Jim Buss LIVE interview 710 ESPN at 2.15 PM PST

I guess if he's just holding the company line and keeping his poker face, then why even do an interview right now?

Nothing was discussed that helps our team or raises the value of any possible trade pieces. And pretending that everything is "hunky-dory" and we've just had some bad luck only serves to infuriate fans.

Maybe some of you guys are right and somethings going on that we can't see yet...

Wouldnt be the first time.

Everyone criticizing Buss needs to STFU

Not his fault that four HOFers are too retarded to figure out how to play with each other.

Lakerjones wrote:^^ RE: Doc Brown and phoenixrisingLA - I think Jim Buss has done a really good job with Mitch in terms of our personnel. It's only his coaching hires that I can't stand.

I would agree with this, although I'm not sure he has much effect over that area of the business.

Then again (as my discourse with Doc illustrated) there may be some things Jim has done that I wasnt aware of.

Doc Brown wrote:Just to put this out there, take it as you will...

Jim Buss isn't going out to the world and proclaiming.....

"Pau is gone, we are looking for trades"

"This team sucks and can't compete currently constructed"

"Everything is awful in LakerLand right now, every GM that sees this, we have our pants around our ankles ready to get bent over from this point forward"

I don't really know what some of you expected him to say. He's playing the game that every GM around the league (well the smart ones) play and that is Johnny Tightlips.

+1

phoenixrisingla wrote:I guess if he's just holding the company line and keeping his poker face, then why even do an interview right now?

Nothing was discussed that helps our team or raises the value of and possible trade pieces. And pretending that everything is "hunky-dory" and we've just had some bad luck only serves to infuriate fans.

Maybe some of you guys are right and somethings going on that we can't see yet...

Wouldnt be the first time.

I think he had pressure to do an interview because the team's record is falling into oblivion and Laker fans in general are pretty down. Now they probably didn't love what they heard . . . but it is what it is.

phoenixrisingla wrote:

Lakerjones wrote:^^ RE: Doc Brown and phoenixrisingLA - I think Jim Buss has done a really good job with Mitch in terms of our personnel. It's only his coaching hires that I can't stand.

I would agree with this, although I'm not sure he has much effect over that area of the business.

Then again (as my discourse with Doc illustrated) there may be some things Jim has done that I wasnt aware of.

Yeah, I went in and edited my post from the last page to include some of the personnel things he's been known to be a part of - he was a proponent of getting Jordan Hill, Sessions and you have to give him credit for holding onto his boy Bynum til the time was right to turn him into D12.

Lakerjones wrote:

phoenixrisingla wrote:

Lakerjones wrote:^^ RE: Doc Brown and phoenixrisingLA - I think Jim Buss has done a really good job with Mitch in terms of our personnel. It's only his coaching hires that I can't stand.

I would agree with this, although I'm not sure he has much effect over that area of the business.

Then again (as my discourse with Doc illustrated) there may be some things Jim has done that I wasnt aware of.

Yeah, I went in and edited my post from the last page to include some of the personnel things he's been known to be a part of - he was a proponent of getting Jordan Hill, Sessions and you have to give him credit for holding onto his boy Bynum til the time was right to turn him into D12.

I'm almost positive that his plan was to keep bynum because he truely believed in him, but it all worked out, so I guess we can count it. lol

Dude is completely oblivious. I cant tell if it's his arrogance or his ignorance blocking the view, but the guy can't see the truth sitting 5 inches from his face.

Yea either that or he is a liar. Either way the guy is a waste of time and is sure doing his best to doom the franchise from here on out. Anyone who makes an argument for MDA is off base because there is no logical argument for him. There is one sure fire way to guarantee a team fails in the and that is hire its worst coach MDA. The league has past him and the Jimmy Buss by hopefully they realize before we turn into the 2nd fiddle in LA behind that being the far beyond superior Clippers. Times are that bad....

KBJelleyBean24 wrote:SSDD

Was searching for the right sentiment...this comes close. Also, Weezy's Denial.

Crikey!

The reason to do an interview now is so that it doesn't look like the Lakers are having a fire sale. It ruins our bargaining position...

"We still think we have a chance once we heal up. We don't think we need to make any moves." from the owner of the Lakers. What does that mean to teams that want Gasol?

"Hm. They're not in a rush to throw him away. We can't low ball them an offer for Gasol."

If Buss had come on and said "We're giving up. We need to make moves NOW!" then everyone in the league knows that they have bargaining position.

C'mon people...

therealdeal wrote::man10:

The reason to do an interview now is so that it doesn't look like the Lakers are having a fire sale. It ruins our bargaining position...

"We still think we have a chance once we heal up. We don't think we need to make any moves." from the owner of the Lakers. What does that mean to teams that want Gasol?

"Hm. They're not in a rush to throw him away. We can't low ball them an offer for Gasol."

If Buss had come on and said "We're giving up. We need to make moves NOW!" then everyone in the league knows that they have bargaining position.

C'mon people...

I'd say this is a pretty accurate assessment...

Assuming other GM's around the league don't watch any Lakers basketball and immediately believe bold faced lies they hear on the radio.

phoenixrisingla wrote:
I'd say this is a pretty accurate assessment...

Assuming other GM's around the league don't watch any Lakers basketball and immediately believe bold faced lies they hear on the radio.

I'd say that's a pretty accurate assessment of my post...


Assuming you had nothing else to say besides "Jim is a liar".

KB24 wrote:

Janine Garcia wrote:I hate this guy

I agree....what a SOB he is, pays 130 mio. salaries for you to get entertained in the evening...its very obvious his goal is solely to annoy the fans and destroy the franchise.

In the summer everyone was in love with him when he opened up his checkbook...repeatedly...now that the team is playing well below expectations, its all on Jim Buss.

I really sometimes hate to come and read threads on CL. Whether we win or lose, people are either extra cocky and fanboyish or they absolutely despise everyone and everything.

A lot of people here still need to learn to lose with dignity. Its been a fun ride the last 15 years, this was supposed to be the magical culmination of Kobe's career. So far it hasn't panned out but lets suck it up and go down with our heads up...lets lose like a champ, not like a chump.

BTW, if you expected him to say this team sucks and lowers their value in possible nagotiations, I have to disapoint you. No executive is going to say how he really feels.

This. THIS. A thousand times, THIS.

Doc Brown wrote:Just to put this out there, take it as you will...

Jim Buss isn't going out to the world and proclaiming.....

"Pau is gone, we are looking for trades"

"This team sucks and can't compete currently constructed"

"Everything is awful in LakerLand right now, every GM that sees this, we have our pants around our ankles ready to get bent over from this point forward"

I don't really know what some of you expected him to say. He's playing the game that every GM around the league (well the smart ones) play and that is Johnny Tightlips.

Oh, and this a thousand & 1 times.

therealdeal wrote:

phoenixrisingla wrote:
I'd say this is a pretty accurate assessment...

Assuming other GM's around the league don't watch any Lakers basketball and immediately believe bold faced lies they hear on the radio.

I'd say that's a pretty accurate assessment of my post...


Assuming you had nothing else to say besides "Jim is a liar".

Lol, that about covers it, other than its easy for fans to see, so what makes us think that GM's are so gullible to buy it. Just doesnt make resonable sense to me still.

No worries, agree to disagree.

Lakerman JSJ wrote:

KB24 wrote:

Janine Garcia wrote:I hate this guy

I agree....what a SOB he is, pays 130 mio. salaries for you to get entertained in the evening...its very obvious his goal is solely to annoy the fans and destroy the franchise.

In the summer everyone was in love with him when he opened up his checkbook...repeatedly...now that the team is playing well below expectations, its all on Jim Buss.

I really sometimes hate to come and read threads on CL. Whether we win or lose, people are either extra cocky and fanboyish or they absolutely despise everyone and everything.

A lot of people here still need to learn to lose with dignity. Its been a fun ride the last 15 years, this was supposed to be the magical culmination of Kobe's career. So far it hasn't panned out but lets suck it up and go down with our heads up...lets lose like a champ, not like a chump.

BTW, if you expected him to say this team sucks and lowers their value in possible nagotiations, I have to disapoint you. No executive is going to say how he really feels.

This. THIS. A thousand times, THIS.

Damn great post, I missed this one.

Here's the linky if anyone wants to give it a listen

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/losangeles/play?id=8833368

KB24 wrote:

Janine Garcia wrote:I hate this guy

I agree....what a SOB he is, pays 130 mio. salaries for you to get entertained in the evening...its very obvious his goal is solely to annoy the fans and destroy the franchise.

In the summer everyone was in love with him when he opened up his checkbook...repeatedly...now that the team is playing well below expectations, its all on Jim Buss.

I really sometimes hate to come and read threads on CL. Whether we win or lose, people are either extra cocky and fanboyish or they absolutely despise everyone and everything.

A lot of people here still need to learn to lose with dignity. Its been a fun ride the last 15 years, this was supposed to be the magical culmination of Kobe's career. So far it hasn't panned out but lets suck it up and go down with our heads up...lets lose like a champ, not like a chump.

BTW, if you expected him to say this team sucks and lowers their value in possible nagotiations, I have to disapoint you. No executive is going to say how he really feels.

This sums up my thoughts. People hate Jim Buss so they will find any excuse to bash. No executive will lay out their plans for everyone to see or rant about how much his team sucks. That's bad business.

Geeze, what do you want this guy to say? We suck and we are trying to trade Pau for a bag of chips right now, so who's up, who wants him?? Give me a break....

KB24 wrote:I agree....what a SOB he is, pays 130 mio. salaries for you to get entertained in the evening...its very obvious his goal is solely to annoy the fans and destroy the franchise.

1. The high payroll is a direct result of their decisions. I dont see how just spending a ton of money when taken by itself is a plus. We're HOPING for results, not a bunch of rich players. 2. The bold part. Dont do that, no one is saying that. Just because he's not actively trying to harm the org, doesnt mean he's helping it.

KB24 wrote:In the summer everyone was in love with him when he opened up his checkbook...repeatedly...now that the team is playing well below expectations, its all on Jim Buss.

To put it all on him is unfair, but the D'Antoni hire is fresh in our minds so its easy to go to. You can debate how much of the problem D'Antoni is, but at the end of the day we were a playoff team last year under Brown.

KB24 wrote:I really sometimes hate to come and read threads on CL. Whether we win or lose, people are either extra cocky and fanboyish or they absolutely despise everyone and everything.

This does happen sometimes and apologies if I occasionally add to the over-negativity (or fanboyishness), but this is a site for debate/expression, no?

KB24 wrote:A lot of people here still need to learn to lose with dignity. Its been a fun ride the last 15 years, this was supposed to be the magical culmination of Kobe's career. So far it hasn't panned out but lets suck it up and go down with our heads up...lets lose like a champ, not like a chump.

Please dont try to cheapen people's criticisms by saying things like this. It's possible to lose with dignity and still question the reasons we got here, right?

KB24 wrote:BTW, if you expected him to say this team sucks and lowers their value in possible nagotiations, I have to disapoint you. No executive is going to say how he really feels.

No one expected that, but 17 minutes of question dodging, excuses, and smoke and mirrors has a way of pissing people off.

Anyway KB24 I really respect you as a poster, but since a lot of people were echoing your post, just wanted to give my 2 cents. Respectfully of course. lol

Go lakers!

Not a fan of his coaching hires or his direction....but you can't fault the guy in saying what was said. Its almost pointless to have these interviews anyways, cause they can either mean it and we remain status quo...or they can completely go the other way and fire MDA in the coming days as they did with Brown after saying they backed him 100%.

Of course, once in a blue moon you will have Mitch hint at something as he did with the Butler for Kwame deal or the drafting of Bynum. But maybe those days are long gone now.

Btw, Jimmy either gets no credit or too much credit. Whether you are a proponent or an opponent...wouldn't most of you agree that Jeanie may have been the better suitor going forward?

Vasashi17 wrote:Btw, Jimmy either gets no credit or too much credit. Whether you are a proponent or an opponent...wouldn't most of you agree that Jeanie may have been the better suitor going forward?

I don't have a bad word to say about Jeanie, and she obviously has a great mind for business, but what indication do we have that she has any interest in, or an eye for making key basketball-related decisions?

Say what you will about Jim, but we've actually done quite well in acquiring talent while his role has become more significant in recent years.

wouldn't most of you agree that Jeanie may have been the better suitor going forward?

Why? What's the basis for this statement?

Lakerman JSJ wrote:

Vasashi17 wrote:Btw, Jimmy either gets no credit or too much credit. Whether you are a proponent or an opponent...wouldn't most of you agree that Jeanie may have been the better suitor going forward?

I don't have a bad word to say about Jeanie, and she obviously has a great mind for business, but what indication do we have that she has any interest in, or an eye for making key basketball-related decisions?

Say what you will about Jim, but we've actually done quite well in acquiring talent while his role has become more significant in recent years.

This. sorry Vash, but we have no real evidence that Jeanie would have been the better choice. We have no evidence that she had/has what it takes to make those decisions.

Jim has his faults, but with him being a large part of the decision making we've won 2 championships, been to the finals 3 times, and acquired 3 Hall of Famers.

His coaching decisions?... well that might be problematic.

Well first of all, she's been in charge of the business side of the Lakers...and well business is very good for the Lakers.

Jimmy has admitted that he's not a basketball mind. That's his own words. So to be part of basketball operations is in itself, a contradiction. I feel that with Jeanie, she would have stayed out of the way as owner and let the basketball heads do basketball operations.

This way Mitch doesn't have to worry about babysitting and stroking egos. He goes to work and isn't limited. I know Jerry once in a while got in the way, but at least he showed he was shrewd in his decisions. Jimmy to this point picked Bynum, wanted run & gun, but struck out with CP3 and backed it up with Nash, scrapped the triangle in favor of Rudy3 and the Mikes. There is a reason why the Logo quit, why Magic stepped down as VP and sold his shares, why Jeanie/Phil express such hostility towards Jimmy. The writing is on the wall...true Laker insiders knew what was happening within and chose to do what they did.

I'm a fan of going for a top tier PG and running an uptempo style...but for god sakes, don't force it. When CP3 got nixed, they countered with Nash, but you can't rely on him for heavy minutes and an offense that relies on him to be successful. Dude will break down and it makes no sense. Not only that, but you know Kobe is on his last legs and after a nixed deal with Pau, its not so easy to move the Spaniard. Also, getting a guy coming off back surgery...you probably don't want to run him up and down the court...and if you do, make sure you have him heavily involved especially if you want to keep him past next summer.

If you want Showtime, don't force it with this personnel. Instead, what for today's version of Magic to opt out of Miami in 2014 and then let that vision come to fruition. Till then, know your personnel, don't force it and play to their strengths.

Alot of the moves just seem forced. If the vision was Cp3 and Dwight to pair with Kobe, I'm sure everybody is just fine with that. But it didn't work out that way, so with this team, don't force that vision. Go with what works. And what works, was ready to come back, but they found a way for it not to work...and how is it working out for us now?

That is Jimmy...not Mitch, not Jerry, not Jeanie....at work.

As a successful owner, you need to be cocky and you need to make risky calls from time to time....but also, check your ego at the door when a whole city is involved.....especially if the majority of that city is asking for an option that was available and yet, you ignored its beckoning.