LOS ANGELES — In the days and weeks leading up to her team completing its deal to land superstar Luka Doncic, Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss knew the importance of keeping trade talks with the Dallas Mavericks limited to as tight of a circle as possible.
“It was really important to me that we didn’t blow up the team,” Buss said Thursday before the Lakers’ 111-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. “If it had leaked out and the trade hadn’t happened, that would be really unfair to the progress that the coaching staff had made with the team. Because it’s a huge distraction.”
Mavs general manager and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison first approached L.A.’s vice president of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka with the trade concept on Jan. 7 when the Lakers were in Dallas. The trade was agreed upon three and a half weeks later, with Harrison, Pelinka, Buss and Mavs ownership the only people privy to discussions until Feb. 1, when the deal was finished.
“The trade deadline is part of the business, it increases the level of stress for everybody,” Buss said. “And I’m really proud that it didn’t leak out and that we were able to execute the trade in a way that still was surprising to all the parties involved. But that goes with this business.”
Now that Doncic is a Laker, Buss is more than happy to shout about his acquisition from the rooftops. Buss spoke to reporters Thursday to promote the new Netflix comedy series “Running Point,” inspired by her life running the team. Kate Hudson portrays the character Isla Gordon, based on Buss. And Buss is an executive producer for the project, which debuted Thursday.
“Everyone thinks, ‘Was this trade done to promote the show?’ I don’t think so,” Buss joked.
The Doncic acquisition caused Buss to reflect on two major moves from the franchise’s past that went different directions: trading for Pau Gasol with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, 17 years to the day before the Doncic deal; and the deal for Chris Paul with the New Orleans Hornets that was vetoed by late NBA commissioner David Stern.
“There’s always this concern there’s going to be some new ruling that, like, now what’s going to happen?” Buss said, when asked about any backlash L.A. could receive from the trade that shocked the league. “But what I have complete confidence in Rob is that he knows how to walk a deal through step by step to make sure that everything is complete and buttoned up, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Beyond the vote of confidence in Pelinka for how he handled the trade negotiations, Buss also offered support for first-year coach JJ Redick — despite admitting that she initially had reservations about bringing him in.
“I was worried about hiring a rookie coach,” Buss said. “This team is so important to this community, and to bring in a rookie coach that had no experience before, that was a big leap. But I knew that [Redick and Rob Pelinka] would work well together, and I love watching the progress that they’re making.”
While the Lakers have endured many ups and downs since Buss assumed team governor responsibilities following the death of her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, the purple and gold are currently in a good place. After Thursday, they have won 14 out of 17 games; they landed an international phenom in Doncic; and Buss tapped into her team’s Hollywood appeal for “Running Point.”
With the Lakers celebrating “Girl Dad Night” on Thursday, Buss was asked what her dad would think about Doncic becoming a Laker.
“He’d be very proud,” she said. “When you get a player of that stature, you have to give up a lot. But it’s like, my dad was such a great poker player and he said that he always wanted me to remember that poker was a game of patience. That you had to wait for the right cards, but once you got the cards, you had to go from zero to 100 and play the cards and not be afraid to play them. So, it was difficult because we were not looking to trade Anthony Davis or Max Christie. But it was a deal that he would’ve made, and we had to go for it.”
Source: espn.com