After possibly the most disappointing season in Los Angeles Lakers history, everyone within the organization came under fire for how things turned out. This goes from players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis all the way to the top of the Lakers as some began questioning whether the owner and president Jeanie Buss can continue the Lakers’ legacy.
The Lakers have certainly made some roster changes, signing the likes of Damien Jones and Juan Toscano-Anderson and also trading for point guard Patrick Beverley. But most important for the immediate future of the Lakers is the signing of a contract extension by LeBron James.
Jeanie Buss has been in the media much more this summer than in previous years, tackling these questions head-on. In an interview with Tyler R. Tynes of GQ, Buss spoke on the difficulties of winning a championship and her belief that keeping LeBron James gives the Lakers a better chance to contend:
With the Lakers comes the expectation of winning, and we obviously didn’t do that last season, so some changes have been made. Always, the Lakers want to contend for championships, which means you need a certain level of talent or resources for the coach to be able to put a team in a position to win. The expectation is for this team to win. But it’s hard to win a championship. You need a lot of things to go your way. But, if you’re not part of the conversation or you’re not a team that’s getting into the playoffs, well, you really can’t win a championship can you?
I look at my job as providing the resources needed to contend. And re-signing a player like LeBron James to an extension is giving us an opportunity to contend.
Even entering his 20th NBA season, LeBron James has continued to produce at a level no one has seen at this stage of a player’s career. It would seem impossible that he would still be an elite player two years from now, but there has been no evidence that he can’t continue to be a top player.
The Lakers, as it stands, still aren’t considered championship contenders, but the team is still clearly looking to make moves and, with the right deals, could move closer to returning to where they want to be.
Jeanie Buss says Lakers must continue quest to pass Celtics in championships
When Jeanie Buss’ father, Dr. Jerry Buss, bought the Lakers, he had dreams of competing with the Boston Celtics, who were the premiere NBA franchise at the time. In the time since the Lakers have gone on to tie the Celtics with 17 NBA Championships and Jeanie believes they must continue that quest.
Jeanie insists that the work is not done, and the franchise must continue the quest to surpass the Celtics. She also added that most Lakers history will be written by new players and coaches.
