Los Angeles Lakers: Time To Give Jim Buss Some Credit
By Chris Walton
Whether it was the Mike D’Antoni–Phil Jackson debacle or giving Kobe Bryant a $24 million fortune to close out his career, Jim Buss has become accustomed to taking shots from Los Angeles Lakers fans. Since the unfortunate death of father and former owner Dr. Jerry Buss in 2012, the the team has been floating in uncharted waters.
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Dwight Howard spurned them during the summer of 2013 for the Houston Rockets. D’Antoni has since been fired and replaced by Byron Scott. To top everything off, they’ve also suffered their two worst seasons with a 27-55 record in 2013, followed by a 21-61 record this season.
The proverbial bleeding has mostly left the blood on the hands of Jim Buss, who has inherited running the basketball operations in his father’s name. Contrary to popular belief, Buss does deserve some criticism for the Lakers’ shortcomings, but he’s also done some good things since he’s been in the mix of the team’s business.
Many pundits always acknowledge Mitch Kupchak, Lakers general manager, as the mastermind behind bringing in guys like Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and even Chris Paul before David Stern dropped the hammer on the deal.
Buss was right alongside Kupchak gathering the assets to make those moves whether it was drafting Javaris Crittenton (part of the Gasol deal), or Andrew Bynum (Howard trade).
In between the time of the team’s fall from grace, Buss has continued to make some subtle moves for the franchise. He’s found some good young pieces in the draft with Ryan Kelly, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle. Buss has even been able to acquire players from the free agent market like Tarik Black or Jabari Brown.
All are far cries from the groundbreaking moves that they’ve infamously made, but they are laying a good foundation. Clarkson was recently named to the NBA’s All-Rookie team this week while Kelly, Black, and Brown showed they are capable rotation guys this year.
Times are very different for the Lakers with the team needing to build through the draft and the lower-tiers of free agency.
The icing on the cake was spread on Tuesday night. All of the questionable decisions, little to no movement in free agency, and the losing seemed to align the stars perfectly for the Lakers’ new direction. The team left Tuesday’s draft lottery with the No. 2 pick, and a chance at Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor.
Both players have an opportunity to be that franchise guy that the Lakers have longed for.
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As if the draft’s reward wasn’t enough, the team may walk into the summer with around $23.5 million in cap space. Maybe they can pry away a solid wing like Jimmy Butler or Khris Middleton, further cementing what looks to be a promising young core. Regardless, Jim Buss has to be commended for what he has, or hasn’t, done for past few seasons.
The team has not been competitive, staying at the bottom of the league. The good news on this front? Teams at the bottom have a chance at grabbing the next big name in the draft.
Buss has even done a masterful job of conserving his cap room at the right time. Granted, the team hasn’t come close to making any big signings since having the opportunity. Their chase of Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James came in vain last summer. Buss has shelled out one-year deals and cap-friendly contracts, just for possible trade purposes.
Constructing deals to end right before the next few years of free agency, which will include Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is probably Buss’s most underrated contribution. With endless cap room, you can nearly get any player to name their price to come to the beautiful city of Los Angeles.
Starting this summer, the Lakers will have a pretty enticing package for players this summer and beyond. Sporting News reporter Sean Deveney touched on agent’s takes after the Lakers’ good fortune:
"“I think it is something that helps out their sales pitch in a big, big way,” one agent told Sporting News. “The past couple of years, their pitch has sort of been, ‘Come play for us because we’re the Lakers and the weather is nice.’ That’s not enough. You’ve seen that. They have not had a direction, and that’s why players don’t want to go there.”"
It will be an interesting situation to watch with the Lakers going forward. It’s only been two years of a downward slope, but fans finally have a reason to be excited again. Along with that, they also have a chance to trust in Jim Buss. He will never be the man that his father was, but he is showing that he’s capable of turning things around.
Chances are that he won’t have to honor that step-down promise in a few years.