Jim Buss is extremely high on the Los Angeles Lakers' young core of D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle.
“I think we’ve done a great job (rebuilding)," said Jim Buss in an extended profile by Sam Amick. "Yeah, I think we’re in dynamite position. Not good position – dynamite. I think we’ve turned the corner. I don’t know if you discount that terminology, ‘turn the corner.’ But when you’re headed down the wrong road, and you can finally get off that road and turn the corner, that’s huge in my opinion.”
Buss' favorite may become Russell, who he doesn't regret taking over Jahlil Okafor.
“If you watched (Russell) worked out, if you heard what our scouts said about him and what they said about Okafor and other players, it got to the point where we could not pass on him,” Buss said. “He’s that special in a lot of people’s books.”
Buss put himself on a timeline that the Lakers would be contenders by the summer of 2017 or he would step down.
“I (shared the timeline publicly to the Los Angeles Times in April of 2014) because I basically wanted people to know what timeframe I’m working on,” Buss said. “It became news, but I don’t want to be here if I can’t turn this around. And it’s not turning it around – it’s just your normal progression of teams in the NBA.
“We’re ahead of (the schedule), so I’m fine with it. I think we’ve turned the corner, exactly like we have (planned). Get a free agent next (summer), and then I think we compete.”