National Basketball Association

Jeanie Buss apologizes to Lakers fans, explains why it took 'too long' to fire her brother

Published Feb. 22, 2017 2:17 p.m. ET

Rob Perez

Early Tuesday morning, Los Angeles Lakers part-owner Jeanie Buss went full Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones and wiped the front office of the franchise clean -- firing her brother, Jim Buss as head of basketball operations, general manager Mitch Kupchak, and long time VP of communications John Black.

Only a few hours after the announcement, Jeanie and new head of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, appeared on Spectrum SportsNet to discuss the details behind the shakeup.

While Jeanie and Magic used most of the interview to elaborate on their plans for the future, she did issue a statement regarding her brother -- apologizing to Lakers nation for taking "too long" to remove him from his position.

"It was such a hard decision to make, that I probably waited too long. For that, I apologize to Laker fans. Now, with clarity and direction, and after talking with Earvin, a change was needed. That's why we're here today."

"I wanted for the current front office to have their opportunity to show us what Laker basketball was going to be. It just wasn't going in a direction that was satisfactory for what this organization stands for."