Lakers fire executives Joey and Jesse Buss as new ownership digs in

The restructuring of basketball operations claims brothers and scouts in first shakeup.

- BY BRODERICK TURNER AND THỤC NHI NGUYEN

The Lakers confirmed that Joey and Jesse Buss, who both had been executives with the team, are no longer with the franchise.

The announcement was made Thursday in a move many figured would come later with changes to the Lakers' basketball operations department after Mark Walter became the majority owner.

The sale was at a $10-billion valuation and was approved by the NBA board of governors in October.

According to a person not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, everything with the Lakers is being evaluated and that included firing scouts on Thursday.

It was felt that starting the process now was the best course of action to take, according to one person aware of the situation but not authorized to speak publicly, rather than wait.

Joey Buss was an alternate governor and vice president of research and development with the Lakers while Jesse was the team’s assistant general manager.

“We are extremely honored to have been part of this organization for the last 20 seasons,” Joey and Jesse Buss said in a statement to ESPN, which first broke the story.