Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss ‘Growing Impatient’ With Team’s Struggles

Buss got candid about Los Angeles’s disappointing season.

The Lakers are coming off what could very well be the most disappointing season in team history, and the franchise’s management isn’t happy. During an interview with Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke, Lakers owner Jeannie Buss expressed her candid opinion on where the team stands. 

“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 told The Los Angeles Times. “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.”

Buss and the Lakers appeared to have one of the best 2021 offseasons in the NBA after they acquired future Hall of Famers Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook. The only problem was Howard and Anthony were far past their prime, and Westbrook didn’t play like the nine-time All Star that he is. 

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The team ended up being a massive failure. Los Angeles was considered to be a favorite to win the NBA title before the season started, but instead finished 33–49 en route to missing the postseason. The Lakers struggled with injuries and were especially vulnerable defensively. It got so bad that Buss said she even left her seat at games more than once out of frustration. 

“Yeah, it was heartbreaking to see us lose games,” she said.

The Lakers are currently looking for a new coach after Frank Vogel was fired, but Buss is on a mission to get the team back into the postseason with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the franchise’s cornerstones. 

“This last year was extremely disappointing. … It was hugely disappointing,” she said. “I feel like we let down Laker fans, and don’t want to do that again, and we’ve got to get it right.”

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