Following the meeting between Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson earlier this week, the speculation has run rampant about potential changes on the horizon for the storied franchise. Buss was soliciting the opinion of Magic in terms of the direction of the franchise, and it appears Kobe Bryant is also someone she can reach out to for guidance.
Bryant made an appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s show on ESPN radio on Friday to talk about a number of different topics one of which being whether he’d offer his advice if asked by the Lakers brass:
“I’m always around behind the scenes for Jeanie, Jimmy, and the entire Buss family if they need assistance or if it be to reach out or call for advice and things of that nature,” Bryant told Smith. “Now, being front and center about it, it’s not something that is really my cup of tea. I’d rather be behind the scenes and focus on the content I’m creating because that’s where my passion truly lies, but the Buss family knows that I’m always a phone call away.”
With Buss meeting with Johnson, it appears she’s gathering as much information and input as she can in order to make a decision when the time comes. Jeanie has said that she’ll hold Jim Buss to his word on stepping down if the team was in the state it currently is by the self-imposed timeline he has given.
She also has said everything will be evaluated once the 2016-17 NBA season is over for the Lakers, meaning she could very well approach Kobe in the coming months to get his opinion on the situation in Los Angeles.
It’ll be interesting to see how things develop from now until the end of the season in April. At this point, the Lakers continue to struggle despite there being hope for the future with a talented young core leading the way. Moves could be made this summer or Buss and company may decide to give it another year to see whether this team begins to blossom under head coach Luke Walton.
