Sweeping changes have been made by the new ownership group of the Los Angeles Lakers, with Joey and Jesse Buss being fired, but their sister, Jeanie, remains in control
Joey and Jesse Buss have hit back after they were fired by the Lakers(Image: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Joey and Jesse Buss had their father, Jerry, on their minds after they were fired by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
The brothers confirmed that they are victims of a restructuring that has brought sweeping changes to the Lakers’ front office. Joey, 41, was the alternate governor and vice president of research and development, while 37-year-old Jesse was assistant general manager.
Their older sister, 64-year-old Jeanie, remains the Lakers’ primary team governor, but numerous members of the scouting department have also been handed their pink slips, including Joey and Jesse’s half-brother, Sean. The firings are the latest chapter in the Lakers’ deeply complicated ownership history.
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The franchise had been owned by Jerry Buss for almost 50 years until his death in 2013, when ownership transferred to a trust controlled by his six children. Power struggles ensued, with Jeanie taking her older brothers, Jim and Johnny, to court before she was ultimately named controlling owner in 2017.
In June, a deal was agreed to sell the franchise to Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, for $10 billion — the most expensive acquisition of an American sports franchise in history. The Buss family retains a minority ownership stake of 15 per cent.
The sale was rubber-stamped by the NBA Board of Governors in October, and widespread changes to the front office and scouting departments have swiftly followed.
Jeanie Buss (left) remains an influential figure at the Lakers after Mark Walter (right) bought the team(Image: Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
In a statement given to ESPN, Joey and Jesse hit out at the decision and suggested that their father would be dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
“We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons. Thank you to Laker Nation for embracing our family every step of the way,” the brothers said.
“We wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team. At times like this, we wish we could ask our Dad what he would think about it all.”
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Jesse went on to fire a shot at his sister. He said: “[My father’s] idea was for Joey and I to run basketball operations one day. But Jeanie has effectively kept herself in place with her siblings fired.”
Jesse and Joey had been part of a scouting framework that unearthed numerous talents that have gone on to play big roles for the Lakers, including Austin Reaves, Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma.
Scouting staffers Aaron Jackson, Moses Zapata and Can Pelister have also been fired, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The Lakers confirmed that Joey and Jesse had been removed from their positions, but the franchise declined to comment further on the situation.