Pictured: Jim Buss - Photo by Kevork Djansezian | Getty Images
Assistant GM Ronnie Lester has been with the Los Angeles Lakers franchise for the last 24 years. Lester has won eight championships with the Lakers. One as a player, and seven as a member of the Lakers front office.
His current contract expires on June 30th, and the Lakers will say farewell.
According to ESPNLA, On June 30th the Lakers will let go of 20 staffers, including all of the scouts that worked under Lester. There has been little communication between the Lakers and their employees, and their current jobs may or may not be open again down the line.
Lester expressed disappointment on how the Lakers are handling the situation:
“It’s awful funny that the Lakers, one of the highest grossing teams in the league, could do this to their employees, just throw them out in the cold,” Lester said.
It seems all that Lester is asking for is an explanation, and to treat loyal employees with respect:
“The Lakers have not done a good job in communicating that to anybody whose contract has ended,” he said. “Obviously the Lakers don’t want these guys back, don’t want the scouts back, or they would’ve said something in that regard. So I don’t think anybody is coming back. They’ve not treated people well in that regard.” Lester said.
Some may not read too much into Lester’s quotes, shrugging it off as a disgruntled employee.
However, if you have followed the off-season you have seen many instances of a lack of communication on behalf of the Lakers. Jim Buss even admitted that they should have notified Kobe Bryant on their decision to hire Mike Brown, and many have criticized the team on how they dealt with Brian Shaw during and after the hiring process of a new head coach.
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