Before opening night against the Clippers, Magic Johnson appeared on numerous radio sports shows to discuss the Los Angeles Lakers. Although Johnson is now one of the Dodgers’ new owners, his heart will always belong with the Lakers and spoke about numerous topics, including current owner Jim Buss.
Since the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss, Johnson has been extremely critical of Buss’ son. With the departure of an All-Star for the first time in franchise history, Magic is worried about the future of the Lakers. Unlike Jim, Dr. Buss always welcomed advice and trusted his advisors:
“Jerry Buss welcomed advice from his basketball people. He had Jerry West, Mitch Kupchak, me sometimes, four or five people he respected. As the owner he made final decisions but he listened to advisors he trusted.”
Unfortunately, Magic feels that Jim doesn’t listen to others because of his ego:
“Jim Buss doesn’t want anyone telling him what to do. I think it’s ego. I don’t think Jim Buss is a bad guy. Not at all. But I think he needs to listen to advice.”
During the entire off-season, there were stories about the power struggle between Jim and his sister, Jeanie. While most still don’t understand why Jim decided to hire Mike D’Antoni instead of Phil Jackson, both have moved on from this situation and are working to rebuild their relationship.
With the Lakers having ample cap room this upcoming off-season, there are concerns that Jim Buss will be unable to attract those superstars to build another championship contender. However, Johnson has made it clear that if Jim asks him to help recruit superstars to the Lakers, he will do his part to help the franchise.
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