The Los Angeles Lakers are reorganizing the front office, terminating two members of the Buss family. Joey and Jesse Buss, two of the younger siblings in the Buss family, have been fired by the team as part of the restructure, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
In a statement shared with Charania, the Buss brothers invoked their father, Lakers patriarch Jerry Buss, who died in 2013.
“We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons,” they wrote. “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.”
Joey and Jesse held scouting roles for the Lakers, with Charania reporting the two helped find and secure players such as Austin Reaves, Kyle Kuzma and more. They will maintain their minority ownership with the team, per Charania.
The Buss family entered an agreement this summer to sell the Lakers’ majority stake, giving majority ownership to Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter. Under the deal, the Buss family will reportedly keep a 15% minority share.
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The deal, which is valued at approximately $10 billion, is the largest sale of a professional sports franchise worldwide.
Prior to Joey and Jesse’s termination, six of Jerry’s children worked in the Lakers’ organization. Jeanie Buss, the oldest daughter, took over as Los Angeles’ team governor following Jerry’s death in 2013; she will remain in that role for the foreseeable future, even with the sale. Johnny and Jim, Jeanie’s two older brothers, previously held executive roles but now hold advisory positions. Janie works with the Lakers’ charitable services department.
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Johnny, Jim, Jeanie and Janie are all the children of Jerry’s ex-wife, JoAnn, while Joey and Jesse have a different mother.
