Jeanie Buss Backs Kobe Bryant
- Updated: October 23, 2014
Los Angeles Lakers president, Jeanie Buss, stands behind Kobe Bryant as she appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter this morning.
Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team,” Buss said as she was asked to comment on an ESPN The Magazine article which was published earlier this week. In the controversial article, numerous free agents and NBA personnel (including Lakers insiders) said that the reason L.A. has been unable to attract big name talent is because players simply don’t want to work alongside Bryant.
“I read the story,” Jeanie Buss said Thursday. “I don’t agree with any of it. If there is somebody that’s on our payroll who is saying things like that, I’ll soon get to the bottom of it, and they won’t be working for us anymore.”
And she wasn’t done there:
“I have no doubt that Kobe will make people regret ever saying” those comments, she said.
The Lakers have won five championships with the help of Bryant but they haven’t made a playoff run since 2010, not to mention that they missed the playoffs completely last season.
In recent off seasons, the Lakers have tried and failed to sign free-agent stars such as: Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. According to the ESPN The Magazine article, the Lakers were especially interested in Carmelo Anthony, they even offered him a max deal, but Kobe Bryant chose not to attend the meeting with Anthony as previously planned, and Carmelo took this decision and chose to re-sign with the New York Knicks.
“We made a very good case for [Carmelo] coming to Los Angeles,” Jeanie Buss said. “But he’s from New York, he sees a mission. I understand why he chose to stay with New York. I don’t think any of that has to do with Kobe Bryant.”
To make things a little more interesting, Jeanie Buss is engaged to ex-Lakers guru, Phil Jackson, who was named team president of the Knicks in March. Rumors swirled suggesting Phil Jackson was close to re-signing as coach of the Lakers in 2012 but Mike D’Antoni picked up the torch instead. According to an inside source, Jackson was completely sidelined and “stunned” by the news.
Jeannie Buss had this to say:
“I understand my brother [Lakers vice president] Jimmy [Buss] and [general manager] Mitch Kupchak have a vision for the team that they want it to be. I respect that. That is their job. I’ve empowered them to do that job. So if Phil didn’t fit into their plans, I understand that. But I’m biased. I wanted Phil to come back and coach Kobe and Dwight Howard.”
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