00:00You played for Dr. Jerry Buss in the Showtime era.
00:03What do you think he would be thinking about all this going on right now?
00:05Well, yeah, I don't think any of us know exactly what he would be thinking.
00:08But if I had to guess, I don't think he would be very happy with the state of the Lakers
00:14right now.
00:15But, you know, it's a different time.
00:18There's no doubt about that.
00:21Unfortunately, for guys like myself who played, you know, when Dr. Buss was here
00:25and this organization was considered and probably was the greatest organization in all of sports
00:31because of the way he ran it and because of his geniusness and his, you know, vision,
00:40because he was a visionary, yeah, I don't think he would be very happy right now.
00:44And I never thought in my lifetime that I would see anybody or any other organization
00:49or company or corporation owning the Los Angeles Lakers either.
00:53What do you think of the kind of ownership changes taking hand?
00:55Can it be a good thing to get new blood in there?
00:58You know what's funny?
00:59Players really don't care about that as long as they paycheck cashes and they're able to compete
01:03because they figure at the end of the day, whatever we do on the court will solve all the problems
01:07this way.
01:08And I think a lot of times we get caught up in, you know,
01:10even though management is very important, getting the right people in the right time.
01:14But at the end of the day, you've got to go out there and compete.
01:16I think players, as long as it gets handled, my paycheck is cashed and the fans come out to support,
01:21that's the most important thing.
01:22What can Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, when they come in, do, in your opinion?
01:28Who could they hire?
01:28What could they do to get, you know, the organization back on track to those glory days like you talked
01:32about?
01:32And would you help them if they asked?
01:34I'm not that deep into it like that.
01:36You know what I'm saying?
01:38I would hope that they would take a page from Dr. Buss's book
01:40and just remember how he treated his employees, how he treated his players.
01:46He treated everybody equally.
01:47He didn't treat nobody no different.
01:49He didn't treat Magic no different than he treated Russ Matthews.
01:52You know, so I would hope that they would take a page out of that and just remember that
01:56even though you bought an unbelievable franchise, you know, you still want to make it kind of like a family.
02:04You know, that's what the Buss family did.
02:05That's what Dr. Buss, you know, really talked to us about was making it a family.
02:09And we all felt a part of that family.
02:12That's why all of us to this day, we still believe purple and gold.
02:15So we're still very proud of the fact that we played in an unbelievable era and an unbelievable owner.
02:21Let's start with the Lakers, though, and what's going on with the Buss family.
02:24You were very close to them and obviously the way they ran the organization.
02:27What do you think of everything that's going down?
02:29I love Jeannie.
02:29Absolutely love Jeannie and what she's about.
02:31It's unfortunate that, you know, family drama, and I've had it, has to play out publicly.
02:36But I support Jeannie 100%.
02:38I think she's done a great job of trying to continue to, you know, make the Lakers stand for what
02:43her dad wanted them to stand for.
02:46So I hope she continues to stay on the management side and, you know, things go her way.
02:51You played under the Buss family when you were with the Lakers and winning championships with the Lakers.
02:55It seems like they might, you know, not be a part of it anymore.
02:57Would that be strange to you?
02:59That would be sad.
03:00It'd be strange and very, very sad.
03:01You think about, I don't think people understand what the Buss, what Dr. Buss brought to the NBA as far
03:07as, you know, putting entertainment and sports together.
03:12You know, bringing Showtime here, you know, bringing cheerleaders.
03:15It's so many, you know, the Forum Club, so many things like that that he brought to basketball that all
03:19these other organizations kind of piggyback off of.
03:22So for the Buss family not to be involved in some way would be such a sad thing.
03:27I got to ask you because you were part of the Showtime Lakers, you know, the early Dr. Buss era,
03:32winning all those championships.
03:33What do you think of all this and what's going on with the Buss family?
03:35And what would you think Dr. Buss would think of all this right now?
03:39Well, you know what, Dr. Buss is a one-of-a-kind owner, the greatest owner in sports that I've
03:43ever played for.
03:44He's the only owner I've played for all my years.
03:47I can't speak on anybody else, but I can speak on him.
03:50And greatness starts from the top and it goes down.
03:53And I think that's what you're getting over there with the Dodgers as far as Mr. Walters, again, assembling the
03:58players that he has.
03:59He's got a great manager in Roberts.
04:02And I think with players coming into that organization and always thinking about we and not me, that's what makes
04:08championships.
04:09And, again, the Dodgers are doing that.
04:11Look for them to do a three-peat this year.
04:12I'm on the bandwagon and yelling for it.
04:14But, again, all the things that you have to do, if you want to win a championship, money can't be
04:20an object about players.
04:21And I think that's what the Dodgers as exemplified is that they're willing to spend the money to go out
04:25to get the best players.
04:26And when you do that, they give you a better chance to win a championship than not.
04:29You know, our standards are obviously extremely high because, you know, from the day I got here, you know, Magic
04:35was already here.
04:36Kareem was already here.
04:37But the first day that I stepped on the court for practice, all they talked about was championships or bust.
04:42That's all we want to do.
04:43We don't put up Western Conference banners.
04:45We put up championship banners.
04:47So, the standard was high from day one, and we've lived by that standard all these years ever since.
04:52Jeannie Buss will do what's best for the Lakers.
04:56And if that sale has gone on or goes through however it does, then that's on them.
04:59But, again, the Lakers are, no matter who owns them, will always be the Lakers.
05:04And people that are here in Los Angeles are going to always embrace them and cherish them and always root
05:07for them to be the best.
05:08What did you think of the moves that made this offseason and this bonding going on in Slovenia right now?
05:12And how's that going to help?
05:13Well, I think some of the moves were really good, you know, and then I think, like you said, the
05:17question is, you're going to be able to score, but can't you stop anybody?
05:20Exactly.
05:21You know, NBA champions, it hasn't changed in 40 years.
05:24You know, the teams that normally win the NBA championship are normally teams in the top five in defensive efficiency
05:30as well.
05:31So, that's still a part of the game that they're going to have to address, and they're going to have
05:35to try to figure out what players they're going to bring in that can help them.
05:40You know, it's still out there.
05:41The pages, I don't think the book is totally written.
05:44You know, we just got to wait and see.
05:46But, you know, some of the moves this summer I think were good.
05:48You know, I think the trade with New York to get the kid Carr over here, I think a very
05:54athletic, young basketball player that can play on both ends of the floor.
05:57They got to find more like that, you know.
05:59So, it's going to be interesting, you know.
06:01But, it is an era now where it's Lucas' team, and we'll see where that goes.
06:07My heart says I can't root for Walker Cussell because he went to Auburn, but now I have to.
06:11But, it's going to be interesting.
06:12You know, Walker Cussell is a guy that's been coveted for a while, and you think about all the pieces
06:16that they add.
06:17You know, Quentin Grimes is a guy who's a nasty, greedy guy.
06:20You know, there's a saying that we like to say, you've got to bring some nasty to the game.
06:23I think that's one of the things that he would do.
06:24It's going to be really interesting how, you know, the system is now without LeBron.
06:28You know, you saw glimpses of it when he was out at the beginning of the season, but now you've
06:33got Luka healthy.
06:33You've got AR healthy.
06:35It's going to be very interesting to see how this goes.
06:38Retooled team with Luka.
06:39What do you think they're out of Luka's?
06:40I've got to see it.
06:41I've got to see it.
06:43You know, they're calling them the snow time Lakers.
06:47So, anytime you've got Luka and AR at the head, you know, two tremendously score-driven guards.
06:53I'm someone that looks at defense, so I want to see how they're able to round out this roster and
06:57be able to protect the basket.
06:58But very talented team.
07:00What they were able to assemble as far as on the court.
07:03LeBron moves on, of course.
07:04And now you go get Walker Kessler.
07:06You finally get that big man to pair with Luka Doncic you've always wanted.
07:09You bring back Austin Reeves.
07:10Bring back a lot of shooting and scoring, but I don't know if they're going to have the perimeter defense
07:13that you were known for.
07:14What do you think of what you're going to see on the court come this season with the Lakers?
07:18Well, you know what?
07:18Now the Lakers, or basketball in general, is not necessarily geared toward defense, although you have to have a little
07:23bit of that.
07:24But if you were to put on paper, Lakers have a great chance of winning.
07:28You've got two players that can go out and get 50 on any given night in Reeves and Luka.
07:33And I think the players they're assembling will have to be players that will fit around them.
07:37Because they're going to be the nucleus of what the new Lakers are about as far as winning a championship.
07:42And I don't see anything less.
07:43And again, it's going to be up to the coaching staff to get them headed in the right direction.
07:48And I think you've got players that are willing to buy into whatever the coaches are going to put out
07:52there that they feel what's best to help the team win.
07:55Thank you, Michael.
07:55Appreciate your time.
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