After missing the postseason for three straight years, including setting the franchise record for losses in two of them, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss believed it was time for a change.
So this past February she fired her own brother, Jim Buss, who was vice president of basketball operations, and general manager Mitch Kupchak.
She replaced them with perhaps the most recognizable face in Los Angeles, former Laker great Magic Johnson, who took over as president of basketball operations. The pair then hired former sports agent Rob Pelinka to take over as general manager.
Neither Johnson nor Pelinka had any front office experience before taking over the Lakers, so the decision came with a bit of skepticism throughout the league.