Letters: As Lakers’ off-seasons go, this one’s already way off

Does Jim Buss realize he’s been played like a version of The Good, Bad, and the Ugly by former Lakers?

The Logo (the Good) continues to perform his magic, albeit with other teams who make the Lakers look like D-League contenders.

Then there’s the Mamba (the Bad), who held the Lakers captive for so long he single-handedly alienated the entire league from even considering joining the team.

The Ugly is the result of the Logo’s current influence and the Mamba’s legacy: Overpaying middle-of-the-road players only to cobble together enough warm bodies to fill a roster.

Stand by, Lakers fans, it’s going to get uglier: Another miserable season kicks off in three months.

Pete Russo

San Clemente

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Luke Walton saw Festus Ezeli every day in practice. Did he not see a seven-footer with a huge upside and the need to fill a huge void in the Lakers’ lineup? Did he not try to convince management that this should be a priority over Clarkson, Deng, and most certainly Mozgov? All that money available with Kobe Bryant’s retirement goes to complete waste.

But we have to remember, this is the Buss way to win a championship.

Gil Moe

Palm Desert

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Jerry West lives in L.A. Plays golf and cards at Bel Air Country Club, yet he works for a NoCal team? Why don’t we just send Vinny up to AT&T Park to call games for the Giants?

Mark Mozilo

Pasadena

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Jerry West left the Lakers because he was tired of the garbage going on in the organization. Jerry Buss should have told his kids to go into another line of work and given West anything he wanted. If that would have happened do you think this fiasco would exist today? No, we would be the Golden State Warriors.

Bruce Olson

Lake Arrowhead

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Is there a countdown clock for Jim Buss regarding his last day with the Lakers? Seems like the clock is speeding up.

Larry Londre

Los Angeles

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The Lakers need new management. Nepotism seems to be a recipe for mediocrity.

Richard Leeds

Irvine

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The spirit of Buzzie Bavasi lives on in the Lakers front office. They replaced Kobe Bryant with “a couple of 8-7 pitchers.”

David Hawkins

Anaheim Hills

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“Coachable” is the word used to describe hope for the new Lakers players? I was sort of hoping for the word “parade-able.”

Monte Whaley

Redondo Beach

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How can the current NBA czar let the Durant/Golden State deal go forward after what the former commish did in stifling the Paul/Lakers transaction? Shameful on both counts.

John R. Grush

Mission Viejo

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Kevin Durant cites “his development as a man” in making his choice. Are you kidding me? A real man would have stayed in Oklahoma City, the only team he had ever played for, and fought hard to bring a championship to the city that had always supported him.

Scott Scheffer

Leander, Texas

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When the Warriors beat up lesser teams next year, I’m sure that Kevin Durant will be just as proud as the Harlem Globetrotters were when they demolished the Washington Capitals.

Richard Raffalow

Valley Glen

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With the way most NBA owners are handing out exorbitant long-term contracts not justified by past performance, it looks like they are dedicating their off-season to former Eagles owner Leonard Tose — they have lost it.

Ken Feldman

Los Angeles

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Regarding the Austin Rivers signing: Eight points a game gets you a $10-million contract? Soon, very soon, most fans will not pay for this…

Brian Haueter

Ventura

Turn back the clock

Fifty years ago, in 1966, the Orioles and Dodgers played a midweek day game at Dodger Stadium. It was the World Series, Jim Palmer vs. Sandy Koufax, and I watched it on a beautiful color TV.

Now, the same two teams are playing in the same stadium in another midweek day game. It is 2016, Kevin Gausman vs. Bud Norris, and I am only able to listen to it on an old radio.

Thanks, Dodgers, for your progress over the last half century.

Jim Bendat

Los Angeles

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Too bad Bud Norris missed his opportunity. With the Dodgers void in leadership with Kershaw on the disabled list and Norris pitching six shutout innings in his inaugural L.A. game, he would have hit a home run in fans’ hearts had he entered the dugout in the bottom of the sixth and loudly questioned his offensively complacent teammates’ motivation to support Andrew Friedman’s Band-Aid acquisition. Dave Roberts would have silently thanked him because he doesn’t have the same courage.

Gary Avise

Indio

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Corey Seager could greatly increase his chances of winning the home run derby by bringing along Chris Hatcher to pitch to him.

Bennett Beebe

Westwood

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The home run derby hurt Yasiel Puig, ruined Joc Pederson’s rookie year and now they’re allowing Corey Seager to participate? Hey, Andrew Friedman, you go down there and ruin your swing instead.

Bill Nuss

Brentwood

See Larry run

Larry Brown is quitting Southern Methodist because SMU might be banned from the NCAA tournament and lose scholarships. If he stayed at SMU he wouldn’t be able to make the tournament regardless of how the team does. So staying at SMU would punish Brown. Now Brown can coach anywhere without any punishment. If SMU is punished, Brown should be punished also wherever he goes.

Edward Drossman

New York

Grass is greener

Bill Plaschke’s July 3 column on Glendora American Little League field maintenance director Ted Haller was so creatively and wonderfully written. As a former GALL president and 17-year board member I worked directly with Ted and was able to observe much of what he accomplished in his 37 seasons of giving to our community’s children through his work on their fields. No person in the history of the Glendora sports community has lived the life of a selflessly giving servant heart more than Ted Haller ... and no person ever will.

Mr. Plaschke, thank you so much for choosing to tell Ted’s story and telling it so well!

Michael Gorski

Glendora

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Pretty damn sure I was not the only person misty-eyed while reading Bill Plaschke’s wonderful tribute to the magnificent Ted Haller. In this brain-lite, self-involved era of Donald Chump, the Carcrashians and Fox News, it’s heartwarming to read about someone like Mr. Haller.

PS: Who wrote the “King of Mow Town” headline? It deserves a journalism prize.

Jack Grimshaw

Lake Forest

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