Jeanie Buss

The endless Twitter messages Jeanie Buss receives in her inbox mostly center on one thing - concern from Laker fans on whether their cable subscriber will feature Time Warner Cable SportsNet, which has a 20-year, $3-billion agreement to showcase Lakers programming including all their games. As The Times' Joe Flint reported, no cable outfit has agreed to TWC's asking price of an additional $3.95 per month to carry the channel. Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president of business operations, conceded that she doesn't have the channel, either.

On farewell day, they waved until their hands hurt. Kobe Bryant pleaded for Lakers management to pay millions to Dwight Howard, millions to Pau Gasol, millions for the luxury tax, anything to keep the Lakers together for the final year of his contract. "It's a lot on the table for them . . . it's a tough call to make," Bryant said. "But then again, it is one more year . . . it's one more year. " Mitch Kupchak confirmed the Lakers still want to re-sign Howard, then pleaded for him to make his decision quickly so they can figure out if they can keep Kobe happy.

About two weeks after her father had surgery for undisclosed reasons, Lakers executive vice president of business operations Jeanie Buss said via Twitter that team owner Jerry Buss is "doing really well. " So well, in fact, that Jeanie Buss indicated that her father had a visit with Kobe Bryant. It's probably safe to say that both were gushing at the possibility of collecting another championship next year. Lakers spokesman John Black recently told The Times' Broderick Turner that Buss' Aug. 9 surgery went well and that he is expected to make a full recovery, but declined to discuss the procedure.

Mark Cuban couldn't resist the urge to take aim with two of his favorite Lakers targets back at Staples Center on Tuesday. The Dallas Mavericks owner was complimentary of Shaquille O'Neal on the night the former Lakers center's jersey was retired, but he gleefully zinged former coach Phil Jackson. "I have great respect for Phil too, Jeanie's husband as he'll now be known," Cuban said, referencing Jeanie Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president and governor who votes on issues at owners' meetings.

Looks as if there may be a reason for a celebration in Lakerland after all. Former Lakers Coach Phil Jackson is apparently engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, who is the executive vice president of business operations for the Lakers. Buss tweeted Thursday evening: Twitter family - Phil finally gave me that ring I wanted!:-) twitpic.com/bs8xc5 - Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) January 4, 2013 She apparently wasn't talking about one of Phil's five championship rings that he got at the helm of the Lakers.

Jeanie Buss couldn't help but laugh. She's been Phil Jackson's longtime companion, yet she says she doesn't even know how much he'd want to coach in the NBA again. "I can't answer that question," said Buss, the Lakers' executive vice president. "Only he can. Nobody's called him. Unless somebody calls, we won't know how to answer that question. " That uncertainty also applies to the New York Knicks after Coach Mike D'Antoni recently resigned. Jackson won 11 NBA championships, six with the Chicago Bulls and five with the Lakers.

The reality show surrounding the Lakers is always captivating. The Lakers' front office is looking to make roster changes. Kobe Bryant is wondering if he'll ever win his sixth NBA championship. Pau Gasol is worrying whether he'll remain a Laker. Andrew Bynum is noticing the angst on whether he will fully mature. Metta World Peace is thriving on acting goofy. The Lakers' reality show rarely focuses just on the basketball court. It focuses on everything off of it too. With Lamar Odom, the Lakers were eventually treated to too many doses of the Kardashian family.

Jerry Buss was a mathematician, a chemist, a savvy entrepreneur, a flamboyant showman. He also might have been my father-in-law, had his daughter, Jeanie Buss, not acted with exquisite grace 25 years ago. Let me explain. On April 28, 1985, I attended a Sunday afternoon picnic in a park. It happened to be on a day that the Los Angeles Lakers were playing the Boston Celtics, and I, a Celtics fan from birth, found myself surrounded by rabid Lakers enthusiasts. A bet was fashioned. If the Lakers lost, my friend would write a proposal of marriage to Celtics forward Larry Bird; if the Celtics lost, I would be required to ask Jerry Buss' daughter for her hand in marriage.

Phil Jackson agrees with his girlfriend ? who agrees with NBA Commissioner David Stern . Jeanie Buss , the Lakers coach's girlfriend and the team's executive vice president of business operations, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that "contraction is something we have to consider" in the NBA. Buss said she would hate to lose teams, but that "we may be in some markets we shouldn't be in. " Jackson was asked...

The Lakers underwent a swift coaching change from Phil Jackson to Mike Brown. The difference? Oh, there's plenty. The Lakers scrapped the triangle offense for a more traditional one. Brown held longer practices and film sessions. The Lakers no longer followed Jackson's practice customs, such as team meditations, book assignments or annual excorcisms. While Jackson offered plenty of zings and opinions about players, the front office, league issues and the media, Brown mostly resorted to coaching cliches.

The Lakers retired Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34 jersey at halftime on Tuesday as the team hosted the Dallas Mavericks. "The most gifted specimen I've ever seen play this game," said Kobe Bryant in a prepared video.  "Historical, the run we had together. " Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson spoke next (to a Staples Center crowd chanting "We want Phil"), reminiscing about the fun times he had with O'Neal and the Lakers. "How much fun we had, the wins, the titles," said Jackson.

Tim Harris once played goalie for the Los Angeles Lazers, an indoor soccer team owned by Jerry Buss. Harris, now an executive with the Lakers, said that as he looks back it was obvious what Buss was doing. "He was setting up these labs for his kids to learn," Harris said. "That's how Jeanie learned and that's how I learned. Jeanie and I chuckle at it now. It wasn't that long ago we were sitting in roller hockey league meetings and now we're sitting in NBA league meetings. " Buss earned his fame and accolades by owning the Lakers and Kings.

Jerry Buss was a mathematician, a chemist, a savvy entrepreneur, a flamboyant showman. He also might have been my father-in-law, had his daughter, Jeanie Buss, not acted with exquisite grace 25 years ago. Let me explain. On April 28, 1985, I attended a Sunday afternoon picnic in a park. It happened to be on a day that the Los Angeles Lakers were playing the Boston Celtics, and I, a Celtics fan from birth, found myself surrounded by rabid Lakers enthusiasts. A bet was fashioned. If the Lakers lost, my friend would write a proposal of marriage to Celtics forward Larry Bird; if the Celtics lost, I would be required to ask Jerry Buss' daughter for her hand in marriage.

  Join us for a live discussion today at 11:30 a.m. when Times Lakers writer Mike Bresnahan and NBA writer Ben Bolch discuss the outlook for the two teams coming out of the All-Star break. Update : Due to technical problems, the live event has been canceled. We will reschedule for another day. Our apologies for the inconvenience. The Lakers will play their first game tonight since the passing of owner Jerry Buss. One of the big questions is just who will be in charge of the franchise now. As Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote this week , "The one-voice culture [running the Lakers]

It would be hard to overstate Jerry Buss' impact on the Lakers empire. The 30-year-plus owner of the NBA franchise, who died Monday at age 80, oversaw an era in which the team averaged a championship almost once every three years and injected some purple and gold into L.A.'s Dodger blue blood. Not surprisingly, The Times' print edition on Tuesday was filled with articles on Buss, both on the front page and in the Sports section. The coverage online has also been exhaustive. But for some readers, The Times' coverage was overkill.

Let's take this a step further. The two basketball experts in town, Magic and Plaschke, have declared Jeanie Buss should be in charge of the Lakers. This has to be a blow to Jimmy Buss, who probably understands he also won't be Phil Jackson's choice as best man. But if Jeanie Jackson is running the Lakers, whom do you think she would like to hire as team president? She's already interviewed him repeatedly, they have experience carpooling to work and I can't imagine she'd be crazy about the idea of getting married and leaving Phil at home alone in the hot tub. Or worse, as The Times' Mike Bresnahan has reported, there's the possibility Phil might take a similar position in Seattle if the Kings move there.

HONOLULU -- The Lakers' off-season was unpredictable, volatile and everything else, and Jeanie Buss has tried to put it in perspective. Buss, the team's executive vice president of business operations, watched the last several months mostly from afar, jumping into the mix for a bit to defend her longtime companion, Coach Phil Jackson, on a talk-radio show. When Oct.

Ron Artest wasn't the only conflict Phil Jackson addressed on Tuesday. An old rival, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban , took issue with Jackson's recent declaration that the Mavericks would find it "very hard" to win consistently without injured forward Caron Butler , who was lost for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. "I love that Jeanie Buss ' boy toy had something to say about us," Cuban told reporters in Dallas. "I don't know if it was his thought or Jeanie's thought, but it's nice to know that she lets him speak in public about other teams.

He was speaking only for his weary and rumpled self, speaking in the singular, sorrowful tones of someone who just lost a boss and friend of more than three decades. But, in one poignant moment while publicly mourning the death of Lakers owner Jerry Buss on Tuesday, Mitch Kupchak could have been speaking for every Lakers fan. "Just knowing that he was there was a good feeling to me," said Kupchak, the Lakers general manager. "And he's gone now. " Just knowing Buss was there was a good feeling for everyone, and the fact that he's gone now has instantly become the most frightening development of the modern Lakers era. Buss was the Lakers' voice.

Amid the tributes and condolences, the lingering sorrow over Jerry Buss' death, now comes the hand-wringing. Lakers fans see Jim and Jeanie Buss in control - no father keeping watch - and wonder if the kids can uphold a winning legacy. Jeanie has already won respect with her intelligence and candor, but has previously focused on the business side of the franchise. Will she - as Magic Johnson has advocated - exert more influence on basketball matters? And what about Jim? The son has been a constant lightning rod for criticism, outsiders guessing at what role he played in controversial decisions such as the hiring of Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson.