When Mark Walter acquired the Los Angeles Lakers as the majority shareholder, organizational shakeups were bound to happen.

The Buss family, the longtime majority owners of the Lakers dating back to the Showtime days with Dr. Jerry Buss, have had longstanding roles within the organization. Jeanie Buss has served as the governor of the team since 2013 while her two brothers, Jesse and Joey Buss, have also served roles in the team's development department. 

Joey was the alternate governor and vice president of research and development for the team, while Jesse was the assistant general manager, serving a major role in the scouting of players.

Those days, at least for Jesse and Joey, have come to an end. The two brothers have been removed from their operational roles within the team, it was announced Thursday. The decision seemingly come as a surprise to the brothers, as they felt they were being phased out of direct roles within the team even before the sale was final.

"I think typically that’s how things go, and you know, whenever a franchise is sold, there’s a restructuring of the basketball operations department. Obviously, over the last two years, I’ve been dealing with quite a bit of health issues. I’m currently undergoing treatment for that," Jesse Buss said (via Dan Woike of The Athletic). 

Buss didn't disclose what specific health issues he was facing, but continued, "And I kind of noticed around the same time that things were different within our organization, within the front office and just the basketball operations department. I kind of felt siloed quite a bit, dating back to before, I guess, the 2023 draft. And I kind of didn’t think much of it."

In Buss' interview with Woike, he detailed a  breakdown in communication between himself and the rest of the front office, namely general manager Rob Pelinka and his sister Jeanie. Buss stated that he hadn't spoken to either of them in five months, saying that the last time he communicated with Jeanie was when she informed him there would be a vote on the sale of the team.

The Buss brothers have been credited with key contributions to Lakers' scouting in recent years, including finding players like Austin reaves, Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma, to name a few. 

A large swatch of the scouting department was fired alongside the brothers including Sean Buss, half brother to Jesse and Joey, Aaron Jackson, Can Pelister and Moses Zapata. 

While no longer directly involved in the team's development and scouting operations, the Buss brothers retain their minority stake in the Lakers. 

"We wish things could be different with the way our time ended with the team," the brothers told ESPN in a statement. "At times like this, we wish we could ask our Dad what he would think about it all."