[Oram] Sources say Phil Jackson, the Lakers legend and ex-fiancé of Buss, whose presence at Saturday’s win against Golden State was highlighted by the team’s Twitter account, has been in frequent contact with Buss about team matters all season long.

On Pelinka:

And often, it seems, the significance of the history she has with each of her chosen allies is lost on most observers. Take Pelinka, for example, the longtime agent for Bryant and close friend of Buss, who sources say still has her full support and trust.

On the Rambii:

Then there are the Rambises. Kurt Rambis remains incredibly influential, the former Laker and Phil Jackson friend/coaching disciple acting as Pelinka’s right-hand man in the front office under the title of senior basketball advisor. His failures in non-Lakers ventures, both as head coach in Minnesota and the Knicks when he worked under Jackson, simply don’t matter when it comes to the calculus or his stature here.

As we’ve written before, Kurt’s wife and best friend of Jeanie, Linda, was hired by the late Dr. Jerry Buss to work in the Lakers marketing department in the late 1970s and became partners with Jeanie when they ran the L.A. Strings of the World Team Tennis League together. They made a complementary pair in Dr. Buss’ eyes, both in business style and personality. To this day, with Linda’s far-reaching and ambiguous Lakers role often inspiring confusion and criticism both inside the organization and out, that long-ago endorsement from Dr. Buss still matters a great deal in terms of the unique dynamics here.

On Phil

Sources say Jackson, the Lakers legend and ex-fiancé of Buss, whose presence at Saturday’s win against Golden State was highlighted by the team’s Twitter account, has been in frequent contact with Buss about team matters all season long. The complicated and often uncomfortable dynamics surrounding the Westbrook situation, in particular, are known to have drawn his interest. As unofficial consultants go, they don’t get much more experienced or credible than Jackson.

On Magic Johnson:

As Jeanie told our Bill Oram recently, she still relies on Johnson in the kind of way that surely impacts her view of this team and the uncertain future ahead.

“To me, he’s still working with us,” she said. “In terms of his support, his wisdom, his insight, I freely call on him as needed.”

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