.”

Of all the statements Magic Johnson made today regarding the death of Dr. Jerry Buss, none struck a cord (because he’s so accurate, but Dr. Buss’ son Jim is too full shit to realize it) with me more than this one: “I hope Jeanie Buss takes over the team.”
Though Magic and Dr. Buss operated on a much larger platform, I couldn’t help thinking about Barry Switzer and Billy Sims. Back in my days in Norman in the late 70s, there were always stories about the off-the-field exploits of Barry and Billy.
But this was a much larger party. And a lot more of them. Magic and Dr. Buss, regardless of your opinions of either, were the origins of “Showtime” and the legends of it crossing a ton of barriers, the Hollywood element, the Laker girls (Paula Abdul among the most famous), the parties (did we mention the parties?) and Johnson stunning the world years after the high times when he announced he was HIV positive.
And those are just starter pistols.
Having moved to L.A. in 1986, during the height of Showtime, I was as consumed with it as any basketball fan. And this was as a time when the Herald-Examiner, particularly the sports section, was the best read in town.
Before Buss purchased the team in 1979 from Jack Kent Cooke, the Lakers were practically 2nd city to the Dodgers, Rams, USC football and UCLA basketball. Imagine that now.
Columnist Bill Plaschke scratches the surface with some quick-hitting recollections from Magic.
L.A. Times

“When someone as celebrated and charismatic as Jerry Buss dies, we are reminded of 2 things. First, just how much 1 person with vision and strength of will can accomplish. Second, how fragile each of us is, regardless of how powerful we were. Those 2 things combine to inspire us to reach for the stars, but also to remain with our feet firmly on the ground among our loved ones. Dr. Buss embodied that compassionate entrepreneurial spirit. He strove to reach greater heights without forgetting his community roots. During his stewardship, the Lakers exemplified his personal standards of excellence and became one of the dominant teams in the NBA and a force of good within the community. The man may be gone, but he has made us all better people for knowing him.”
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The greatest owner in sports, who turned the Lakers into 1 of the NBA’s hottest franchises, passed this morning in L.A. after complications of cancer. He was 80.
L.A. Times

So let me get this straight. The Lakers hold a team meeting to clear the air and all they do is point fingers at Dwight Howard?
It’s mind-boggling all the blame being dropped at the feet of Howard by Mike D’Antoni, pundits, writers and columnists for the dysfunctional Lakers. Granted, Howard hasn’t helped himself with some of his childish behavior and immature displays, but the real problem is D’Antoni (or “Antoni” as we Angelenos are fond of saying because there is no ‘D’).
Initially, I foolishly believed D’Antoni would tweak his uptempo system to fit the Lakers’ personnel. Use it at times, but design a halfcourt game to take advantage of the skills and size of Howard and Pau Gasol.
So what does D’Antoni do? He has Pau shooting 3-pointers and hanging out around the perimeter. Howard? He barely touches the ball. For Howard to get less than 10 shots a game (and Kobe to jack up more than 30) is a felony a criminal defense attorney couldn’t defend.
Defense? I can’t recall a coach as clueless on the subject as D’Antoni. Help us out here Bernie Bickerstaff. What are we missing? Seriously, the franchise pays D’Antoni millions and this is what Laker fans get? And Bernie just sits behind the bench watching the wheels go ’round and ’round?
If I’m Dr. Jerry Buss, I walk into Laker headquarters and tell my spoiled-ass idiot kid Jim, “pack your shit and get out.” Jim Buss is hemorrhaging the old man’s money on coaches. Coaches, in our best Allen Iverson imitation.

He picked Mike Brown (I still roll my eyes, but laugh recalling the Laker players calling him “All Day” because of his marathon practice sessions) when he should have hired Brian Shaw or at worst, Rick Adelman. He picked D’Antoni instead of Shaw or Phil Jackson. He even seriously considered Mike Dunleavy, who later admitted he texted NBA headquarters and protested the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers. Imagine that.
Seeing how Jim Buss won’t be able to justify bringing D’Antoni back after the Lakers miss the playoffs, he will be forced to eat another contract. Get in line. It’s a long 1. Aren’t the Lakers still paying Rudy T?
Further, trading Howard would be foolish. I know he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, but the Lakers could easily get him to ink a deal and show their faith in him by firing D’Antoni and hiring Shaw as coach.
Shaw could smooth over the rough edges in the clubhouse and also produce a winner. He knows the game and he knows the Laker personnel and their huge egos as well as anyone.
And he is the only coach, with the exception of Phil, who can keep Kobe in line. The latter is priceless.
D’Antoni has to go. If the Lakers sacrifice Howard for D’Antoni’s sake, they will be paying a huge tab that will have them reeling in the years. Just cut your losses and dump the dude.

Unlike a lot of folks, I sometimes appreciate the sarcastic style of L.A. Times columnist T.J. Simers. After all, for almost $200,000 a year, what’s better than investing in a writer who makes a living tearing sports figures to shreds?
Still, I’m trying to grasp why Simers decided to hold hands and watch last night’s BCS train wreck with embattled SC Coach Lane Kiffin, more than a week after Kiffin was labeled the “Unabomber” with that hoodie and forgettable performance in a loss to a horrible Georgia Tech team in the Sun Bowl. Come on T.J., you going soft on us again?
Simers doesn’t even ask Kiffin about the recent wave of recruits who have decommitted to USC. All we get is another tearjerker about how Kiffin is sorry he screwed up the Trojans, college football’s preseason No. 1. Try telling that to many of the SC faithful who are calling for his head.
It’s also hilarious that the 2 most divisive figures on the L.A. sports scene, Kiffin and misguided Lakers’ owner Jimmy Buss, get the softball treatment from the hardest hitting columnist in L.A.
What’s up with that dude?

Steve Nash is making a strong case for MVP.
When it rains, it pours. The Lakers coach got a little testy when the loveable T.J. Simers of the former world champion (that would be the L.A. Times, if you’re scoring at home) started pressing the action after tonight’s debacle in Cleveland.

Did we mention Lane Kiffin? Didn’t think so.
Mike D’Antoni is taking a beating and you know well what we think of “Has” Ben Howland. Vinny Del Negro isn’t the greatest either, but sometimes good teams cover their inefficiencies on the bench.
Which brings us to USC’s Kevin O’Neill, the worst of them all. And that’s saying something considering how bad Howland is.
But we won’t waste our breath on O’Neill. Fortunately, the wonderful Evan Barnes blew him out of the water.
Rant Sports