Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers Luke Walton, center, Los Angeles Laker Julius Randle and Los Angeles Laker D’Angelo Russell on the court with fans, during The Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC) 13th annual LAKERS ALL-ACCESS, at the Staples Center. Los Angeles Calif., Monday, February ,27, 2017. ( Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily News / SCNG )
LOS ANGELES — The continual developments have played out as a real-life soap opera that few Hollywood screenwriters could script.
Three years since the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss passed away, his beloved franchise has morphed into disarray. As the Lakers marched their way toward their fourth missed playoff appearance in consecutive year in place of the NBA lottery, Lakers president Jeanie Buss made changes to the front office. She ousted her brother, Jim Buss, as the Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations just before his self-imposed three-year timeline officially hit the expiration date. Jeanie Buss replaced her brother with longtime Lakers luminary Magic Johnson. She fired longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak, who Johnson then replaced with player agent Rob Pelinka.
Just over a week since making those changes, Jeanie Buss then filed a temporary restraining order on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court to block an effort by Jim and Johnny Buss to vote her off the Lakers’ board of directors, a charge the brothers’ attorneys have publicly denied. Jeanie Buss then withdrew her temporary restraining order after the brothers dropped their request for a board meeting she felt was a move against her.
If this backdrop has annoyed and flustered Lakers coach Luke Walton, he isn’t showing it. He pledged “it’s easy for me” not to become distracted with the Lakers’ ownership dynamics playing out in front of the entertainment capital of the world.
“I coach. I focus,” Walton said. “We have a lot to focus on with our players and what we’re trying to do. Stuff that is not in my control, I don’t spend much time thinking about.”
While the Buss siblings were busy with court filings on Friday morning, Walton was busy leading the team’s morning shootaround and then preparing for Friday’s eventual loss to the Boston Celtics at Staples Center. So even if the latest development has created angst within the Buss family, Walton said he has not forced himself not to pay attention.
“I don’t know enough about it,” Walton said, “to have any sort of comment about that.”
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