LeBron, the Lakers and their road back to ‘winning time’: Why Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson still matter, plus what’s next
When LeBron James was sending all those unsettling messages the Lakers’ way over All-Star weekend in Cleveland — the ones that left so many wondering if his time with them was destined to come to a premature end this summer — Jeanie Buss was back in Los Angeles.
The Lakers owner did not take part in the league’s annual extravaganza, meaning she could only draw meaning from James’ mysterious movements from a great distance. Or, as she ultimately decided, better to wait until everyone came back West to have a face-to-face discussion about it all. As she’d learned so many times before during a lifetime spent both observing and navigating Lakers superstar sagas, patience is often the path to progress.
Yet when the Feb. 22 meeting inside the team’s training facility was over, those two hours of conversation between Buss, Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and James’ longtime agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, that seemed to calm these waters around the franchise centerpiece, it was as if the Men in Black agents grabbed the neuralyzer and tried to wipe the media relations mayhem from our collective memory. Paul made a statement supporting the Lakers’ brass, insisting that James wasn’t trying to push Pelinka out of the front office and even indicating that they had all spent time “laughing and catching up” during the meeting. James did an about-face of his own, downplaying the things he had said and done — both publicly and privately — while taking aim at the media along the way.
So… there’s nothing to see here, right?
Wrong.
True to form, and despite the unwatchable nature of the on-court product for so much of the season, there’s no place more interesting than Laker Land right now. At least when it comes to the palace intrigue. And after seeking clarity from many of the sources who know this situation best, it’s time to take an updated look behind the purple-and-gold curtain.
Until further notice, this latest Lakers saga starts with the man who, well, started all of this with his cryptic comments and social media signaling.
The meeting and its meaning (for LeBron)
It would have been one thing if James’ passive-aggressive ploys continued when he returned to L.A. With one season left on his deal, and with the fork-in-the-road decision nearing in the form of a two-year, $97.1 million extension that he can be offered on Aug. 4, that sort of continued mood would have made it even more clear that his eyes were roaming elsewhere.
Instead, James has quieted the noise while making it clear that he has no interest in relocating anytime soon.
“You know, I think it’s important that (it) always stays transparent between us and we don’t really care about the outside noise,” James told reporters on Feb. 26 when asked about the meeting. “ I mean, I think a lot of people are, to be honest with you, jealous of the relationship that Rich has with the front office and with this team, and the relationship that I have (and) that I’ve grown over the last four years. I mean, that’s what I think it boils down to.”
Not only did he seem to walk back some of the salty sentiments shared both before and during the All-Star break, but he showed great restraint while discussing the barrage of boos from Lakers fans during their blowout loss to New Orleans on Feb. 27. When it comes to the delicate relationship between a star player and the team’s (rabid) fanbase, that’s just not the sort of thing you do if you’ve decided it’s time to push your way out of town.
More importantly, there’s this: When you talk to people close to James, there isn’t the slightest bit of hesitancy to discuss the Lakers roster for next season and the brainstorming that has already begun to fix it. As behind-the-scenes signs go, it doesn’t get much more telling than that.
What’s more, there’s the reality that the 2020 title they all won inside the Orlando bubble created a cushion when it comes to James and his Lakers legacy. He’s clearly hungry for more, as evidenced by the fact that he’s one of just two players averaging at least 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists (Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is the other). Or, more specifically, his spectacular 56-point outing in a win against Golden State on Saturday night that snapped the Lakers’ four-game losing streak and marked just the fourth time that a player scored 50-plus points after turning 37 (Michael Jordan, the late Kobe Bryant and Jamal Crawford are the others).
But James also knows what it meant for this franchise to win its 17th trophy, the one that tied the rival Boston Celtics for the league lead and came amid some of the most challenging off-court circumstances in league history. That feeling of pride, and the sense that the accomplishment was perhaps even tougher than normal because of the league’s unique landscape at the time, is shared all throughout the organization.
What’s more, it’s worth remembering that there have already been severe momentum swings in both directions during James’ four-year-long Lakers tenure. It was just three years ago, mind you, when Magic Johnson’s abrupt departure from the front office led to questions about Pelinka’s future before the Anthony Davis trade turned it all around. As for this team, it has been well-chronicled that the Russell Westbrook addition last summer was orchestrated by James and Davis and, thus, a fair amount of culpability lies at their feet.
How does his stated desire to play with his son, Bronny, at the end of his own career come into play? There’s no way of knowing just yet, if only because there are so many unknowns on that front. He’s a junior at Sierra Canyon High in Los Angeles at the moment, one who is ranked 43rd in ESPN’s 2023 recruiting database. Based on current league rules, he’ll be draft-eligible in 2024 (the Lakers have no first-round picks that year, but do have a second-rounder).
From Buss’ perspective, sources say her focus is on the macro elements of the partnership with James. His happiness matters a great deal, but so does his trust. Hence the reason you saw such staunch support from Paul in his post-meeting statement.
The Inner Circle
Before and after the meeting, this much remained clear about Buss: Even if there’s criticism coming from all corners, she’s unapologetic about the counsel she keeps and the people she chooses to empower. And often, it seems, the significance of the history she has with each of her chosen allies is lost on most observers. Take Pelinka, for example, the longtime agent for Bryant and close friend of Buss, who sources say still has her full support and trust.
Had Bryant not passed away in that horrific helicopter accident on Jan. 26, 2020, Buss had plans of offering him a hands-on role in the front office in the near future. He had already made a significant impact on the franchise in retirement, compelling Jeanie to fire her brother Jim from his front office position during a Feb. 2017 lunch in Newport Beach. The path to landing LeBron, Bryant had said back then, included Jeanie channeling her inner Daenerys Targaryen — the “Mother of Dragons” from Game of Thrones — and making the tough decisions as part of the preparation for James’ free agency.
The Lakers legend had made it clear at the time that he was too busy with his non-basketball businesses to run a front office, but it’s clear the door would remain wide open for a role in which he shared his perspective and voice. Pelinka, in essence, now represents both himself and Bryant in that role. And those kinds of ties, it’s clear, aren’t so easily severed.
Then there are the Rambises. Kurt Rambis remains incredibly influential, the former Laker and Phil Jackson friend/coaching disciple acting as Pelinka’s right-hand man in the front office under the title of senior basketball advisor. His failures in non-Lakers ventures, both as head coach in Minnesota and the Knicks when he worked under Jackson, simply don’t matter when it comes to the calculus or his stature here.
As we’ve written before, Kurt’s wife and best friend of Jeanie, Linda, was hired by the late Dr. Jerry Buss to work in the Lakers marketing department in the late 1970s and became partners with Jeanie when they ran the L.A. Strings of the World Team Tennis League together. They made a complementary pair in Dr. Buss’ eyes, both in business style and personality. To this day, with Linda’s far-reaching and ambiguous Lakers role often inspiring confusion and criticism both inside the organization and out, that long-ago endorsement from Dr. Buss still matters a great deal in terms of the unique dynamics here.
In terms of the James factor, and the question of whether he has an issue with the Lakers’ power structure that is so often questioned by others, sources close to him continue to insist he does not. But the voices that still matter, as we’ve been reminded of late, don’t stop there.
As Jeanie told our Bill Oram recently, she still relies on Johnson in the kind of way that surely impacts her view of this team and the uncertain future ahead.
“To me, he’s still working with us,” she said. “In terms of his support, his wisdom, his insight, I freely call on him as needed.”
He’s not the only one serving that purpose, either.
Sources say Jackson, the Lakers legend and ex-fiancé of Buss, whose presence at Saturday’s win against Golden State was highlighted by the team’s Twitter account, has been in frequent contact with Buss about team matters all season long. The complicated and often uncomfortable dynamics surrounding the Westbrook situation, in particular, are known to have drawn his interest. As unofficial consultants go, they don’t get much more experienced or credible than Jackson.
Truth be told, Buss’ desire to hear Jackson’s point of view on this team should surprise no one. Especially because of his close ties with Rambis, who — like Pelinka with Bryant — has the kind of close connection with Jackson that has long been considered a factor when it comes to his own stature.
Jackson, who lives in Los Angeles during the winter months as a respite from his Montana home base, has been extremely close with Rambis for decades. They coached together during two of Jackson’s five Lakers titles (2002 and 2009), then came close to reuniting in 2012 when then-Lakers executives Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss stunned the NBA world by picking Mike D’Antoni instead.
Rambis, who was an analyst for the team’s television network at the time, was openly critical of the organization’s handling of Jackson before joining D’Antoni’s staff as an assistant a year later. Rambis later became the Knicks associate head coach under Jackson (who was then the president of basketball operations) after Derek Fisher was fired in February 2016. For two decades or so, in other words, one has rarely strayed far from the other.
When Vogel was hired by the Lakers in May 2019, it was reported that Jackson and Rambis both played a pivotal part in the choice. Vogel had been a Lakers advance scout during Jackson’s Lakers tenure (2005-06), and later went on to interview with Jackson for the Knicks coaching job before being edged out by Jeff Hornacek as Rambis’ replacement.
“Phil Jackson is a role model, and basically a coaching idol of mine,” Vogel once told Lakers.com.
Still, it’s unclear how the revelation that Jackson’s voice matters again might sit with others — most notably James. Jackson’s infamous use of the word ‘posse’ to describe James’ associates in a 2016 interview with ESPN drew the ire of James and his business partner, Maverick Carter, with James later saying so bluntly, “I’m not a fan of Phil Jackson.” And then there was James’ defense of his longtime friend and fellow Laker, Carmelo Anthony. As James said openly back in early November 2017, he took exception to the way Jackson handled Anthony’s situation with the Knicks that led to his trade demand and the deal that sent him to Oklahoma City in September 2017.
It’s unclear if Jackson might take on any kind of formal role in the future, but this much we know now: Jeanie is in the process of collecting trusted opinions and deciding what comes next.
The Road Ahead
This Lakers season isn’t over just yet, even if it feels that way on most nights. At 28-35, and with 19 games left, they’re ninth in the West and headed for a Play-In Tournament entry where it would take two wins to qualify for the first round (the Clippers are 4 ½ games ahead in eighth, New Orleans is 1 ½ games behind in 10th and 11th-place Portland is three games behind).
But with Davis still a ways out from his expected return from the mid-foot sprain suffered in mid-February, and the Lakers having lost 16 of their last 23 games, hope is fleeting.
“If AD is able to come back,” Vogel recently said of the Lakers forward who will be re-evaluated on March 17, “and we catch the right matchup or catch a team at the right time and if we’re able to catch fire at the right time, we’re going to have a chance.”
That’s a lot of ‘and’s, though. The harsh truth is that another offseason of change, for all intents and purposes, is right around the corner.
As we reported in mid-January, Vogel was already close to being fired after the Lakers’ blowout loss at Denver on Jan. 15. With one season left on his deal, all signs point to him being replaced in the summer unless there is, in fact, a stunning playoff run in their future (as one source put it, advancing to the second round or conference finals — unlikely as that appears — would greatly improve his chances). That final decision, of course, is yet to be made.
As for Westbrook, who has one season left on his deal worth $47 million, it’s hard to imagine him returning next season. Yet while there are strong signs that his exit is a foregone conclusion, his contract remains massive and it always takes two to tango. The Lakers could choose to waive and stretch Westbrook’s deal as well (for salary cap purposes, his remaining money would be applied to the next three seasons).
Sources say the coaching staff made an unsuccessful push for Westbrook to be traded before the Feb. 10 deadline, when the Lakers passed on Houston’s John Wall, in part, because of the draft considerations that it would have required to make the deal. There were also significant concerns about the fact that Wall hadn’t played all season and, thus, didn’t instill confidence in his ability to help the Lakers turn their season around.
Yet now, it appears, the friction between Westbrook and the coaching staff has only grown worse. Sources confirmed the recent rising of tensions between Westbrook and the coaching staff, which were first reported by Marc Stein. If only for a night, Westbrook’s 20-point, four-assist, four-rebound, plus-13 outing against the Warriors on Saturday offered a reminder that he is capable of being part of the solution. But the performance was an outlier, to say the least.
James, meanwhile, now appears content to let all these answers surface in the summertime. He has plenty to play for beyond the playoffs, what with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record within reach by next season if he continues at this historic pace. To do it in a Lakers jersey, and on a team that’s back to contending for a title that would be his fifth and their league-leading 18th, would be the dream. But first, they must wake from this season’s nightmare.
