Though the Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of the basketball season, that hasn’t stopped new ownership from making some sweeping changes. Mark Walter just recently got approved as the franchise’s new majority owner, and he’s wasting no time putting his stamp on the team.
It was revealed on Thursday that the Lakers have fired Joey and Jesse Buss from their front office positions in the scouting department. It was also reported that much of the scouting staff was let go.
When Walter became the majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was also quick to rebuild the front office. The youngest Buss siblings are the first casualties, but there will likely be many more along the way.
The Buss brothers did play key roles in finding some good young talent like Austin Reaves, Jordan Clarkson, Max Christie and more, but the team has also had some big misses in the first round the last few years. The Buss family still owns a portion of the franchise, but Walter may want to minimize their influence as much as possible. With the litany of firings, fans are hoping that there are some executives who get the ax.
Fans Want Kurt & Linda Rambis Gone
Two names that Lakers fans have been screaming for the franchise to get rid of for years are senior basketball adviser Kurt Rambis and executive director of special projects Linda Rambis.
Their roles haven’t been clearly defined, but it has been reported that the Rambis family has been very influential in Jeanie Buss’ decision-making. Now that the Buss family has been stripped of their power, fans are hoping that Walter will get rid of the Rambises.
“Kurt and Linda Rambis too then please,” one fan commented in response to the Buss firings.
While fans are eager to see the Rambis family fired, they seem to be closely linked to the Buss family. Now that they don’t have power, it’s hard to see how Kurt or Linda Rambis can exercise much influence. Jeanie Buss is technically still the team governor, but that’s mostly just a title, as Walter is now the one who is really in charge.
Rob Pelinka Put on Notice
The Buss firings put a target on general manager Rob Pelinka. What helps him is that the Lakers are playing well right now, and the team likely doesn’t get Luka Doncic without his ties to Nico Harrison.
That said, Pelinka’s track record hasn’t been strong. The Lakers have had a number of high-profile misses in the draft, free agency and trade market under Pelinka.
When Walter took over the Dodgers, the first thing he did was give a ton of money to Andrew Friedman to run the team, who was widely considered one of the best baseball executives in the sport at the time. Walter isn’t afraid to spend big, so it’s easy to see him wanting to go after a big fish like Sam Presti, or somebody who isn’t employed by an NBA team like Bob Myers or Masai Ujiri. Pelinka likely has time, but he can’t afford to make any more bad moves.
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