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The Los Angeles Lakers may be located just down the road from Hollywood, but the drama taking place down in El Segundo, the home of the Lakers’ front office, is the stuff befitting a primetime reality show.
From Magic Johnson’s bizarre and unexpected resignation to rumors of discontent surrounding LeBron James to the comical head coaching search and hiring, the Lakers of today are a far cry from the top-notch organization built by the late Dr. Jerry Buss.
Now, with rumors that Lakers “shadow owner” Linda Rambis (pictured above with Lakers controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss) and her husband Kurt are reportedly gaining power within organization and secretly running the team, and reports of Phil Jackson still somehow being involved in decision-making, minority owners of the team are reportedly getting fed up.
During his appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday, long-time Los Angeles Times sports writer Bill Plaschke said, “There’s a lot of rumblings from the AEG’s of the world and some of the partners. I think they’re going to wait to see what happens this summer. But obviously, she’s never going to sell, herself.
“Don’t forget, she took over the team in a coup from her brothers. So the team can be taken over in a coup. I don’t see that happening until at least they see what happens this summer and see what happens next year.
“People are upset. The real money-movers and shakers and money people, those are the people who are quietly protesting and they’re upset. She has this summer to figure this out and next season. And if they don’t make the playoffs again, I think that becomes a reality.”
The Buss Family currently owns 66 percent of the Lakers, but with minority owners like Philip Anschutz (owner of AEG, the world’s largest owner of sports teams, events, and venues; net worth: $11.1 billion), Edward P. Roski (part-owner of the Los Angeles Kings and a casino in Las Vegas; net worth: $5.8 billion), and Patrick Soon-Shiong (net worth: $9 billion), a coup is definitely a real possiblity should the business side of the Lakers start to suffer due to front office mismanagement.
“They’re making a ton of money, but the thought here is one more year of this nonsense and it’s gonna start to really affect the brand and affect the partners and affect the season ticket holders,” Plaschke told Dan Patrick.