Jeanie Buss Denies Rift With LeBron James, Lakers

Merlin sees Jeanie Buss pushing back hard. She denied ESPN’s Baxter Holmes report that she "began to turn" against LeBron James and warned, "It's really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama." She added, "To say that it wasn't appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him." The story accused her of privately grumbling about LeBron’s influence, the Westbrook fallout, and even musing about not extending or trading him. Merlin knows power and reputation warp quietly in big franchises. With the Buss family sale and leaks about backstage notes, friction between star and ownership will keep surfacing until a clear line of control appears. Watch public moves more than private words; actions will settle the story faster than denials.