Lakers News: Jeanie Buss Discusses L.A. Front Office Brain Trust, Rob Pelinka Extension
Los Angeles Lakers team owner Jeanie Buss sat down for a interview with ex-ESPN commentator Rich Eisen to talk all things Lakers, and she had some illuminating insights that offered fans a peak into her decision-making process within the organization.
In appearing on The Rich Eisen Show today, Jeanie Buss was asked by Eisen to define her inner circle of advisors.
Buss seemed somewhat irked by the nature of the question:
"People are fascinated with that for some reason. I could ask you, 'Do you ever ask Mark Cuban who his inner circle is, or Joe Lacob who his inner circle is?' There's just something about being a woman I think that people think, 'Oh what crutches does she need? Because she's not capable of doing it herself.' I have great people that I work with. People seem most interested in Linda Rambis, who I've been working with for over 30 years. I've operated in the same style since I started working with the organization... I'm a leader, I'm not a dictator, I like to build consensus. I like to hear from everybody at the table. Then ultimately, people need to understand I'm the governor of the team and I'm held accountable for every decision that's made, business and basketball."
Eisen clarified that the question was not so much one of a team owner's gender as to their collaboration with family (he cited his prior questioning of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones), as opposed to casting a wider net for the best possible advisors. "If I had [New York Yankees owner] Hal Steinbrenner, if he was kind enough to... appear on this program, I would say to him, 'Who are you talking about to make sure that Aaron Judge gets signed?'"
Both Jones and Steinbrenner, like Buss, lean a lot on family and friends to help them make crucial decisions for their billion dollar franchises. Buss added that she also seeks input from Magic Johnson, who left his gig as team president in 2019, and former championship-winning head coach Phil Jackson, who most recently was run out of New York for his team-building efforts with the Knicks.
When asked about her decision to sign L.A. team vice president Rob Pelinka to an extension that would keep him aboard the Laker train until at least the 2025-26 season, Buss revealed that the signing had been done some time before.
"He signed an extension at the end of last season because I wanted to make sure that he and the [incoming] coach were on the same page." Re-signing Pelinka after a brutal 33-49 season, just two years removed from L.A. winning its 17th title (also under the stewardship of Pelinka, it's worth noting), stands as a significant vote of confidence in the team vice president's ability to right the ship this year and beyond, surrounding his core of LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the kind of depth that helped them reach the promised land once before.
