In 2022, the Lakers revoked Jerry West's lifetime season tickets, promised by Dr. Buss, without warning. West recalled, 'Sometimes you feel like you’re discarded, like a piece of trash."
In the summer of 2017, just as West was leaving the Warriors and deciding what would come next, he said on “The Dan Patrick Show” that he would have liked to have ended his NBA career where it began — with the Lakers. Instead, they showed no interest in bringing him aboard, and the Clippers, in turn, reaped the benefits when he came their way.Two summers later, West’s oldest son, Ryan, parted ways with the Lakers after spending a decade in a variety of scouting roles (he now works for the Detroit Pistons). West declined to discuss the part Ryan played in the Lakers’ dynamic in the interview with The Athletic but told NBA.com in October that he believes he’s the reason his son was let go.
Then in April, after Jeanie Buss left West off her list of top five important Lakers of all time on the “All The Smoke” podcast, West fired back on the “Hoop Du Jour” podcast by calling it “one of the most offensive things I’ve ever heard in my life.” Buss had named Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe, Magic, James and her ex-fiancé and Lakers legend Phil Jackson. Back and forth, in the headlines and the hallways, the acrimony just kept building.
For West, though, the final straw came when the Lakers repealed the lifetime season tickets he said the late Dr. Buss had promised him so many years ago. Without any warning or explanation, his wife, Karen, received a text message from the Lakers last season informing her that the family’s seats for their games would no longer be granted.
“It was a cold phone text to my wife,” West recalled. “No one had the nerve to call me, but that’s how petty they are, OK? And I love the Lakers, OK? I love to see them do well. It’s great for basketball. I’m proud of everything that happened when I was there. I’m proud of everything that happened when I wasn’t there — the positives.
“But sometimes you feel like you’re discarded, like a piece of trash. And there’s a couple of people over there — not Jeanie — but there’s a couple of people over there that, uh … I don’t get it. I don’t. … I always had a great relationship with Jeanie — at least I thought I did. I don’t know where it is now.”
Just as the retelling of it all starts to rile West up, he stops just short of naming names. Still, as he’s well aware, the Lakers’ circle that surrounds Buss is a small one.A message has been sent.
When asked if there was any hope for reconciliation, West shook his head.“No, it’s too late; it’s too late,” he said. “I don’t need to do that, OK? I really don’t need (it). It’s just (bothersome) how people change so much. And I don’t understand it, but it’s fine. It’s fine.”
Jeanie Buss was presented with West’s extensive comments by The Athletic and chose not to respond. And so, it seems, West’s resentment will remain.
by supremeboxlogo12
28 Comments
Jeanie is such a disgrace to the Lakers
Yep this is just another reason why Jeanie needs to sell the team. Plus it just highlights her bad ownership by choosing Kurt and Linda Rambis as her advisors instead of West.
[All because Jeanie was fucking Phil](https://hoopshype.com/rumor/1714413/).
It was ok for Phil and Jerry to have issues, but the ownership shouldn’t have a personal stake in either side. Jeanie broke that rule. Which led to the Lakers losing Jerry forever.
Personal life and business life are two separate things and Jeanie couldn’t separate them.
To me that’s her biggest fuck up. This team would have been much better if The Logo was a Laker Lifer.
Lmao bringing up a sad moment for the man on the day of his passing to shit on the Lakers
I fear I’m done with this Jeanie run and the Lakers until she and her crodies gtfo
With all due respect, some of ya’ll gotta grow the fuck up. I don’t care what your disdain, hate, dislike, issues are for and with Jeanie, using this on the day of his death is more disrespectful.
We know since Dr. Buss passed the ownership has been a mess. Even as someone who came over with Bron, but will stay, I knew it. Not the time or place.
Mr. West had every right to feel like that and he definitely was kicked to the curb, but let him feel that. We gotta stop this shit. Life in general is bigger than a fucking basketball team or game and if you’re letting shit consume you it doesn’t make you anymore of a fan , it makes you look immature.
This pisses me off. It pissed me off then, now more so.
When it rains it pours. So embarassing.
The gross part of this is seeing the actual quotes from Jerry about how much he loves Jeanie in this and you guys are still using it to shit on her specifically. He mentions being hurt, but specifically that he and her have a good relationship.
I don’t know who did this. Considering that this quote is from an interview in 2021 and Jerry still sat down for Jeanie’s Hulu doc about the Lakers in 2022, I would assume it’s not Jeanie and that she and Jerry maintained at least some type of personal relationship to some extent.
He also says that he loves the Lakers and he loved his time here, but you guys use it to shit on Jeanie and the franchise as a whole. He refused to name names, but it would seem anyone who can think a bit can probably figure out there’s only a short list of folks it could be.
I also find it sad that people would use this opportunity to throw this type of thing into the air hours after the man passed.
Jeanie has some real glazers in this sub… she’s not gonna hire you for defending her honor dudes
Disgusting
not the time
This hurts.
Too soon imo
Wow, those Ballmer bots out in force trying to spin old narratives. No wonder So Cal hates the clips.
No. She’s the governor of the team and leader…she is the lead decision maker. Having other people make poor decisions for her is still her fault as it’s her people and her organization. You can’t have the benefits of being an owner of something without also handling the criticism. This is regardless of gender.
Lifetime promise for season tickets from dr buss revoked is disgusting just because dr buss died. The beef part is whatever I don’t care about the drama, but a promise is a promise
What an embarrassment.
Jeanie is going to ruin this franchise and the legacy of her father. What an embarrassment the whole family are.
The whole Jeanie and Jerry situation is embarrassing.
It’s time we say it for real. Fuck Jeanie Buss.
Disgraceful that he was treated this way. Dr Buss rolling in his grave
Dropping this article on the day of his death seems kind of…classless, gross, idk
Reminds me of a clip I saw where SAS was using this moment as a way to say MJ should be the new logo.
Since when did using legends passing to get your own agendas off become such a normal thing for the media?
Jeanie is a fuckin joke
More proof that Jeannie is a trash owner. This franchise deserves better.
a disgusting act
All bad things that happen to us, consider it a West curse.
He should have been sacred.
lol. this subreddit is so whack.
Ya’ll just conveniently left out the fact that he joined the clippers as an exec and spent like 5 years either poaching lakers role players or targeting the same FA’s the lakers were going after, before his tickets got revoked.
You may think it’s petty. But I’m of the opinion that he crossed the line and burned bridges.
Sounds like we’re only getting 1 side of the story but Redditors love to make up drama about stuff they know nothing about.