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Kobe Bryant: Interesting off season looming.. Will spend time with d12 #stay and talk with the Buss family in hopes that Pau stays as well #my2cents Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Owners, Jim Buss 

Some league observers, however, remain convinced that Jackson's flirtations with teams are largely aimed at convincing Lakers lead basketball decision maker Jim Buss to cede his organizational power to sister Jeanie ... which would theoretically enable Jeanie Buss to bring her fiance Phil back to Lakerland as L.A.'s next front-office chief. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

Roland Lazenby: Just as the gulf between Dr. Buss + Phil was huge, the chasm between Jim Buss + the ZenMaster is expansive. Basketball's Grand Canyon. Twitter @lazenby

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Owners, Jim Buss 

When Jim Buss fell for Brown in their sitdown at the pre-draft camp in Minneapolis, the Lakers knew he was West’s pick to fill the Warriors’ vacancy. That was why they slammed the deal home so quickly, and why the price got to $4.5 million a year, more than they’re paying Mike D’Antoni. Lakers Nation

Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Jerry West, Mike Brown, Owners, Jim Buss 

Will you have a discussion with Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss about your future? Pau Gasol: Yeah. It'll be a discussion for sure. There's no doubt about it. We all have to look to the future, and to the immediate future. Next season, it's important for everyone, for myself, for the team. I'm sure there's going to be talks. All the parties care. I'd love to continue to be here, continue to help the team be the best it can be, and be on board as much as I can. That's my thought process. But we have to be on the same page. I want to make it work. NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss 

On Friday, Kobe Bryant got a visit from Lakers Vice President Jim Buss, General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Coach Mike D'Antoni. Bryant is still on crutches, recovering from April 13 surgery to repair a torn left Achilles' tendon. The Lakers All-Star guard uploaded a picture to his Instagram account with the caption, "Got a few more visitors today ... Jimmy B, Mitch K and Mike D. We talked about the season, next season and more importantly about the strategy for this upcoming series #lakerfam #amnestywho?? Lol #coachvino." Bryant is expected to be out for six to nine months. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Mitch Kupchak, Mike D'Antoni, Injuries, Jim Buss 

I suspect Ziller is right about the amount for which Kobe will play -- though he would certainly understand the value from a PR and roster construction standpoint by taking so little -- but the bigger thing is the Bird Rights issue (something I wasn't aware of). It's another impediment in the all-too-neat sounding end scheme to save money next year while Kobe rehabs and then bring him back for the '14-'15 campaign. There are plenty of other reasons the Lakers wouldn't do it. The PR would be awful, and at least some of the money saved would have to go into protection for Jim Buss and a moat around the training facility. And more importantly, the concept only works if Kobe doesn't play at all next year. Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss 

Q: On if he’s had any conversation with Kupchak or Jim Buss about his future: Howard: They haven’t really said too much about it all year. There’s always stuff that goes on on the outside. As far as on the inside, what we talk about is how I can improve and what we as a team can do to get better. That’s the only thing I’m more concerned with – how we can win games and how we can come together as a team. Lakers.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Trade, Dwight Howard, Jim Buss 

Mike Trudell: Mitch Kupchak said that Jim Buss is more involved than Dr. Buss was, but said that both generally defer to him on basketball decisions. Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak, Jerry Buss, Jim Buss 

Mike Trudell: Kobe is "very confident" that Dr. Buss' children will carry on the tradition he built. "In their own way, they'll have success, for sure." Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

Mike Trudell: Kupchak stays in much closer contact with Jim and Jeanie Buss than he did with Dr. Buss, who was "different in his approach to business." Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak, Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

Jim Buss said recently he was told by D'Antoni that Gasol was a happy camper now because D'Antoni was saving Gasol's knees and prolonging his career. It was amusing news to Gasol, who played 37 minutes against Minnesota and 40 versus Detroit. "Never heard that," he said. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Mike D'Antoni, Jim Buss 

Thursday was a day off for the Lakers, a time to recover from an 0-3 trip after returning to Los Angeles early in the morning from Memphis. But it was a very busy day for Mike D'Antoni. The Lakers' coach was given a vote of confidence during a face-to-face meeting with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Executive Vice President Jim Buss, The Times has learned. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jim Buss 

Despite a shaky start with the Lakers, D'Antoni was told to do whatever he wanted with the lineup. Buss and Kupchak support him. He was told to do whatever was best for the offense. Buss and Kupchak support him. They discussed team personnel and morale and were unanimous in their thinking: The Lakers can still make an impact in this league. And, yes, make the playoffs. "It was a positive meeting," D'Antoni said Friday in a quiet moment at Staples Center, long before tipoff against the Utah Jazz. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jim Buss 

D'Antoni, who came here on a three-year, $12 million contract that he'll be paid whether or not he's able to see this job through, is going to grin his way through it and see where this purple- and-gold roller coaster takes him. "I don't care (about the increased scrutiny that surrounds him)," D'Antoni told USA TODAY Sports after the morning shoot-a-round. "I'm trying to do my job the best I can do it, and I'm trying to go as hard as I can. If (Lakers general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) and management ask me to (step down), then they can do that. That's their job. That's not my job. "That's a decision that the head guys have to make. When that day happens, it happens. But up until then, I'm going to coach as hard as I can coach to try to get it right." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jim Buss 

Lakers officials and D'Antoni confidantes alike say there's no indication he's on his way out or that it's even being considered. And according to the Los Angeles Times, D'Antoni was given a vote of confidence from management in a meeting that took place not long after he discussed the prospect of being fired. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jim Buss 

"I don't know anything (with) the system where the system says, 'You know what? The system really indicates to take bad shots, or don't move the ball, or let's post five guys up in the paint,'" D'Antoni told news reporters at the shoot-around. "I don't understand that. It's just playing basketball. "Where I'm having a hard time is, the ball doesn't move. We need to move the ball. And that's the biggest thing. ... We're trying to get Pau in the low post, but we can't get him in the low post (when) we've got three other guys in there also. So it's trying to get everybody on the same page, trying to be comfortable with it, and trying to play hard all the time because you're comfortable." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jim Buss 

In Buss' case, the plan is to hand the Lakers down to his six children – already having daughter Jeanie in place to run the business side and son Jim the basketball side. Well ... Jeanie and Jim aren't speaking to each other. They haven't since Mike Brown was fired as Lakers coach in early November and the Lakers went through that unseemly, confusing, hurtful dance with Phil Jackson – the love of Jeanie's life and now her fiancé – before hiring Mike D'Antoni. Orange County Register

Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni, Mike Brown, Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

Details are scarce as to how Buss' trust is set up, but it is believed that amid all the complicated rules and regulations, the children agreed previously to heed their father's wishes and structure the trust to keep that majority ownership in the family. The six children (Johnny, Jim, Jeanie, Janie, Joey and Jesse) are believed to be locked in together by the trust – so that they stay together or they sell together. It is unclear if any one of them can sell his or her individual shares at any point, though logic would suggest that no one can be bound for perpetuity. Orange County Register

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss 

If the family does not sell, one looming possibility is either Jim or Jeanie leaving his or her post in the organization and becoming an absentee owner. How that might be determined and whether their siblings would have a say in that is hard to say, but such a development would obviously alter the entire top of the Lakers' organizational structure. If it turns out to be Jim who departs, it's no stretch at all to speculate what so many fans would love to imagine right about now: Jackson returning to the Lakers, to help Jeanie bring championships back. Maybe – and what a twist it would be – Jackson returning as Jim Buss' replacement in running basketball operations? Maybe as head coach again? Maybe in a Tex Winter role as hands-on advisor to the head coach? Orange County Register

Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Jerry Buss, Jeanie Buss, Jim Buss