It’s not easy being Jim Buss.
Sure, he may be worth millions of dollars and have a job that many would kill for, but there’s no escaping the mostly unfair criticism that he hears on a daily basis.
Phil Jackson had some interesting comments of his own recently when he explained the differences between the late, great Dr. Jerry Buss and his son, Jim.
“Well, Dr. Buss had a PhD. He was a man that went through college and had a profession and was successful at what he had done and was a man that loved sports,” Jackson said during an interview with Fox Sports last week. “[Dr. Buss] came to USC when he got an offer to get a PhD because he loved the athletic success that USC had, so he [went] there with that a whole intention.”
“He loved track, he loved football. He wasn’t particularly a basketball fan until he bought a team, but he loved tennis – he had a pro tennis team before he had a basketball team. So, he was really into the sporting world and had to make some decisive decisions on his business life.”
After giving some background information on Jerry’s roots, Phil went on to explain how the legendary owner acquired and managed the team he would be in charge of for the next 34 years.
“[Dr. Buss] started out as a professor and then got into real estate and that’s a high-pressure thing, making decisions – tremendous decisions – and [then] talked Jack Kent Cooke out of his empire and he had tremendous success,” Jackson said.
“But, immediately, he was the guy that went in and said as an owner, ‘There’s no decision, I want Magic Johnson as my first pick,’ and [Johnson] was a 19-year-old kid and he made that decision.”
It was obviously a choice that would end up changing the landscape of both the NBA and the Lakers, though there’s a chance that Magic may have never been a member of the purple and gold if it wasn’t for Dr. Buss’ insistence.
“I think everybody looks back and says, ‘What else was there at that time?’ Sidney Moncrief was a great player at that time. [He] played a lot of great hoops in college. [He] was not in the Finals but he was a terrific player,” said Jackson, who won five NBA championships during his time with the Lakers. “There was some other considerations but that changed this franchise and the Lakers became what they were due to Dr. Buss due to his decisions.”
There’s no doubt that Dr. Buss turned the Lakers into the NBA’s glamor franchise and one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
However, can his son, Jim, continue his legacy?
“[Dr. Buss] was a guy that was decisive about what he did, I think Jim is kind of feeling his way. He doesn’t really know all the ramifications of basketball,” said Jackson, who was in the running to return as head coach of the Lakers in late 2012. “I think one of the things Dr. Buss did was he left a lot of basketball decisions to basketball people and then he would make the final stage, ‘Yeah, that’s a good move, we’ll do this.’ That’s a balancing act. Mark [Cuban] had to learn that as part of his ownership career. That’s a big part of it … these professionals have been out watching these kids sometimes since they were 15-years-of-age.”
Once again, this is probably a good time to remind people that Dr. Buss was the one who made the final call to hire Mike D’Antoni over Jackson – not Jim – and the reason behind the decision was to get back to a “Showtime” style of basketball that the league is embracing these days.
However, the main reason for hiring D’Antoni was down to the success that a pairing of a healthy Steve Nash and Dwight Howard would have in the pick-and-roll. Nash never regained full health last season, though, and we all know how reluctant Howard was to play in the pick-and-roll, instead opting to demand the ball in the post area where he is statistically much worse of a player.
So, there’s no reason to believe that Jackson holds a grudge against Jim for this reason, though there has always reportedly been a certain amount of friction between Phil and the Buss family – that includes Jerry and excludes Jeanie, of course.
The difference between Mark Cuban and Jim Buss is that fact that Buss grew up around the Lakers’ organization and was later hand-picked and trained by Jerry to be the guy in charge of basketball operations. Yes, giving Jim “the keys” was a decision by Dr. Buss, a guy who was renowned for his ability to select the best people for the job and put them in positions to succeed.
Also, let’s not forget that Jim still has Mitch Kupchak at his side. The pair work through things together and make joint decisions, just like they did along with Dr. Buss for the last decade or so. The only difference now is that Dr. Buss is gone and he no longer has the final call. That’s not to say that Jerry’s influence on the franchise isn’t missed – he most certainly left a huge hole wthin the organization that nobody will ever be able to fill – though it’s worth noting that Jim and Mitch would cook up plans together and take them to Dr. Buss for his approval.
And as for Jerry buying the team and instantly making an impact by drafting Magic Johnson: Yes, that was a legendary move that changed the Lakers forever, but Jim could’ve had his own moment in the sun in 2011 if it wasn’t for David Stern.
Chris Paul would’ve been a Laker and this team wouldn’t be in the mess they are right now. Yes, bringing up the CP3 veto is starting to get old, but it needs to be repeated to remind people just how close this team was to avoiding these downtimes.
My level of respect for Phil Jackson is through the roof, and he’s right on the money with most of his comments, though to say Jim isn’t aware of “the ramifications of basketball” is probably unfair.
Again, we went through something similar to this just yesterday when Magic Johnson finally vowed to stop complaining about the Lakers and insists he will now support Jim and D’Antoni. That’s exactly what we need to do, too.
We need to give them a chance. This isn’t NBA 2K, this is the NBA and it’ll sometimes take a while to the right ship, especially when you’re dealing with major injuries (Nash, Kobe Bryant) and uncommon occurrences (a star leaving the Lakers during free agency).
Time heals all wounds, and it’ll eventually heal the Lakers, too.
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