- Dr. Jerry Buss gave the Los Angeles Lakers to his children in order for them to carry on his legacy after his death in 2013.
- Even before their father passed away, Jeanie and Jim Buss had a rift that basically only affected them.
- Jeanie made the decision to fire her brother months before Jim’s three-year timeframe came to an end
Dr. Jerry Buss gave the Los Angeles Lakers to his children in order for them to carry on his legacy after his death in 2013. At that time, Jim Buss served as the team’s executive vice president while Jeanie Buss was designated to oversee the team’s business operations.
However, due to a series of poor team decisions over the years, the Buss family was unable to carry out their father’s intention to make sure the team was consistently successful and in title contention.
It got to the point where the Lakers were having their most difficult losing seasons ever as a team, and it wasn’t a coincidence that it happened around the time Jerry Buss went away.
When they started kicking each other out of the company and fought for control of the company, the Buss family drama reached its pinnacle.
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Jim vs. Jeanie
Even before their father passed away, Jeanie and Jim Buss had a rift that basically only affected them.
The fact that the Lakers weren’t winning was largely due to Jim’s dubious decisions, which compelled Jeanie to take action against Jim.
Jim was forced to make a promise to the Buss siblings that the squad would quickly return to the Playoffs when they all got together one summer.
“If we don’t make the playoffs again, I might make a decision, I remarked, and he responded, “Oh, sure.” If we don’t make the playoffs again in three years, he threatened to resign and fire himself. So, with my siblings as our witnesses, we shook hands.”
In the ninth episode of the documentary Legacy: The True Story of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jeanie made a revelation.
Unfortunately, Jim’s prediction that the Lakers would return to the playoffs in three years did not materialize, which inspired Jeanie to implement the required organizational adjustments.
Jeanie made the decision to terminate Jim because she was sick of seeing the Lakers lose and believed the organization needed a new executive vice president after appointing Magic Johnson as the team’s consultant and taking Kobe Bryant’s advice.
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The actual succession war
Jeanie made the decision to fire her brother months before Jim’s three-year timeframe came to an end because she
believed he would endanger the team in the final few months of his employment.
Jeanie believed Jim would make choices and moves that would damage the franchise because he knew he wouldn’t fulfill his pledge.
Jim and his siblings were shocked by Jeanie’s choice and began to wonder how she had the authority to make such a decision.
“I was made aware by my father that I would serve as governor. He may have been persuaded out of it or there may have been objections, and he didn’t want to deal with that, so I believe he kept it a secret from the family “explained Jeanie.
“When I reflect on some of Jimmy’s choices, I wonder if he did so with the intention of undermining the team’s leadership and the organization. Or was he merely making bad choices?” Jeanie tacked on.
The Buss brothers, therefore, got together to talk about their father’s succession plan when Jeanie took over the team after firing her brother.
Jerry Buss asked himself, “Did I really want Jeanie to run the team?” Who said what in his will?
Being a director and actively participating in the Lakers’ board of directors was necessary for Jeanie if she wanted to be the team’s sole owner.
At one point, Jeanie had to put in place a restraining order to ensure that her brothers wouldn’t elect a new board of directors without her participation after she acknowledged that authorities were involved during their meetings.
“Jimmy, one of my brothers, started working with some lawyers. Although I wouldn’t describe our meeting as confrontational, they essentially entered and placed a loaded gun on the table “Jeanie made known.
When asked about the purpose of the loaded rifle he had brought to the meeting.
Jim Buss replied, “Just to make sure there was check and balance, that’s all it was. In order to comprehend what the trust states, we involved attorneys”.
“Our attorneys advised that adding some additional members to the board would be the wisest course of action “Added Jim
After the legal dispute was resolved, Jeanie gained authority over the Lakers, fulfilling her father’s wishes as stated in his will, according to Jeanie.
Although the Buss siblings’ conflict was dramatic and chaotic, Jeanie at least achieved Jerry Buss’ objective of ensuring that the Lakers returned to the top of the NBA; for this reason, the 2020 NBA champion was not only named in honor of the late great Kobe Bryant but also in honor of Dr. Jerry Buss.
