Jeanie Buss Felt LeBron James Was Ungrateful After Lakers Drafted Son Bronny

Lakers boss Jeanie Buss has reportedly been quietly losing patience with LeBron James … and the spark? Buss was privately fuming behind the scenes after the team drafted Bronny James with the 55th pick in 2024 because King James didn’t exactly show his appreciation, according to an ESPN report on how family infighting drove the $10 billion sale of the iconic franchise. Buss saw the pick as a major gesture of loyalty to the James family, and she expected a little appreciation from LeBron, but instead, she believes he shrugged it off, and it irked Jeanie there was a lot of uncertainty around Bronny, and his draft position. He barely had a chance to show his stuff in college playing just 25 games as a freshman at USC after a scary medical incident in July 2023, when he went into cardiac arrest. Bronny's had a quiet start to his career, appearing in just 51 games over two seasons, averaging 1.9 points per game the tension didn’t start with Bronny. Buss has reportedly long been frustrated with Bron's outsized influence over the organization, and his lack of accountability when things go wrong, with Jeanie feeling particularly irked after the disastrous Russell Westbrook trade in 2021 The Lakers went 33-49 and missed the playoffs that year. By 2022, she reportedly mused about not extending his contract and even considered trading him, with the Clippers floated as a possibility. In 2024, LeBron got a two-year, $104 million deal with a no-trade clause included.For Jeanie, drafting Bronny was supposed to be a feel-good, family-friendly moment for the Lakers but instead it worsened Buss' and James' relationship. The Lakers were officially sold in October, with the team changing hands for a whopping $10 billion to billionaire Mark Walter. Buss is still calling the shots as the team’s governor for five years.

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