Lakers President Jeanie Buss on Monday said the move to hire Magic Johnson as President of Basketball Operations and fire her brother Jim Buss was "probably the most difficult decision I've ever had to make," according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Buss addressed fans at Staples Center on Monday night at the 13th annual Lakers All-Access event, and said not making the playoffs again for the fourth consecutive year is "not the Laker basketball that I grew up wanting." Buss: "It’s not the product that we want to deliver to the fans. So I think that we needed that kind of vision, and not only the way (Johnson) sees the basketball court and what goes on there, but also what the Lakers mean to the community.” She said of not hiring Johnson sooner, “I am a person who wants continuity, and change is difficult for anybody, but I agonized over it, thought about it and I think that’s what took so long to make the decision, is that it was so difficult.” Buss added, “There really is never a right time to make a change like that. But once I knew in my heart that it was the right decision, then there was really no time like the present.” Buss said she admires Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, noting he and her late father, Lakers Owner Jerry Buss, "were really good friends, because they both started in sports in the same way.” She said of the new NBA CBA and being able to attract free agents, “Even with an even playing field, there’s something about playing for Lakers fans, Laker nation -- no CBA can make that equal. We have the greatest fans, and they can’t take those away from us with the CBA. As long as they continue to do that, I think the Lakers will have an edge” (ESPN.com, 2/28).
