The recent failures of Jim Buss will ultimately lead to the downfall of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Buss, the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers, has let his arrogance in recent years get in the way of common sense basketball decision. Buss, who hired Mike Brown to be the head coach of the Lakers in 2011, fired him nearly as quickly. Brown was gone five games into the 2012 season because Buss was not patient enough to give Brown a chance. I guess the phrase “what can Brown do for you” never crossed the mind of Buss.
Then after firing Brown, the Lakers had the chance to bring in Phil Jackson. The "Zen Master" who is now in charge of Basketball Operations for the Knicks, had discussed with Buss the possibility of returning to the Lakers. This was an important moment for the team. At the time, they were trying to convince all-star center Dwight Howard to stay. Having a 13-time NBA champion (11 as a head coach) might have given the Lakers a chance at Howard. Jackson even believed he was going to sign on and become the Lakers head coach. However it was not meant to be.
Buss went in a different direction. He decided to hire former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni for the position. Jeannie Buss, who is in charge of the business side of the Lakers (in addition to being Phil Jackson's fiancee) was shocked by the move. She said Jim told her that he, general manager Mitch Kupchak and her father Jerry Buss (now deceased) believed D'Antoni to be a better fit for the franchise than Jackson.
“I felt that I got played,” said Jennie Buss in an excerpt from her book. “Why did they have to do that? Why did Jim pull Phil back into the mix if he wasn't sincere about it.... Phil wasn't looking for the job, and then he wasted 36 hours of his life preparing for it when they were never in a million years going to hire him anyway.”
“The sequence of events — Phil almost coming back and then being told someone else was better for the job — practically destroyed me,” she said. “It almost took away my passion for this job and this game. It felt like I had been stabbed in the back. It was a betrayal. I was devastated.”
D'Antoni has failed as the Lakers' head coach. He believes that his system of coaching is absolute and that he should not adjust his style in favor of the talent around him. D'Antoni believes the talent should adjust to him. That way of thinking does not work in basketball. D'Antoni's attitude towards winning is wrong. It failed when he was the head coach in New York with the Knicks, it has failed in Los Angeles, and it will fail in any other NBA coaching job he receives in the future.
To be honest, the failure of the Lakers is not D'Antoni's fault. He should've never been hired in the first place. Jackson was the one and only choice for Buss and the Lakers. First off, Brown should've been given more time to lead the Lakers. The hiring of D'Antoni put sour grapes in the mouth of Dwight Howard. Any chance the Lakers had of keeping Howard left upon the hiring of D'Antoni.
Howard would've excelled in Jackson's Triangle offense. Now instead of playing in Los Angeles, he is hooping it up in Houston. Lakers fans have no one else to blame for this mess but Jim Buss himself. He let his arrogance and belief that no one is smarter than him to get in the way of common sense decision. Jim Buss is not the smartest basketball man in Los Angeles. His sister Jeannie has more basketball knowledge than he does. However, it was Jerry Buss' wish that Jim take over basketball operations and Jeannie take over the business side of the team.
With all due respect, if there was a battle between Jim Buss and Phil Jackson's basketball knowledge, Jackson would beat Buss with his hands, feet, eyes, arms and legs tied behind his back. The arrogance of Jim Buss is the reason the Lakers are suffering so much this season.
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