Jeanie Buss: Lakers aren't a stock you should sell

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — When Jeanie Buss ordered her latte at a Manhattan Beach coffee shop this week, the name that had been scribbled on her cup by the barista said it all.

"Jeanie."

Not Los Angeles Lakers president and governor, as her top-of-the-totem-pole title reads in the team's media guide. Not "Laker Girl," as she was deemed in her 2010 book that pulled the curtain back on her fascinating family and their once-formidable franchise. Just Jeanie being Jeanie, the 53-year-old daughter of a legendary sports owner who — 18 months after Jerry Buss' death — is so clearly hell-bent on returning the Lakers to their familiar place atop the NBA.

Yet after a 40-minute sit down with USA TODAY Sports in which she was equal parts pensive, passionate and, well, pissed, Buss may need to add another name to her personal nomenclature: Black Mamba Mama Bear. A recent article in ESPN The Magazine took aim at Lakers star Kobe Bryant, blaming him for all that ails this organization that has taken such significant steps backwards in these past two summers. Buss fired back, declaring in the days after that "any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser."

She's not done yet.

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From the real reasons why free agents like Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony didn't come their way to the clock that is ticking on her brother's management tenure to the many reasons why she's so inspired to put the Laker Nation back on top and her unfulfilled wish that her fiancê, New York Knicks President Phil Jackson, was still part of their program, the Lakers leader discussed that and much more at the start of this NBA season.

Her main message during the tough times the team is going through?

"I don't think we're a stock you should sell," Buss says with a smile. "I still believe in our brand … I will protect it and love it and nurture it and do everything in my power to make sure that we keep (Jerry Buss') vision, to what he thought this could be."

Q: So you've been speaking out on Kobe's behalf a bit, obviously. Is it a situation where you just decided it's time to start defending the brand and the Laker family again?

A: "Yeah, I mean a lot has changed since my Dad is no longer with us. And I think in some ways, that's why people are getting their shots in now. They didn't do it when my Dad was around, and so now I have to set the tone. It's not where I thought I'd have to be, but I'm happy to do it because I'm not going to tolerate that kind of attack on the franchise and our most important player of the last 18 years."

Q: How challenging has it been to navigate these waters, in terms of you and Phil and you and (Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss) and you and (Lakers general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) and the rest of the family (ownership is split six ways among the Buss siblings)? What have you learned, how tough has it been, and where do you think the group is going here?

A: "I think it is trying to find how we're going to operate together. I believe that Phil was a source of conflict between me and my brother and Mitch, I guess, as well. And now that Phil, as of six months ago, is now off the market and has a job — isn't in the wings — that source of conflict is removed. And I think that the way we operate is becoming more clear. I'm satisfied with everybody's role, and now we just need everybody to step up and do what is required of them. For me, that means stepping up and talking about the organization and being the face of the organization and establishing the clear lines of authority and transparency and, ultimately, accountability, which lies on my shoulders."

Q: When you look at the league, and this current perception of the Lakers now compared to what it used to be, does it feel like the genie that you can eventually get back into the bottle?

A: "(Laughs) I think that we're operating under a new collective bargaining agreement. People are figuring it out. What I love about our league is that players have an opportunity in their career to be a free agent and decide where they want to invest their time and their talent, in whatever team and whatever system. They deserve that right. They've earned that right. I think that we're an attractive destination for any free agent. We just haven't found that right fit, I guess. I think we have some good young players, but we also have cap space. I know that we're an attractive destination for any free agent."

Q: Are you reaching a point, though, of feeling like you have to speak out to get the message across the league that the Lakers do have a clear voice? Does the message need to get crystallized more?

A: "Yes, it does. That's what people don't understand, that in the NBA these are the best 450 players in the world, in the game of basketball, are in the NBA. With the CBA and the slotting and the cap space and all that, they are entitled to earn what they earn, either by their rookie scale or when it's capped (because of maximum salary regulations). It's dictated. But you put that aside, because they deserve the money, but they all are people who have hopes and dreams and aspirations of what they want their career to be and where they want to put down roots and be part of a community. That's especially part of a star player's career, is deciding where they want to go and where they're going to have the best place to show off their talent, and that they're going to have an opportunity to win a championship.

"I think for us, we are a franchise that knows how to win a championship and is devoted to doing that. We have a great fan base. We're in a great market, and I think we tell an attractive story. At some point, there will be the right player who is a player that Jimmy and Mitch know will fit into their version of the kind of basketball that they want to play. What that is? They have to explain that to you, but my job is for any player, any free agent, to know that they will have the support, they will have the infrastructure, the manpower, everything that they need to be successful. That's an important part of the story. Certainly the money, the cap space, that kind of stuff has to work too, but this is a franchise dedicated to making the players better and to giving them a chance to win a championship."

Q: To hear you talk about the mission, it makes me wonder about how you got to this point as far as your passion. It's not a given that the daughter of the late owner would be this emotionally invested. Explain that.

A: "I guess it's in my blood. Somebody sent me a clip of my Dad doing an interview, and it was an NHL broadcast. He had bought the Kings and the Lakers at the same time, and the Kings were hosting the Detroit Red Wings and it was in between periods, so the Detroit channel that was showing the game interviewed the new owner of the LA Kings. They talked about the hockey team, and my Dad talked about the role of an owner, and the role of a general manager. They asked him, because it was Detroit, about this kid from Michigan (Magic Johnson) who they had drafted (in 1979). And the Lakers hadn't even played their first game yet with Magic Johnson, but my Dad said, 'We have a player who is not only going to fill the Forum, but he's going to fill every stadium that we visit because he does it with a smile on his face and he plays the game with such passion.' He knew what Magic was going to mean, not only to the Lakers but to the entire league. That's just in my blood. I love this team. I love the people — the players are people. Every year is different. Every player is different.

"My brother asked me back in June when, before the draft, you can bring in the prospects who you're looking at. And my brother asked me, 'Do you want to come down and meet the guys who we're bringing in to work out?' And I said, 'No. Once you draft them, and once they become a Laker? Then, I'm in.' But I get too attached. Once they put on a Laker uniform, they're on my team, and I've got their back, and I'm going to do everything that I can to help them reach the dreams that they have, because the better they are then that fits into what we're trying to do as a team. Some people think that I get too attached to players, but that's not the case. First of all, it's a two-way street. Everything that we put into you, we expect to get back. That's the rule. And if that rule is broken, then that players has to move on. They're not a fit for us. It's still always about the team. The team will always be bigger than any one owner, or any one player, or one coach. The team is always first. So if it means having to trade Shaquille O'Neal because that's what's best for the team, then I'm all for that. But I wish Shaq well, and I take pride when he's a success at his next stop because I like to think what he got from us he took (to his next stop). I will do whatever it takes, and whatever is in my power, to do everything that I can if you're a Laker. Kobe has been a Laker for 18 years, and when I read stuff — especially stuff attributed to the Buss family, and I haven't been interviewed for a story — that was too much for me. I snapped, I guess (laughs)."

Q: Not to look backward too much, but — with Dwight in town and all — what did you learn from that and what is your perspective on why he's not here anymore?

A: "It's important to remember that players have a right to be a free agent in their career. Some of them exercise that right, and happily so, and some decide that they don't want to go through that process. Dwight clearly wanted to be a free agent, and he had an opportunity to weigh all the pros and cons for where he would go next. I understand that when the decision was made to hire Mike D'Antoni (instead of Jackson as coach in Nov. 2012), that he plays an offense that doesn't suit Dwight's skills, that doesn't showcase his skills in the best possible light. And that's difficult for a big man. It's difficult for any player. It would be the opposite if there was a guard who was diminished in an offense. That's kind of like a jail sentence that you don't want to have to go through, and so Dwight saw that they made a commitment to building a team around Steve Nash rather than showcasing his skills. I understand why he had to look for what was going to make him happy and take on his next challenge. It had nothing to do with Kobe Bryant. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, and that's how I see things. That's that. I stick to that. And that's the truth. That's my truth."

Q: What about the Carmelo situation? All the chatter about Kobe and whether or not guys like playing with him, there's no question Carmelo was more than fine doing that (the two are close friends). But how do you see the way that unfolded and how disappointing was it when he went back to New York?

A: "Well, I think when Carmelo came to meet with us, it was important for him to know how much we appreciated his talent. And so I had this opportunity I've never had before, because he was a free agent and we were allowed to talk to him … I took the opportunity to tell him how much I admired his game and how special I think he is. We laid out a case for him as to why we thought coming to the Lakers would be good for him and his game. I think we gave him a compelling story — not only from the basketball side but from the business opportunities and the fanbase here, and (the fact that) his wife is in the entertainment business. There were just a lot of things — good touch points — that we could point out to him. At the end of the day — again, in our league, you get to be a free agent and you get to decide what's best for you personally, and for your family — and he decided that New York was a better fit for him. Never was it like, 'Well, gee, because you have Kobe I'm not coming here.' That was never part of the conversation. When you talk about Carmelo, Phil was on the other side, pitching him to stay in New York."

Q: And I'm sure you were saying all kinds of nasty things about Phil to Melo?'

A: "Oh no, no, no, no. But I do think what we were pitching, literally, was apples and oranges. What they're trying to do, what the team would have been like with him here. But I guess it was important that people knew that the Lakers come first in my heart — not love, not family, not friendships, it's the Lakers. It's all fair in basketball, and I'll do whatever it takes to help the Lakers stay true to what my Dad built."

"I felt we had a really good, compelling case for (Anthony). He spends a lot of time in LA. He has a house in LA, near the Beverly Center, and he has a trainer in LA. His wife is in the entertainment business. I knew he was someone special because he walked in our office and my Dad was a collector of Ernie Barnes paintings. And he walked in, and he saw one of the paintings, and he said, 'Is this Ernie Barnes?' It really took me aback because that wouldn't be his generation. He really had to know about art to be able to recognize who this artist was. I said, 'He recently passed away, and we allowed the estate to do a showing of all his work and these were paintings that my Dad had commissioned.' One of them is a Showtime fast break of the Lakers that my Dad just loved, and I just knew that he's more than a basketball player. I think he's not only a special basketball player, but also a special person. It would've been a dream to have him on this team, but I understand as a free agent that he can make a choice and he took on a different challenge. And good for him."

Q: As you've gotten more outspoken and learned more about the lay of the modern-day Laker Land, is safe to assume we're going to see you have this kind of impact with your voice more often?

A: "I guess it's my nature. This is the role that I'm going to play. I said earlier that it was in my blood because of my Dad and what he instilled in me, but then now the last 13, 14 years of my life, I've spent with a former NBA player. I know from that point of view what it's like to be a player in this league, and what you sacrifice in terms of your family, in terms of your body, and what it means to win a championship as a player and being part of a championship team. Last year, the Knicks celebrated the 40th anniversary of the '73 team, and I got to go. I'd never met many of those teammates that Phil had, but the bond that they had, it's as if they go right back into their roles like it's 1973. I've seen that in Laker championship teams, and I have a passion for it, because I know what it means to these individuals, these people, who come to the Lakers and have their hopes and dreams being fulfilled.

"The first day I met Dwight Howard, the trade happened and we had a press conference in August. He comes into my office, and he bee-lines for the (championship) trophies. And he goes over, and he touches one of the trophies and looks at me and says, 'These are real.' So I said, 'Why would you not think these are real?' Well, when (the Lakers) played Orlando in the Finals (in 2009), there was a (scheduling) conflict at Staples Center and the Orlando Magic had to come to our practice facility to practice. Well the way my office is set up, the trophies overlook the practice court. I used to always keep the blinds closed, but Phil would come in my office and he'd open them. I'd say, 'Why are you doing that?' I thought maybe he was trying to watch me from the court like he was spying on me. He says, 'I want this open because this is why these guys practice every day. It's the inspiration. It's the signal of what the goal is at the end of this journey.'

"So when Dwight came up, and he said, 'This is real,' and I said 'What would make you say that?' He said, 'Well, when we practiced here, I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I kept looking up, and Stan Van Gundy said, 'What are you doing? Why are you looking at those?'' So Dwight said, 'They're (championship) trophies.' And Stan said, 'Those aren't real. They just put those there to mess with you. Those aren't real.' (Howard) needed to know that it was real. To me, from Day One, Dwight's aspiration was to win a championship. And when we got him, that day my phone started ringing and (fans) were like, 'I want to buy tickets to see Steve Nash and Dwight Howard and the Lakers are going to win a championship. I want to buy tickets to one game.' So I said, 'You know what? If you're going to go to one game, wait until January because my understanding is that Dwight's back isn't 100 percent and he might not be playing until later, so I don't want you to come to one game and miss him.'

"So I couldn't understand from the first day of training camp how he was practicing. But you know why? Because he was so eager to win that championship. That's all he wanted. He came with the best of intentions. He was great with the media. He was great with all of our charity, all of our events, all of our sponsors, all of our partners. He came one day because he wanted to meet all of the employees. He just wanted to meet the employees. This was a guy who came (to the Lakers), and we let him down. That's how I felt."

Q: Considering how strongly you feel about the idea that Kobe isn't the problem, is it safe to assume that you think it's only a matter of time until an elite player comes your way?

A: "Oh yeah. Absolutely. I don't think we're a stock you should sell. I still believe in our brand and what we offer our fan base — the Laker Nation. The Laker Nation owns this team, not the Buss family. They're the most powerful voting block there is, and any player who comes here is going to be celebrated and embraced. In my power, I'll do everything that I can so they can live their dream and they can surpass their own potential."

Q: What about the ownership side of things. All around the league, with (former Microsoft CEO) Steve Ballmer cutting a $2 billion check to buy the Clippers, is there any thought to picking up shop and selling? I think people wonder about the level of dedication here as far as the family goes.

A: "To me, the team is not for sale. My Dad spent 10 years ensuring that we could keep this team, figuring out how we could do a transfer, because it's very complicated when you're passing on an asset of this size to the next generation. It takes a lot of discipline, a lot of planning. And the fact that my Dad did that out of a labor of love, so that this family could hold onto this team? The team is not for sale, and I will protect it and love it and nurture it and do everything in my power to make sure that we keep his vision, to what he thought this could be.

"In that (video) clip (she mentioned earlier), my Dad was about the age I am now. And when you hear the passion that he had for that team — and he hadn't even had his first game as owner just yet, but he loved it. This was everything to him, and he wanted us to keep this team in the family."

Q: What's the tone among the siblings? You have your things you're trying to figure out, but is the group dynamic going in the right direction? (Johnny Buss is the Lakers' executive vice president of corporate development; Joey Buss is president and CEO of the Lakers' D-League team, the LA Defenders, as well as an alternate governor; Jesse Buss is the director of scouting; Janie Buss, like the five other Buss siblings, also has an equal vote)

A: "I think so. I mean my Dad groomed us for each of the positions that we're in and what roles we would play. He put us in what he felt our strengths were, and I think he's pretty good at where he put everybody."

Q: Looking ahead a bit, what light can you shed on the plan?

A: "That's where you'd have to ask Mitch and Jimmy what the plan is. I can't explain it. I don't know what it is. If you go back to the Instagram posting of Kobe signing his contract (extension worth a combined $48 million over two years), and you look at who's in the picture, I'm not in the picture. Jimmy and Mitch made that decision. I'm in full support of it."

Q: Do you still feel good about it?

A: "Absolutely. Kobe is worth every penny, and I'd never had any doubt that he'd contribute to this team … We have a (salary) cap, but we also have a (salary) floor, and you do have to spend it. This is a team that's paying $10 million to Steve Nash, and $9 million to Jordan Hill, so we have those two players for $19 million, so Kobe for $24 million sounds pretty good (laughs). Especially since the $10 million player isn't going to play for us this year (Nash is out for the season, and likely his career, because of a recurring back problem)."

Q: What about the business side? How would you explain that part of the (Bryant) decision?

A: "You have to have a team. So if you show me who you could have put on the team this past summer, then…"

Q: But more on the TV side and the idea that Kobe being here is good for that side of the business.

A: "No. Business is not making the basketball decisions, you know? My job is to generate the revenue so that they can spend it on the basketball team of their choice. It's their choice. If that was the case, if I was running the basketball side, then Phil would be here. That's only from my own bias, but if you think I have that kind of power to push my own agenda, that should say it right there."

Q: As far as the future goes, what are you willing to share about these next couple of years in terms of the management team. Your brother, in a Los Angeles Times article a while back, volunteered the fact that if it's not working then he might not be the guy running that ship in a few years. I don't know how Mitch plays into that. What's the specific agreement there?

A: "Well in that conversation about the three years, it's really my brother, he talked in the offseason about (how) we would be markedly better this year than we were last year. So it's not that, 'Oh, in three years, we have to wait and it's all perfect.' It's a progression. They assured me that this year we would be better than we were last year. And the season after that, we'd be better than this season. That's the continuum. The idea is that if you can't get it right within three years (culminating in the 2016-17 season), then you're not building towards something. I'm confident that (Jim Buss) is not going to have to step down, but he would understand it if he had to. He's confident in what he and Mitch are building, because they see the game in the same way and are in agreement of what we're trying to do. It isn't like, 'Oh, we just have to start counting down the days to three years from now.' Every year they've assured me, by virtue of a very quantitative number of wins, that we're going to be better than last year."

Q: To the point of putting a number on it, or how do you gauge that?

A: "It's being in contention. In contention, which to me means at least the second round of the playoffs. There's no reason to think that they can't accomplish that goal."

Q: So it's not 'title or bust'?

A: "No. But Lakers fans know — they're the smartest fans in the world — they want to see progression. And when you change coaches every 18 months, that makes it really hard to see progression, because now you've got to change everything that you're doing and go in another direction. But they had the ability to spend many months deciding on a coach (before giving Byron Scott a four-year deal in late July), a coach that they wanted, and figuring out what kind of basketball they want to play. They have a plan. I'm confident that they have a plan. I can't explain it, because I don't know exactly what it is, but they've assured me that every year you'll see progress."

Q: You can't speak for Kobe, but as far as his future, do you think he's hanging those sneakers up two years from now?

A: "I hope not (laughs). I really hope not. I mean I'm a person who watched Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) play until he was 42 (years old). Jimmy Connors played on my World Team Tennis team, the LA Strings, that summer that he went into the US Open at age 39 and made the semis at 39 years old. So I've seen it. I know you can't beat Father Time, but there are those athletes who can transcend the average age of retirement. And if anyone can do that, my money is on the Black Mamba."

Q: I wanted to ask you about the dynamics you deal with. From your brother and that side of it to Phil, it doesn't get more tricky than what all of you have to figure out.

A: "Well, when it comes to Phil I'm biased, so I'll throw that disclaimer out. But now that's not an issue, because he's doing what he loves to do and he's not in the picture anymore. When you talk about a family business, these dynamics exist all over. It's just that it happens to be a very famous family business, which is the Lakers. How many times have I heard stories about how one of the players on the team marries the daughter, you know? There's always stuff like that. It's not that unusual, but I could see where it's interesting."