The Los Angeles Lakers’ reorganization of the front office includes the firings of executives Joey and Jesse Buss, younger brothers of team governor Jeanie Buss and sons of the former owner, the late Jerry Buss, multiple outlets reported on Thursday.
Several members of the scouting department also were let go, according to the reports.
The Buss family controlled the Lakers franchise for 46 years until the sale to a group headed by Mark Walter for a $10 billion valuation that was finalized in October with the NBA Board of Governors’ approval.
Jeanie Buss, 64, remains the Lakers’ operating governor for at least five years as part of the negotiation, according to the reports.
Joey Buss, 41, was alternate governor and vice president of research and development, while Jesse Buss, 37, was the assistant general manager and director of scouting with an influence over draft strategy. The brothers will remain minority owners.
The Lakers confirmed the Buss brothers no longer work in the front office without further comment to ESPN.
“We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons,” Joey and Jesse Buss told ESPN in a statement. “Thank you to Laker Nation for embracing our family every step of the way. We wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team. At times like this, we wish we could ask our Dad what he would think about it all.”
Jesse Buss told The Athletic in a phone interview on Thursday that he wasn’t surprised to lose his position and had long felt a disconnect with his sister and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka.
“She’s fired everyone,” Jesse Buss told The Athletic in reference to Jeanie Buss’ dealings with other family members who have worked for the organization.
Jesse Buss said he has had an illness, which he didn’t specify, for a few years and receives immunotherapy treatments.
“I kind of felt siloed quite a bit, dating back to before, I guess, the 2023 draft,” Jesse Buss said. “And I kind of didn’t think much of it, but you know, as time went on and there was a lack of communication between not only my sister and I, but you know, the organization as a whole — while I was combating various health issues.
“I kind of felt like the writing was on the wall,” he said.
The Buss brothers announced in September the launching of a sports investment and strategic partnership company.
“The sale of the team happening kind of more or less just solidified it in my mind,” Jesse Buss said. “And I just, more or less, expected it. Obviously, this is, you know, a job I’ve loved for a very long time. And I love this organization. I love the fans. I love the city of Los Angeles. It’s pretty much all I’ve known my entire life.”
Joey Buss also served as team president and CEO of the Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.
Jesse Buss, who with his brother helped bring players such as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura to Los Angeles, said he will remain a Lakers fan, “first and foremost,” so the dismissal was not bittersweet.
“Even if I’m not part of the organization in any capacity, I’m always gonna root for this team,” he told The Athletic.
Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, as well as the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Forum, in 1979 for $67.5 million from Jack Kent Cooke. Jerry Buss died in 2013 at age 80.
