Los Angeles Lakers ‘Not For Sale’: Jim Buss

Jim Buss, one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers, said that their family has no plans of selling their NBA franchise. Despite struggling to make the playoffs or become an NBA contender over the past few seasons, the Lakers’ Vice President of Basketball Operations is adamant that the family is sticking with the Lakers, and believes they are just in rebuilding mode.

"There is no point to sell, because it's a family business. We have Jesse [Buss] who runs the scouting and does an incredible job. Joey [Buss], who is the business side and runs the D-Fenders and does a great job. They're the future of the Lakers,” the Los Angeles Times quoted Buss as saying. "We're not going to sell, that's all there is to it."

Buss also stated in the interview that a key factor in their recent struggles has been the injuries to the team, which had dropped them to among the bottom-feeders in the Western Conference.

"We're rebuilding and there a lot of components that have caused us to lose the games that we have," Buss added, specifically mentioning the Steve Nash signing and the point guards’ unfortunate run with injuries.

Buss also defended Lakers head coach Byron Scott’s mentality of “old school” approach and stated that they have been using basketball analytics to help them decide on their trade and free agent acquisitions.

The Lakers currently have a mix of young players and veterans that includes the likes of Jordan Clarkson, one of the few bright spots for the Lakers last year, rookie D’Angelo Russell and big man Julius Randle, who is expected to return in the upcoming season after an injury-riddled rookie season.

The Lakers are also set to get back Kobe Bryant, who recently re-joined the team’s practices, plus will have offseason acquisitions in center Roy Hibbert and combo guard Lou Williams.