Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Has '100 Percent Confidence in Rob Pelinka'
Jeanie Buss spoke publicly at the 2019 NBA Awards on Monday for the first time since Magic Johnson's unexpected resignation as president of basketball operations before the end of the season.
Buss said Johnson's departure was "a big surprise" after abruptly stepped down as the team's president of basketball operations before the Lakers' final game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers. In an impromptu press conference, Johnson told reporters that his position as the team's president did not allow him to be himself.
Buss said Monday, "I have 100 percent confidence in Rob Pelinka running our basketball operations."
"I’ve always had confidence in Rob," she told the Los Angeles Times' Arash Markazi. "Whatever the speculation is out there, we don’t need the outside media to validate what we do. I’m very happy. I think we’re on the right path but there’s still more work to do."
The Lakers and former head coach Luke Walton parted ways after the season, and Buss noted that new coach Frank Vogel's teams consistently play defense.
She says the Lakers ''have a lot of other changes'' that are coming but she cited NBA rules in not being able to discuss them yet.
The Lakers finished the year at 37–45 for the team's sixth straight losing season.
