Buss Is With Lakers in Spirit, if Not in Body

INDIANAPOLIS —  The Lakers are so close, yet Jerry Buss remains far away.

It has been 20 years since Buss won his first championship as owner of the Lakers, 12 years since he won his fifth.

With his team leading the Indiana Pacers, two games to one, in the NBA finals, Buss has chosen to remain in Southern California instead of joining the crowd in Conseco Fieldhouse.

“The crowd cheers for the wrong team on the road,” Buss said from his beach house in North San Diego County. “Somehow, psychologically, it has a terrible affect on me. I get too nervous, too anxious, and suffer from hyper-anxiety.

“The only time I go to road games is if the game doesn’t mean too much or if it’s the deciding game in the series.”

That doesn’t mean he isn’t feeling the mounting mania surrounding the Lakers.

“I’m very excited,” Buss said. “I really don’t count my chickens before they hatch, but I’m very excited to be where we are.”

Excitement is one thing. Sentiment is another.

It’s possible that the Lakers could win the NBA championship and have a significantly different roster when training camp opens in October.

Changes will happen.

“I think whether we win or lose, we’re pretty much determined to do the same thing,” Buss said. “Having watched this team in action, we know where some of our weaknesses are and we will attempt to correct them.”

The Lakers’ biggest defensive problem in the playoffs came at power forward, where Sacramento’s Chris Webber and Portland’s Rasheed Wallace did damage against A.C. Green and Robert Horry.

Green is a free agent, as is backup center John Salley. Reserve guard Brian Shaw, whose bright spots this year included some big games against Portland, also is a free agent.

Of course, the most closely watched free agent will be Glen Rice. The Lakers sent away a good chunk of their youth and athleticism when they traded Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Rice. Rice has struggled to fit in and hasn’t provided the consistent outside threat the Lakers need to balance Shaquille O’Neal’s inside dominance.

“I like Glen,” Buss said. “He has not had the year that he had hoped for. For that, I feel very sorry.

“My reaction to that [free agent] situation is to wait until the season’s over, talk to my coach, talk to my general manager, and get a consensus.”

There’s a long way to go before there’s a consensus between Phil Jackson and Rice about Rice’s playing time. It didn’t help that Rice’s wife, Christina Fernandez Rice, chimed in with her criticisms of Jackson in the wake of Rice’s limited minutes in the Game 3 loss.

“I think everybody’s emotional at this time of the year,” Buss said. “And Christina is entitled to her statements just like anybody else.

“It seems like every year when we get into the playoffs there is somebody whose emotions overflow. I’m kind of used to this. I don’t treat it that seriously.”

This is a very mild controversy compared to the trials of 1999, which might have been the most difficult year of Buss’ tenure. He came under criticism for subjecting the franchise to Dennis Rodman. When the Rice trade started to look like a bad deal for the Lakers, the blame was passed along to Buss.

But when he broke from personal philosophy and signed off on hiring Jackson for $30 million over five years, he showed a willingness to make the right moves to restore the Lakers to championship levels.

It’s all coming to fruition, perhaps even ahead of schedule.

“I think it’s a real vindication of the hard work Jerry West, Mitch Kupchak and myself have done the last 10 years,” Buss said. “It’s tough to get back on top. Ask any of the other teams.”

None of the other champions of the 1980s--Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit--are even close to competing for a title.

And he doubts that there we ever be a dynasty like his Lakers of the 1980s or the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s.

“Certainly with the [salary] cap rules, it’s very difficult for one team to dominate for a long time,” Buss said. “Also, since there’s more teams, mathematically, statistically, it’s more difficult to do.”

“If a really dominating player came out and he had sufficient help, there could be a dynasty.”

The Lakers have a dominant player in Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant is more than just sufficient help. Bryant is under contract for five more years, O’Neal has three years left on his deal and probably will sign an extension.

So do the Lakers have the makings of a dynasty?

“I don’t think the two of them alone,” Buss said. “If we could add a few more players. . . .

“But there are the cap rules. you just have to be lucky in that situation. It’s a stroke of luck that teams get certain players.”

Getting players costs money, and the standards of NBA money have changed.

Mere millions made in real estate, as in the Buss fortune, is nothing compared to the billions the technology world has generated for Paul Allen and Mark Cuban.

The Lakers do have access to new revenue streams such as the luxury suites now that they play at Staples Center.

“It’s not really a question of whether or not Staples can make the Lakers competitive,” Buss said. “The Lakers are going to make money. The question is, should we be responsible as a franchise? The answer is yes.”

By that, Buss means the Lakers won’t spend freely. He will keep a watchful eye on the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax that kicks in next year.

And he will keep watching Laker games--the home games, at least--from his usual spot in the owner’s box.

“I don’t ever intend to sell the Lakers,” he said.

The value may never be higher. Then again, the excitement could just be starting.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.