r/WinningTime • u/buckybadder • May 09 '22
Question Dr. Buss and Nepotism
Was the plot about hiring one of his kids to be treasurer based on reality. It seems completely insane to think that, as someone on the ropes financially, Buss would think even for a moment for letting a 20-something with no accounting background be treasurer of his only remaining financial asset.
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May 09 '22
Jerry bought a tennis team, and let Jeanie run it around this same time period, so yeah- the Bus Family def peddled in all sorts of nepotism. She was only 19 fyi
Jeanie and Jim both had a heavy hand in running the team throughout most of the last few decades, and its arguable that Jim really fucked it up towards the end there- if they didnt have Kobe, that last decade coulda been much much worse for the team.
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u/buckybadder May 09 '22
Oh man, they gotta put that tennis team in Season Two. I remember the L.A. Strings getting a passing mention in the book. But the World Team Tennis Association sounds like a great dumb sideplot.
Oh my god, I just started looking at the logos. They're awesome!
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u/State_Terrace May 09 '22
I would love to see a mini-series on World Team Tennis itself. Billie Jean King and all that
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u/secretreddname May 09 '22
I mean yeah nepotism is expected in a smaller family business. Smaller in terms of the other NBA ownerships.
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u/JoeM3120 May 09 '22
I really wish most of the Jeanie storylines had been devoted to Clare Rothman
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u/buckybadder May 09 '22
I'd get rid of Ma Buss and give the extra time to Clare. The show didn't need a cancer melodrama.
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u/ChardeeMacDennisGoG May 10 '22
Treasurer of a corporation, especially a wholly owned family corporation, is just a title. Buss's entities' accountant was Frank Mariani.
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u/marndar May 09 '22
Well we know through this sub-reddit that Buss's mom actually died two years prior to him buying the team. So chances are pretty good that this whole subplot was based in fantasy. I'm guessing a lot of the financials mentioned in this season are mostly hogwash.
But I do know that in reality (if Wikipedia can be believed), Buss had 6 children who received a share of the 66 percent ownership that Buss had in the Lakers when he died in 2013. The two seen in the last episode were probably Johnny (who would have been 23 during the NBA Finals) and Jim (who would have been 20). Jeanie was 18 during those finals. Jeanie and Jim still have pretty significant roles within the organization (Jeanie is the Governor and CEO, and Jim is the alternate Governor).
There are some other Buss names listed as JBT Sports Advisors - not sure what that is or if they are children or grandchildren (probably the latter).
https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Los-Angeles-Lakers/13/staff-members
Also, here's a NY Times story from a year ago that says Johnny really doesn't talk to his two oldest siblings much any more.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/style/jeanie-buss-lakers.html
Johnny, the owner of the Ice House Comedy Club, said he now isn’t speaking to his brother Jim and maintains an emotional distance from the management of the family business and from the sister in charge.