Blunder after blunder after blunder! That’s what the consensus is in the Lakers nation about Jeanie Buss’ reign. But wait for the season to start as those cries are likely to get louder on the back of the Celtics’ championship win. Since Jerry West left the franchise in 2000, the Lakers won 6 NBA titles, but only one came under the Jeanie Buss regime. So is it time for her to sell the franchise?

While Jeanie is not giving out the slightest signals of putting the iconic purple and gold up for sale, she has her own take on the recent ownership changes around the NBA. Mark Cuban sold off the majority of stakes for the Mavs, Mat Ishbia acquired the Suns and now the Celtics are up for sale. But the biggest needle mover was Michael Jordan, when he sold the Hornets for a handsome profit of over $2.5 billion.

Regarding that, Jeanie Buss gave her two cents when she appeared on AM 570 LA Sports’ Petros and Money Summer Tour show. Talking to the hosts, Jeanie pointed out the reason Michael Jordan sold the majority stakes of the Charlotte franchise. “I think that they’re just people always looking to challenge themselves, than something else.” This came after Buss was asked if she was thinking about selling the Lakers. The governess sidestepped the question before adding, “Wyc had his success winning championships and maybe he wants to do something different. And same with Mark you know. He’s done a lot for lowering the cost of prescription drugs for people and I expect him to do more and more now.” 

But a major section of the Lakers fans would be more than happy to see Jeanie following in the footsteps of Mark Cuban and Wyc Grousbeck. That is at least from the basketball perspective of things, as the underlying numbers show a major downfall in the Lakers mentality.

Jeanie Buss’ Lakers era, a championship and a whole lot of nothing

When Jerry Buss’ succession plan kicked in 2017, Jeanie kicked out two of the key board members, brothers, Jim and Mitch Kupchak. They were replaced by Magic Johnson, who was then replaced by Rob Pelinka. But when Magic left in 2019 after a rift with Pelinka, there was no one on the board to see the basketball operations through. Sure, Pelinka is still there as GM but the Lakers fans aren’t happy with him.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis backed by Alex Caruso, Montrez Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the franchise to a title in 2020 but there was no long-term project to build on that. Caruso walked out free next season, KCP left, and Kuzma was traded. “How people perceived me … it kind of hurt me a little bit,” Kuzma later said about his exit. Now with the Wizards, he’s posting the numbers and heading for his prime years. The Lakers are left with LeBron and AD as their core players. If they don’t do well, it’s bedtime for the Lakers but even when they perform, it’s a sweep in the playoffs, making matters more frightening for fans.

Another major decision the franchise took was the signing of Russell Westbrook in 2021, who was in steep decline and was a shadow of his OKC days. That didn’t last either, showing the mismanagement in the franchise. And of course, there was the firing of the HCs. Jeanie Buss’ reign has already seen 3 changes in the dugout with the latest being JJ Redick, whose NBA coaching pedigree has been questioned time and again.