# All Owners Should Be Like This Guy



## Ron (May 8, 2002)

Jerry is the best owner, by far.

Just sits back and lets his charges run the team. Steps in when he needs to.

Doesn't make a spectacle of himself.

Is understated.

This guy is blessing to the city of Los Angeles and its fans, and has been so for 31 years and counting.

*Jerry Buss Likes His Lakers Chances Against Miami*


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i don't know about the "doesn't make a spectacle of himself." remember that DUI he had, with the 18ish year old in san diego a few years ago? of course, he's not overboard but still. no angel.


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## ii9ce (Feb 1, 2005)

afobisme said:


> i don't know about the "doesn't make a spectacle of himself." remember that DUI he had, with the 18ish year old in san diego a few years ago? of course, he's not overboard but still. no angel.


What he said.


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## Sean (Jun 7, 2002)

photo gallery here

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/buss-262550-lakers-team.html

As to his dui, very dumb. But with an 18 year old? very smart.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

He is one of the best owners in sports.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Got to meet him once...Told him if I had a choice Id rather be him that Hugh Hefner...he appreciated it


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## Wilmatic2 (Oct 30, 2005)

afobisme said:


> i don't know about the "doesn't make a spectacle of himself." remember that DUI he had, with the 18ish year old in san diego a few years ago? of course, he's not overboard but still. no angel.


No one is perfect.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

**** you, im perfect


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## Wilmatic2 (Oct 30, 2005)

^hahahahahaha, I forgot to mention, JB is a pimp.


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## Kaas (Apr 8, 2003)

He decided he didn't want to pay Jerry West anymore.

He decided he didn't want to pay Phil anymore (the first time anyway).

He decided he didn't want to pay Shaq anymore. In hindsight this one really worked out, and I'm glad he did it, even if it cost the team a few years of championship caliber ball.

Point being, he's made plenty of mistakes as an owner, and I'm still not sure he's better than someone with endless pockets of cash who doesn't interfere in everyday club operations. Love the way he carries himself though. He's a boss. Literally.


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

Kaas said:


> Point being, he's made plenty of mistakes as an owner, and I'm still not sure he's better than someone with endless pockets of cash who doesn't interfere in everyday club operations. Love the way he carries himself though. He's a boss. Literally.


Losing Shaq didn't cost the Lakers any championships. Shaq lucked out into Wade getting his phantom fouls in the finals. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lX_qMS9bRY&feature=related Heat should have been swept.

Ignoring that, Shaq also came into the season more overweight every year and expected a salary increase. He was unwilling to take a slight reduction for the Lakers, when he was willing to do the same once he left to go to Miami. To go along with that, ditching Shaq was the right move. Ditching his ass was one of the best executive decisions Buss ever made.

The only wrong decision with Shaq was not trading him earlier when he had more value. If they traded him one year earlier when he had that delayed toe injury on company time stunt they would have gotten more then waiting around. The Lakers were only going to get worse with Shaq taking a higher portion of the salary cap while being increasingly lazy and more out of shape.
ap.


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## Kaas (Apr 8, 2003)

I agree the Mavs got hosed in that finals.

Also, I said Championship caliber ball. As in they would have remained a contender for the years when the Lakers were barely making the playoffs. That doesn't mean I think they would have won or championship, nor did I imply it.

I personally thought the move was the right one even then, especially since it probably would have cost the team Kobe if Shaq stayed. My only issue was the value we got back in the deal. But hey, in the end, Caron got us Kwame who got us Gasol, and Odom is still a part of this team, so it all worked out in the end.

Nevertheless, no one can deny that most of Laker Nation hated the move at the time, and it was essentially a Jerry Buss move. My biggest issue with Buss was the other two. Especially the West decision. And the final comment was more about those first two, since I was essentially saying he went 1-3 in personnel decisions.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

in the long run... letting go of shaq was the right choice to make. he would have gotten fatter and lazier the next year. he was what, 32 at the time? we would have had maybe 2 more years of having a championship caliber team, except shaq would have been unmotivated, fat, and lazy.

oh, and he we had kept shaq, our team would look completely different from what it does now. and more likely than not, we wouldn't have won the 2 championships that we did. jerry buss made the right decision, but i don't think it was that hard to make (considering shaq was lazy and wanted 30 million/year).


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## Kaas (Apr 8, 2003)

Maybe I screwed up my wording, but I will clarify this point since two people seemed to misunderstand it.

Getting rid of Shaq was a good move by Buss.

Not wanting to pay Jerry West and letting Phil walk the first time around were bad moves by Buss.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Kaas said:


> He decided he didn't want to pay Jerry West anymore.


Wrong. Jerry left due to health reasons, but stayed as "consultant" for a bit
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100822&page=1



Kaas said:


> He decided he didn't want to pay Phil anymore (the first time anyway).


Wrong, It was the Kobe/Shaq drama, Malone was done...He was done with the drama. Money was never mentioned as an issue. Even this year he said he was going to coach the Lakers again without even having a contract in place.



Kaas said:


> He decided he didn't want to pay Shaq anymore. In hindsight this one really worked out, and I'm glad he did it, even if it cost the team a few years of championship caliber ball.


It did not cost the team any 'ships because in no situation was there a 'ship to be had. The one player who was almost like a player we traded for in the Shaq trade was Kobe. If Shaq stayed then Kobe was gone. The was no situation where they would stay together in LA. We both agree Buss made the right choice.


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## onelakerfan (Nov 11, 2004)

Kaas said:


> He decided he didn't want to pay Jerry West anymore.
> 
> He decided he didn't want to pay Phil anymore (the first time anyway).
> 
> ...


that is business 101 making decisions my friend tough but you have to. some work well and some dont but as far as players go (who do play the game) he lets the GM do the work


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## onelakerfan (Nov 11, 2004)

anyways i am bored with not having any sports on ESPN FOX KCAL. Baseball is well baseball, and thats all we have right now


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## LA68 (Apr 3, 2004)

Kaas said:


> He decided he didn't want to pay Jerry West anymore.
> 
> He decided he didn't want to pay Phil anymore (the first time anyway).
> 
> ...


The first point was already explained. West was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He couldn't even watch games. He would hide in the hallways and peek every once in a while. 

First of all, Shaq was jealous because Kobe was getting all the pub because of the court case and talk of leaving the team. Then he dissed Buss in Hawaii during a preseason game. Buss wanted him gone that day but, others calmed him down. 

If they had paid Shaq what he wanted, he would have made $30 million the last three years. Anyone here think 36,37 and 38 years old Shaq was worth that kind of money ? Lakers offerred him $25 a year and he refused it. Yet, he took $20 from the Heat ! Now he regrets the whole thing but, its too late.

Phil took Shaq's side over Kobe. Including when Shaq slapped Kobe and Phil stood there and did nothing about it. Kobe was fed up and ready to go. Kobe or Phil ? Kobe won that battle easily. Then Phil had to come back and kiss some a** to get back on the Lakers. 

Oh, yes they have made mistakes. You have to take chances to win. But, I don't remember Dr. Buss taking out full page ads pouting like a baby. Nor running out on the court during a game. 

He really should hire a driver though.... He can afford it.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

when did shaq slap kobe?


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## Kaas (Apr 8, 2003)

DaRizzle said:


> Wrong. Jerry left due to health reasons, but stayed as "consultant" for a bit
> http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100822&page=1


I don't care what official reports were. Right after leaving, he soon became the President of Basketball Operations in Memphis. I listened to sports radio everyday back then and there was pretty much an industry-wide understanding among local reporters that West left becaue Buss didn't want to pay him anymore.



> Wrong, It was the Kobe/Shaq drama, Malone was done...He was done with the drama. Money was never mentioned as an issue. Even this year he said he was going to coach the Lakers again without even having a contract in place.


Again, I listened to sports radio everyday back then. And I remember the events well enough that some guy saying "wrong" on an internet forum is not going to dissuade me. And I distinctly remember that day. Bombshell after bombshell kept coming on exit interview day. Shaq demanding a trade and Buss deciding to not resign Phil were the two biggest stories. Phil might have not wanted to stay, but it became known that Buss felt the same way. There is certainly an argument to be made that keeping Phil meant no Kobe. Kobe and Phil had butted heads enough times in the past that Kobe probably didn't want to play for him anymore. And a break was best for all parties involved. That's not what I'm arguing about. My point is that if you have the best coach in the league, you find a way to keep him happy and make him not even consider retiring or taking a sabbatical.




> It did not cost the team any 'ships because in no situation was there a 'ship to be had. The one player who was almost like a player we traded for in the Shaq trade was Kobe. If Shaq stayed then Kobe was gone. The was no situation where they would stay together in LA. We both agree Buss made the right choice.


Seriously? I need to repeat myself again? I mentioned this because it was a *good* move by Buss. People into basketball enough like people on this forum are aware that the window had probably closed with a disgruntled Kobe and an unmotivated Shaq. But for the masses, this was Buss's biggest decision. He vindicated himself by building another title winning team.

And I see people are still misunderstanding me, so I will just say this: I am not repeating myself on this subject anymore, and I will not discuss this again, since I am not to blame for someone writing a diatribe because they press reply before reading for further context. I may have been unclear in my original post, but refusing to pay an out of shape Shaq was easily a great decision by Buss.


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## Sean (Jun 7, 2002)

Phil was let go due to him asking for a substantial raise and dr buss saying no thanks. Rumor is he was making 6mil and wanted a 100% raise to 12. Most employers would not give in to those demands, especially if the employer knew the rest of the employees were changing as well.


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## Jamel Irief (May 19, 2002)

He lives about 5 minutes from my sister in San Diego. About 10 years or so ago my sister was a hostess at Red Robin, she was nice to his kids (not knowing they were his) and he gave her 2 seats in the third row for a nationally televised game against Portland on Easter. My sister didn't want to go and told me she gave the tickets to her friend. I was pretty speechless and quietly furious.


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## Ron (May 8, 2002)

Jamel Irief said:


> He lives about 5 minutes from my sister in San Diego. About 10 years or so ago my sister was a hostess at Red Robin, she was nice to his kids (not knowing they were his) and he gave her 2 seats in the third row for a nationally televised game against Portland on Easter. My sister didn't want to go and told me she gave the tickets to her friend. I was pretty speechless and quietly furious.


:laugh:

Did you take her off your Christmas list that year?


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