Exclusive: Lakers governor Jeanie Buss praises Rob Pelinka, Darvin Ham for solid offseason ahead of 2023-24 season
Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss continues to throw her weight behind GM Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham following a flurry of offseason moves that seem to have solidified the roster situation for the upcoming season.
Buss addressed various topics in a wide-ranging interview with Sportskeeda, including James’ possible retirement, her support for coach Darvin Ham and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, Pau Gasol’s upcoming induction in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame and more.
The questions that follow relate to the Lakers' front office moves over the past few weeks.
Jeanie Buss talks about Rob Pelinka, Darvin Ham and more
Editor’s note: The following Q&A has been edited and condensed.
Last year, there was criticism about missing the playoffs and with the Russell Westbrook trade. Even then, you expressed support for Rob and cited his role with the Lakers’ 2020 NBA title. Rob was also granted an extension before the season started. Then and now, what qualities did you see that gave you confidence he could move things in the right direction?
I always felt then and now that Rob was the right person to be in charge of our front office. I continued to do so. Every decision that is made isn’t always the perfect one. But it’s the decision you make after that that counts. We had a roster that didn’t work and wasn’t working. But you can’t change things overnight in the NBA. But you can set yourself up by making the next right decision.
That’s exactly what Rob did. He’s very strategic. He’s very big picture. He endured a lot of challenges as did I in terms of media scrutiny. But we knew what we wanted to accomplish in the long term. You had to be patient, and you had to do the work. Every decision, you have the opportunity to make the next right decision. That’s what Rob has proven.
I presume you would defer to Rob on Anthony Davis becoming eligible for an extension in August. But philosophically, how does the organization feel about Davis?
Rob said it best. Our intention is that we want to keep continuity with our team. I’ll leave it at that.
The front office has had a strong track record with both drafting players and identifying young talent. Why do you think the organization has been successful with that?
I have to give a lot of credit to my brother, Joey Buss, who oversees our development with our G League team and my brother, Jesse Buss, who is in charge of all of our scouting. He has done a terrific job not only with our draft picks, but also identifying players that aren’t drafted and bringing them to our G-League team, our summer league team and giving players opportunities to be seen.
Even if they get called up by another team, we’re happy for those players that we’ve identified. Giving talent opportunities to make our league is important to us. We will continue to do that. They have identified players that fit the system and the style of play that Darvin Ham wants to play.
That’s the influence that Phil Jackson had on me in terms of how you run a basketball team. The first decision that needs to be made is what kind of style of play do you want to play? Between Rob, Joey, Jesse, Coach Ham, we’re all on the same page as to what type of Laker basketball we want to play. When you’re all in agreement and in unison, that’s when great things happen. That’s when players get an opportunity to shine. That led to the kind of success that we saw and will continue to build on from the end of last season.
Darvin credited you for giving him a lot of confidence and feeling supported both through the ups and downs last season, beginning with the 2-10 start. What were your messages to him?
I gained very valuable insight with being a companion of a head coach in the NBA for many years (Jackson). I know for a coach, it is kind of a lonely existence. You are the face of the franchise day in and day out. I know what it means when the coach receives support from ownership and from the front office.
I let Darvin know that from day one that I am behind him 100% and I will continue to be behind him 100%. I reminded him of that during the season when he faced a lot of challenges. What I appreciated about Darvin so much was that, in discussions before the season, I said, ‘Things may get worse before they get better. We’ll do everything we can to get the roster the way we want it to be.’
Darvin Ham is happy the Lakers overcame their 2-10 start but he signed up to win titles.
“I’ve had a taste for the most positive drug you can use, and that’s winning. And I’ve done it twice. And that’s why they hired me. Cause this city, this org., they want more of it.” pic.twitter.com/6WWkMYAzjy
Darvin said, ‘That’s for me to figure out. I’m the coach of this team, so that’s for me to figure out how to bring out the best in each of these players. That’s what a coach does.’ That was music to my ears.
How did you see Darvin try to do that?
He comes from a place of authenticity that he’s done the work. There is really no BS about the guy. He knows what it takes to win in the NBA. He’s done it as a player and as an assistant coach and now as a head coach. This was all part of his skillset that he brought to the Lakers when we hired him as head coach.
I think he shined in a job that had a lot of challenges. He never faltered. What I appreciated so much about him was his calm demeanor, even when we were near the bottom of the standings when we started the season. We were awful with being 2-10. That’s a tough place to be, especially in Los Angeles, which has very high expectations for all of their teams and all of their sports.
He never got too up. He never got too down. He always brought the same calm, energy day in and day out. That really set the tone with doing the work.