The Los Angeles Lakers have been reportedly trying to trade Russell Westbrook for Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving for the last couple of weeks without success so far.
Some believe LeBron James might be pressuring the team to do whatever it takes to acquire Irving, even if it means mortgaging a great deal of its future.
As has been the case for a while, plenty of people have accused James and Klutch Sports of having an outsized degree of influence on the Lakers’ personnel decisions, to the point of strong-arming them.
Late on the night of July 3, team governor Jeanie Buss issued this tweet that many felt had some type of hidden meaning and message.
I miss KB. He would understand and explain everything that I’m not allowed to. Honestly he was the greatest Laker ever. He understood team over self. Meaning your rewards would come if you valued team goals over your own then everything would fall into place. All can reply.
— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) July 4, 2022
Some felt it was an attack directed towards James disguised as an expression of love for the late Kobe Bryant.
But Buss claims it was nothing of the sort.
Via Lakers Daily:
“Now, Buss has finally made an effort to clear up the debate about the tweet. She spoke with Mark Medina of NBA.com to talk about that and more.
“‘We’re getting ready to start promoting our 10-part docuseries on Hulu, and we’re immersed in all things Lakers,’ she said when asked about the tweet related to Bryant. ‘There are so many people I miss. But the person I miss the most is Kobe. We miss his voice, his friendship and everything that was taken away from us when we lost him. What I know is Laker fans feel the same way I do.
“‘So when I feel down like that, I know when I say something, the response that I get makes me feel not alone. That’s how a community comes together to grieve. This grieving process with losing Kobe will go on for the rest of my life. It’s a void that can never be filled and was never expected.
“‘When Phil (Jackson) left to go to the (New York) Knicks, the NBA made us sign a letter because we’re on two different teams. He said, “This means I can’t help you anymore. But you always have Kobe. Kobe has your back. Talk to him if you ever need advice. You’ll always have Kobe.” That’s what Phil said to me. So, the idea that we don’t always have Kobe is hard to accept.’
“She was then asked about the belief that some people had that the tweet was a way for Buss to criticize James without calling him out by name.
“No,’ she said. ‘It was that my heart was full of sadness. You look to people surrounding you that feel the same way to commiserate. That’s all it was. It wasn’t intended at anything other than I had sorrow in my heart, and I was trying to lighten my load.'”
Obviously, whether Buss meant to criticize James or simply express how much she misses arguably the greatest Laker ever with that tweet, she would’ve likely said the same thing in response.
The random timing of the tweet, as well as the wording of its second sentence, is what makes people suspicious that it was something more than it may seem at surface value.
For the sake of the Lakers franchise as a whole, hopefully Buss was telling the whole truth and that the tweet was about no one else but Bryant.
