Jim Buss has taken a larger role with the Los Angeles Lakers as his father, Jerry Buss, decreases his own involvement.
"It's a collective effort on every step," Jim Buss said. "Mitch (Kupchak) might have his own thoughts. He might make some phone calls to see if it's even possible. And he'll introduce it to me, and I'll say, 'Give me a day to work out some numbers and see if I think it's a fit.' Basically it's the value part I do.
"I'm not going to question if he likes a guy. Maybe I'd say, 'Mitch, by my numbers, the guy's a $3 million player. Right now, the market's dictating he's getting six. We just can't do it.' "
Buss said he more often defers to Kupchak's feel for team building.
"That's the area that is gray for me," Buss said. "Mitch is fantastic at saying, 'Well, he's a good player, but he doesn't fit our team.' Breaking down a player, you can do so much number-wise. But you need that extra 'does he fit?' "
Kupchak describes Buss as "a student of the game."
"We collaborate on everything," Kupchak said. "Like his dad, he has his opinions on players. Like his dad, he's good with numbers. And he's got his own way of looking at the game and how he evaluates players."
Buss continually updates and tweaks his numbers system, which separately has breakdowns off offense and defense.
Kupchak is direct when it comes to who is representing Lakers ownership in basketball decisions already.
"He has gradually taken the place of his dad," Kupchak said. "It's almost been a complete transition, really."
Six years ago, Jerry Buss sat in his living room and said: "Slowly I would like to turn it over to Jim to see how effective my strategy is while I'm still alive – and still have time to correct it if I didn't do it right."