The 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers will go down in infamy as one of the most disappointing teams in franchise history. Having LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook on the roster made them championship candidates, yet they didn't even make the playoffs.
The Lakers made the news year-round but not for their solid performances. Most people expected them to figure things out eventually, get hot towards the end of the season, and make a playoff run but that never happened.
So, with the season already in the record books and looking back at what may have gone wrong, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss has little to be happy about, as she recently told the Los Angeles Times in an interview.
NBA News: Jeanie Buss Isn't Happy With The Lakers' Performances
“I’m growing impatient just because we had the fourth-highest payroll in the league. When you spend that kind of money on the luxury tax, you expect to go deep into the playoffs,” Buss said. “So, yeah, it was gut-wrenching for me to go out on a limb like that and not get the results that we were looking for. I’m not happy, I’m not satisfied.”
Even so, and despite all speculation, Buss has no intention whatsoever of shaking off the front office. Rob Pelinka will continue to call the shots as General Manager, at least for the foreseeable future.
“In terms of basketball decisions, I have complete confidence in our front office, which is headed by Rob Pelinka,” she added. “He is a person that is extremely smart, extremely strategic, everything he does is thoughtful and with purpose. I have complete confidence that he can put together a roster and find a coach that is going to get us back to where we belong.”
She Still Has Faith In The Roster
Moreover, the heiress of the Buss empire still has complete confidence in his team's ability to bounce back in a big way and pursue another championship. LeBron and Davis already did it, so they might as well do it again.
“There’s no reason for me to think we can’t win with them,” Buss said. “Something that I learned from Phil Jackson is that there’s always a path to success. Sometimes it might be a little bit harder than other times, but you have to see the ability.”
Lakers Won't Ever Be For Sale
Also, even if she's not satisfied with the team right now, that doesn't mean she's ready to call it quits and find another business endeavor. The Lakers are his father's legacy, and she'll hold on to them forever:
“In terms of selling the team, I’m not going anywhere. This is exactly what my dad asked me to do,” Buss sentenced. “The team is not for sale. This was something that was important to him, that he wanted me to keep the Lakers in the family. I like to say, my dad had his children, but the Lakers were his baby, and he put me in charge of the baby, and I will make sure that the baby thrives.”
The Buss family has owned the Lakers for quite some time now, taking them to the top of the world when they were a struggling franchise, so there's no wonder why she won't even consider an offer for the team.
