jim buss 710 espn 8/21

John Ireland ‏@LAIreland
Orlando agreed and the deal went down in one day.

John Ireland ‏@LAIreland
Jim Buss just told us on @ESPNLA710 that when Orlando called and wanted Bynum for Howard, the Lakers said "you have 36 hours or it's off."

lol, I noticed how people don't trash Jim Buss anymore. I guess they realized how incorrect their assertions about the guy were. They said he was in love with Bynum and wouldn't let go of him for anyone. Then he trades him for Howard. They said he was cheap, then he acquires Nash using the TPE for a 3 year 27 million dollar deal. But that's what happens when you are on the outside trying to look in.

I dont know about Jim... I think that he is still the same guy. Lets be clear though.. this is all Mitch Cupchak. He is the one that negotiated the deal, not Jim. Jim just ok'ed for bynum leaving, but Mitch is the REAL reason the lakers are still relevant. Mitch is just one of the greatest general managers that has a blank check to do what he wants to make this team better, and he has delivered!

Jim Buss
Lakers VP of player personnel Jim Buss calls in and talks about Howard, Bynum, Nash, Kobe, and demand for tickets.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/losangeles/play?id=8290626

Mitch is a good GM, but he is helped by the fact that he works for the frikkin Lakers. That makes his job a whole lot easier. He wouldn't be able to pull this off in Cleaveland even if he had a blank check. Players want to play here, players are open to playing here. They want to play for a prestigious team like the lakers. They want to market themselves in Los Angeles. It's like playing for the Yankees. I think Mitch is a smart guy, but the attractiveness of the franchise is 90% of the deal. Smart guy? Absolutely. One of the greatest GMs? Hard to judge that. I don't dislike Mitch, I'm just saying what I see. Ownership plays a huge role in this as well, I don't see why ownership gets no credit yet Mitch gets all the credit.

I didn't care too much for that interview. IMO, Jim Buss does not really give a very interesting interview. He seems like he doesn't really know how to speak his mind very clearly and easily. He seems like a nice enough guy, and obviously he's a hell of an Owner/VP, but he's a boring interview. By contrast, I always find someone like Mark Cuban's interviews to be more interesting, or at the very least, more entertaining.

Mitch is a good GM, but he is helped by the fact that he works for the frikkin Lakers. That makes his job a whole lot easier. He wouldn't be able to pull this off in Cleaveland even if he had a blank check. Players want to play here, players are open to playing here. They want to play for a prestigious team like the lakers. They want to market themselves in Los Angeles. It's like playing for the Yankees. I think Mitch is a smart guy, but the attractiveness of the franchise is 90% of the deal. Smart guy? Absolutely. One of the greatest GMs? Hard to judge that. I don't dislike Mitch, I'm just saying what I see. Ownership plays a huge role in this as well, I don't see why ownership gets no credit yet Mitch gets all the credit.

lol, I noticed how people don't trash Jim Buss anymore. I guess they realized how incorrect their assertions about the guy were. They said he was in love with Bynum and wouldn't let go of him for anyone. Then he trades him for Howard. They said he was cheap, then he acquires Nash using the TPE for a 3 year 27 million dollar deal. But that's what happens when you are on the outside trying to look in.

I very much doubt that Dr.Buss 'orchestrated' this deal..considering his poor health recently and more so that he was in the hospital when this deal was agreed upon and made official the next day. I remember hearing either Jeanie or Jim(not sure who exactly it was) in an interview on 710 in the days after the D12 trade saying that Dr.Buss was on the phone with Jim and Mitch to see what's going on in the negotiations.

Also both Jim and Jeanie Buss have repeatedly mentioned that the most important piece of advise Dr.Buss has given them is "To hire the right people and Never interfere in their job".. I am sure he followed it himself whilst passing it along to his kids.

I have heard Jim Buss in his interview with Mason & Ireland few months ago when he dropped by at the studio 0f 710,wherein he was asked about the perception that Dr.Buss has basically handed over the reigns to him(Jim) and his reply was..
'No,all three of us(Dr.Buss,Jim,Mitch) are involved in the decision making process,Ofcourse my father has the final say in all matters. The way it works is I come up with something and discuss it with Mitch and he(Mitch) comes up with something and throws it at me,we bounce ideas off each other and when we both agree on something only then we take it up with my dad and he has the final say.' (Note:That was't the exact quote but I have laid off almost as close to what he said as possible from my memory)

I also have to add that people like John Ireland,who actually work for Lakers and meet the management probably more than any other insider say about Dr.Buss that he tells Jim and Mitch to show him the guy they are getting and he will decide whether its worth his money or not.

Also, soon after the acquisition of Nash.. Mitch has mentioned that it was Jim who pushed him to go after Nash. Mitch by his own admission never thought that Nash could be gettable and couldn't imagine that Phoenix would trade Nash to them.

So.. its highly unlikely that Jim is a bum and Dr.Buss is doing stuff under his name.

I believe we should trust Jim Buss after all the things which have happened since CP3 fiasco.

Jim Buss and Mitch probably could have been a little more politically savvy with that CP3 deal,in that they could have tried to avoid going with the paper work on the day when all 30 owners were in a room signing off the new CBA. They probably could have played it a little more patiently but then again there were number of executives and agents involved in that 3 team trade and its not possible to keep things under wrap let alone convince them to delay the deal.

Jim and Mitch learnt from that and have fantastically recovered from that fiasco.

So lets give credit where its due.. be thankful that we have Mitch and Jim Buss. Remember Jim Buss could have easily been like James Dolan but he has learnt better from his dad. Lets just appreciate that. Shall we?

I still see Dr. Buss's hands all over this deal. As you stated Dr. Buss was in contact with Jim and Mitch in the hospital. Also orchestrating does not require Dr Buss to do the hand shaking and signing the trade. He had months to set the deal in motion and set the parameters of the trade. Thats my opinion.

I am really liking Jim Buss more and more.He seems down for the cause lol.Jim Buss and Mitch have made some huge moves this off season.I will never forget a few things about Jimbo from this off season,first off he does a interview with the L.A. Times,he told that newspaper no big moves would happen,then he also stated the core players would remain intact lol.

After that he went on NBA TV during a Summer League game and he said Andrew Bynum would be on the Lakers next season,also he mentioned Andrew Bynum having a major role on the Lakers next season and that a trade involving Andrew was not likely.He also talked up Christian Eyenga and Jimbo said expect to see much more of Eyenga on the Lakers next season lol.

Then comes the trade of all trades on August 10,2012 Bynum and Eyenga and McRoberts traded and in their place we get Dwight Howard,Chris Duhon,Earl Clark.Jim Buss must be a poker player because he never showed his entire hand.We heard rumors about the Dwight Howard trade happening all along but it was never a sure thing.Jim Buss has been a excellent mover and shaker for the Lakers.He knows his stuff,Mitch Kupchak makes moves that count.I love the direction of the Lakers.

The small forward position was almost filled up last season by Michael Beasley,that goes to show me how good Jimbo and Mitch have been they almost flipped Steve Blake into Michael Beasley lol.Anyways they did flip 37 year old Derek Fisher and a first round pick into 25 year old Jordan Hill that's a great move.I hope the Lakers win the championship this upcoming season,so Jim Buss can silence his critics once and for all lol.

I would love to hear you break it down for me. Although its totally possible(I don't know,but speculating) that Dr.Buss has good relationship with Rich DeVos and may have spoken to him to finally set the wheels in motion but its difficult to imagine a person worried about anything else but his health especially when hospitalized.

By the way Dr.Buss indeed has to 'sign off' for the trade to be official.
Also what I tried explaining in my previous post is that its not Dr.Buss' style to interfere with his GM like some owners(MJ,Cuban et al) do. That alone suggests he gave his blessing to this trade(Lakers did add extra salary in this deal) and stayed away from it.

However I would like to hear why you feel Dr Buss had more than usual influence on this trade.