The Kupchak Rumor

My theory to the rumor is as follows:

In Lakersville intl., the longtime fans know the history of the club, and anything in-between, going back to their time in Minneapolis.

With Laker fans, you have to present some good information to get their attention. Because longtime Laker fans understand the background of their team. It's a good thing to know who is connected to who to understand where a rumor, probably, gets it's start. That way, you can figure out who, probably, said what, because, you understand the history of the team.

Take, for example, the latest rumor that has Lakers' General Manager Mitch Kupchak getting ready to leave the organization. This rumor was tweeted by "famed" basketball writer Roland Lazenby. Roland Lazenby 's connection to the Lakers largely rested on his relationship with Tex Winter. Of course, Tex Winter is connected to the Lakers through Phil Jackson. And what's left of Phil Jackson's connection to the Lakers is caught up in Jeanie Buss.

The thing to remember when you read anything that Roland Lazenby writes about the Lakers; it has to be taken in the context of what side he's on in the Lakers' political structure. The political structure of the Los Angeles Lakers international (Lakersville), is, of course, team Jeanie and team Jimmy; as in Buss, of course.

Another thing you have to understand about Lazenby is that he likes to associate himself with established basketball minds. That's why he preaches heavily on Tex Winter. And he uses the Winter relationship to connect himself to Jackson, the coach with the most championships in NBA history. Lazenby takes his basketball articles very seriously, as he sees himself as an "astute" basketball  writer.

But, in all his writings about the Lakers over the past 5 to 6 years, he has referred to Jim Buss in words that are not too kind. Well, what does that say to us, here, in Lakersville? It says that he's on team Jeanie, of course. And because team Jeanie is connected to Phil Jackson, the theory is that Jackson represents legitimate basketball thoughts as opposed to Jim Buss' lack of basketball knowledge. So, Lazenby sides with the established knowledge, which happens to reside on team Jeanie's side.

What does all this mean? Well, it means that if there's any truth to the rumors coming out of Lakersville, concerning the departure of Kupchak as the GM of the Lakers, it has to be coming from Jeanie Buss.

I mean, check out the tweets from Lazenby:

"Starting to hear that Kupchak may be leaving the Lakers. Don't know if it's true, but if he did...well, there's Jimmy by his lonesome."

And there's this tweet, too:

"Much maligned in the past, Kupchak is a great, great GM + a great stabilizing force in crazyland."

Again, over the past several years, anything out of Lazenby concerning the Lakers comes from team Jeanie's point of view. That's why he refers to Jim Buss' handling of the Lakers as "crazyland." And, "there's Jimmy by his lonesome."

Everyone, from Lazenby, representing the bottom of ladder, to Winter to Jackson to Jeanie Buss, near the top of the ladder; except for Winter, they're all still upset that Jim Buss won the heart of his father Jerry Buss, and has control of the Lakers. It's something Jeanie wanted, and, it seems, she can't come to grips with the fact that she isn't running the Lakers.

All Jeanie Buss does now-a-days is bad mouth her brother, behind his back, whenever she can. Always questioning why the Lakers are the way they are, as if, if she were in charge, things would be different.

But, I think the thing that probably really burns sister Buss the most; it has to be the new TV deal the Lakers signed with Time Warner Cable that kicks in next season. That deal pretty much establishes the Lakers' earning potential for a very long time to come. In other words: Jim Buss probably can't run the Lakers into financial ruin. lol!

That pretty much makes Jeanie obsolete, when it comes to Lakers' influence. The only thing Jeanie has left is her media connections, which she uses to make her brother look bad in the eyes of the fans whenever she can.

Personally, my hope is that Jerry Buss would take a closer look at the Lakers' current situation; I think he would see that Jim and Jeanie running the Lakers, together, is not a good idea. Jeanie doesn't respect Jimmy, and feels cheated out of running the ball club after her dad retires. With that thought in mind, I'm thinking that if daddy Buss really wanted his son, Jim, to do well, and he does, he would cut Jeanie out of the Lakers' day to day operations. Sure she has an inheritance that comes from being the daughter of daddy Buss, but her animosity towards her brother is only going to cause the Lakers' organization trouble in the future. Again, I think daddy Buss needs to take Jeanie aside, and explain to her that Jimmy is going to run the Lakers no matter what, and she needs to stop sending out rumors that create conflict; all in her efforts to make her brother look as if he doesn't belong in the driver's seat.

You know, this is the type of thing that happens when someone thinks they're smarter than someone else. In this case, that's Jeanie, in her mind, over her brother Jimmy.

Now, back to Lazenby. I mean, for a guy like Roland Lazenby to  write so disrespectfully, over the years, about Jim Buss is a little hard for me to understand. Why does he bad mouth the new owner of the Lakers? You would think he would want to do an in-depth interview with the new boss, but, it seems, he goes out of his way to disrespect the new boss. What type of thinking is that for a basketball writer who, with all his connections, could probably get an interview with the new owner? Why doesn't he think along those lines? A probable reason might be that he's satisfied with the source of his Lakers' "scoops." And the source of those "scoops"? Why, Jeanie Buss, of course. Who else can it be?

mike t.