Jerry Buss RIP

This is a baseball blog, but successful franchises in any sport can always look to Jerry Buss and his ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers as a model for ownership. One can say that he had great coaches like Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, one can say that he had great talent evealuators like Jerry West and Mitch Kupchak. One can also say that he had great players- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, to name the top dogs. That would all be true.

But someone had to see the talent in those guys, especially West. Someone had to know when to involve themselves in the nitty-gritty and whe to stay out of the way. Buss was a master at that. Someone also had to feel the pulse of the team and know when the times were changing for instance when they traded Shaq. Was it too early? too late?. You don't take anything away from the front office, but Jerry would've had to sign off on that. Someone also had to know not to lose their cool during sudden hard times, for instance when Magic revealed he was HIV positive.

On top of the teams, there was the brand. He created Showtime. He made it so Staples Center and the Forum were and continue to be the place to be. There were great teams, but Buss pushed it up a notch and made it into Hollywood-worthy entertainment, which it continues to be. He probably had lots of help their too.

Sometimes being a great leader is not only leading thecharge, but it's also picking the right people to surround you and letting them do their jobs. The success of the Lakers over the last three decades is testamnt to this.