Lakers' Jim Buss says he will step down if team is not contending in '3 or 4 years'

Jim Buss oversees player personnel for the Lakers. (Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers part-owner and vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss says that if the team does not return to contention in the near future, he will hand the reins of the family business over to someone else, according to Mike Breshnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

The team recently completed their worst season since moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960, with 27-55 record, and Buss told other members of the Lakers' front office he was willing to bet his position within the organization that they would be back on top soon.

"I was laying myself on the line by saying, if this doesn't work in three to four years, if we're not back on the top — and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship — then I will step down because that means I have failed," he told The Times about the meeting. "I don't know if you can fire yourself if you own the team … but what I would say is I'd walk away and you guys figure out who's going to run basketball operations because I obviously couldn't do the job.

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