Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Breaks Her Silence; 'Growing Impatient' with Team

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss admitted that she's disappointed with the franchise's performance since winning the 2020 title.

During the offseason that started much too early, Lakers fans have heard plenty from general manager Rob Pelinka and franchise superstar LeBron James, but not a word from Lakers governor Jeanie Buss. On Tuesday morning that changed.

In an exclusive interview with LA Times' columnist Bill Plaschke, Buss opened up about the past, present, and future of the Lakers franchise.

Buss shared her frustrations with the Lakers missing the playoffs entirely, despite having one of the league's highest payrolls.

“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.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.”

She also empathized with the millions of Lakers fans around the world who were subjected to a catastrophe of a season.

“We don’t like to be missing the playoffs, I understand the fans anger and frustration.I’ve got to make it better.”

Buss also hinted that big changes could be coming to the franchise if the Lakers aren't competitive again this coming season. 

“...if we are not living up to the Lakers standard, absolutely I will look at everything. I will make the hard decisions, because that’s what you have to do.”

It's evident that Buss is able to read the room when it comes to Lakers fans. After all, the Lakers were preseason favorites to make it to the NBA Finals after acquiring Russell Westbrook this past August.

The Lakers then earned the unfortunate distinction of being the only preseason title favorite to fail to qualify for the playoffs.

Needless to say, it's a pivotal offseason for the Lakers and a pivotal offseason for Jeanie Buss.