The last couple months have been a whirlwind for the Los Angeles Lakers organization, as owner Jeanie Buss decided to fire general manager Mitch Kupchak, and her own brother Jim, who was vice president of basketball operations, and replaced them with Rob Pelinka (general manager) and Lakers legend Magic Johnson (president of basketball operations).
As a reaction to the move, Jim and his brother Johnny attempted to get Jeanie removed as the president of the Lakers, so Jeanie filled a restraining order against them to try and prevent that from happening.
The case was taken to court, and Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David J. Cowan ruled that Jeanie should remain the controlling owner for life, via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN:
Judge David J Cowan ordered trustees –Johnny, Jeanie & Janie– to do everything in their power to ensure Jeanie remain as CO & head of BOD
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) April 3, 2017
Jeanie as the controlling owner is what former owner Jerry Buss decided before his death, but all six of his children have an equal share in the team. When the siblings reached an agreement for Jeanie to remain the controlling owner of the team last month, Jim resigned from the board of trustees and Janie Buss took his place.
In 2014 Jim put a three-year deadline on himself to return the Lakers to being championship contenders, or else he would resign from his position as vice president of basketball operations. That deadline would have ended at the end of this season, so even though Jeanie was the one that fired him, it was he who put the deadline that he could not meet on himself.
With Jeanie now as the unquestioned controlling owner, hopefully the ownership issue is solved with the Buss family so it does not deter free agents from coming to Los Angeles this upcoming offseason.
