At a point in time, every Buss sibling had a place in the Lakers. That was until a few days ago. The Lakers fired Joey and Jesse Buss, heads of the Lakers’ scouting operations. With Mark Walter taking over the majority of the ownership, changes were indeed expected. But Brian Windhorst feels this wasn’t an executive decision that overruled Jeanie Buss’ disposition as the team’s governor.

“You can’t fire an owner unless you’re Jeanie. And so we’ll find out where Walter was, we’ll find out where Pelinka was, but this was Buss on Buss crime,” Brian Windhorst shared his feelings on Hoop Collective. The possible reason? Both of the brothers were reportedly against selling the team to Walter for $10 billion.

Although relieved of their duties, Joey and Jesse will continue to hold a “single-digit percentage” in the team’s ownership. But while more from the decision will be uncovered soon, even the brothers feel their elder sister concocted the decision. “Jeanie has effectively kept herself in place with her siblings fired,” they told ESPN.

This isn’t the first time Jeanie Buss has had a difference of opinion with her siblings. Notably, in 2017, she removed Jim Buss as the president of basketball operations, bringing in Magic Johnson. That led to both him and Johnny Buss fighting against their sister, resulting in a legal battle that saw them drift away from the Lakers.

Brian Windhorst sees this to be a similar situation. The brothers disagreed with the sale, despite receiving nearly a billion each, according to Windy. Hence, the ESPN analyst deduces that “This is done with venom,”. Jeanie Buss’ past doesn’t disregard the possibility. Windhorst even claims their father, Jerry Buss, would have never fired a family member. “The only person that can fire a Buss is a Buss,” Windhorst also noted.

Mark Walter may not have been against the decision, but the veteran analyst is convinced this was Jeanie Buss’ doing, partly because of her brothers’ resistance to sell the team. However, it wasn’t just them who got laid off.

Jeanie Buss going a step further may put the Lakers in trouble

The Buss brothers had done a splendid job as the heads of the scouting department. They found the likes of Alex Caruso, Austin Reaves, Kyle Kuzma, and more. The players either generated a trade or contributed to a banner. But what makes this a move out of “venom” is Buss’ decision to fire Joey and Jesse’s entire team.

The results they produced weren’t considered. It seems that the Lakers wanted to remove every trace of their influence on the franchise. But Brian Windhorst feels the decision to fire their entire scouting team could really backfire for the Purple and Gold. It’s all about the timing of their decision.

“This is, blood is thicker than water here because, you know, you would not fire your scouting staff. Even if you hated your director of scouting, you would not fire them in November. And certainly their whole staff, you would say, okay, I’ll fire you one day after the draft,” Windhorst added. The trade deadline allows for a complete turnaround for a franchise. It’s happened numerous times, including when Luka Doncic’s Mavericks went to the NBA Finals. Not having any personnel to make decisions about the roster could limit what the Lakers achieve this season.

Their start has been phenomenal, and they are healthy with LeBron James’ return. But there’s still room to improve as a three-point shooting team and to tighten the defense. In such cases, scouts play a primary role in filtering players who can make an immediate impact during the final stages of the race to the playoffs.

And the Lakers can’t create a new team without trying to poach scouts from other franchises. With next year’s draft being loaded too, the unavailability of crucial input from their analysts who have been successful in recent years might hamper the Lakers’ future.