Owner Jeannie Buss has presented a good news-bad news state of the Los Angeles Lakers report.
The good news is that she expects the team still to compete for the Western Conference Finals in 2016-17, USA Today Sports reported.
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The bad news is that it's up to her brother, vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss, to do it.
Jeanie Buss indicated that she will allow her brother to fulfill the timeline he shared with the Los Angeles Times in April of 2014, sayin that he would step down in the summer of 2017 if the Lakers weren't contending. It was Jim Buss who set the parameters, "Western Conference Finals."
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"I think that (Jim Buss) was very sure of himself when he promised that timeline, and I think that he has everything he needs to fulfill that promise of getting the team back competitive," Jeanie Buss said. "And when I say competitive, it's competing for the Western Conference Finals, which would mean at least second round (of the playoffs) - if not more ... They have earned the right to take the time that they've needed to put together what they want to have out on the court, and if they can't do that then we have to reexamine how things are going."
Unfortunately for the immediate future, her comment means that Phil Jackson isn't walking through the Staples Center doors anytime soon. At least not to go to work for the Lakers.
"It really isn't about trying to get him back here (to the Lakers)," Buss said. "He is happy with what he is doing, and he ... is up for the (Knicks) challenge, and he's seeing the results of the work that he's put in. But he has a ways to go."
The Lakers a threatening to set a franchise-worst mark for the third consecutive year. The team's 27-55 record in 2013-14 set the franchise record for fewest wins in Los Angeles.
Last season, the Lakers' 21-61 record set the overall franchise mark for fewest wins in a season (including the team's years in Minneapolis).
This year's team may fall short of 21 wins.
The Lakers have not been able to attract a big-name free agent to sign during the last three seasons. Some of the blame for that failure has been placed on Kobe Bryant's shoulders, as it has been reported that he has refused to give up the alpha male role on the team.
If Buss can lure a big-name free agent, he may lend credibility to those reports. If not, he will have to stare in a mirror to find out who's at fault.
A mirror that he'll have to take down from his office wall and removed, along with the rest of his belongings, from the Lakers' front office.
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