Boston Celtics fans know the 2025-26 season wasn't built to win it all this season. Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens made sure to make things fun with the roster, though. In general, the rest of the year is about fun after the heartbreak of Jayson Tatum's Achilles tear. That injury caused this to be a win-later squad.
When it comes to fun, the joy of it is that it's not confined to internal improvements and positive on- and off-court developments. No, fun can be reserved for watching the Los Angeles Lakers' front office implode.
On Thursday, Lakers President Jeanie Buss terminated her brothers, part-owners Joey and Jesse Buss, from their front-office positions (h/t @DanWoikeSports). Jesse responded that “She’s fired everyone," and that's true to a degree. Much of the scouting staff has also been let go, too, sources told ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
New majority stake owner, billionaire Mark Walter, bought into the team for a record $10 billion this past year. One of his first orders of business was to turn Buss against her family. A shrewd move to say the least.
It was a house-cleaning. It was a display of executive-level dysfunction for the bad guys. And it was glorious to watch from the East Coast. Especially because of the point it proved about the Celtics, which were also recently sold.
Latest Lakers Drama Is Music to Celtics Fans' Ears
There was no house cleaning from Stevens & Co. after the group led by Bill Chisholm bought a majority stake in the Celtics from Wyc Grousbeck, who chose to remain on as the team's CEO, earlier this year.
Evidently, the ship Stevens was running was more than good enough. And even though the Celtics made the postseason 11 years in a row, Stevens was given the green light to clear up the team's books and trade away Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Boston native Georges Niang, who never got to play a minute in a Cs uniform, in a tanking effort.
The Lakers didn't have the same organizational stability. And now, their president has to live with firing her family. Maybe that won't impact Jeanie at all. The Lakers are 3.5 games behind the No. 1 overall seed in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The on-court product might not be affected at all, but the moment things go sour in L.A., all hell will break loose. Meanwhile, Boston is built to host a contender that'll be around for years.
LeBron James is close to retiring and has an expiring contract. He may want to play elsewhere after 2025-26, especially if the front office continues to create headaches. Luka Doncic is only signed on for two years after this one, plus a 2028-29 player option, so it isn't like he's guaranteed to be a long-term Lakers fixture either.
The Lakers are built to crash and burn, while the Celtics are built to survive Tatum's injury and build a young core around him and Jaylen Brown after trading away their win-now supporting pieces. It's just another reason why Boston fans will take great pleasure in seeing their long-time rival deal with more unnecessary (but welcomed) drama.