They haven't seen their team in the NBA Playoffs for six years, their franchise has lost a legend as team president and couldn't land a seemingly perfect fit as a new head coach in the last two months, and their city's biggest star thinks his own employer is dysfunctional. So the Los Angeles Lakers fan base did what any reasonable fan base wanting to make a true statement would do -- gathered maybe a dozen people to chant outside Staples Center on a Friday afternoon. Protesters talked up the gathering this week, with a University of Arizona graduate headlining the downtown publicity stunt and throwing around words like "nepotism" to describe the Lakers' current state of affairs. And a handful of people did turn up at the intersection of South Figueroa and West 11th streets on Friday, shouting things like "Sell the team!" and "Fire Rambis!" -- a call for the job of Lakers senior adviser Kurt Rambis. Others apparently demanded the team land another "star" after whiffing on a deal to unite Anthony Davis with LeBron James. But to say the crowd was sparse is probably an understatement. Lakers fans may truly want change, but only a small contingent of them appeared to show up outside Staples Center to let the team know about it. Sounds a little symbolic of the whole Lakers organization as a whole, does it not?<doc-sep>Los Angeles Lakers fans are clearly upset with the direction of their franchise and rightfully so. Ever since acquiring LeBron James last summer, the team has struggled to get any real momentum going as they missed the playoffs again with a record of 37-45. Their president of basketball operations stepped down, all while they missed out on the head coach they wanted because they offered him an "insulting" contract. Thanks to these numerous poor decisions, Lakers fans have had enough and yesterday, it was reported that they would hold a protest in front of the Staples Center. There are hundreds of thousands of Lakers fans out there so you would think this would be a pretty large demonstration. Well, if you thought that, you thought wrong. In fact, you're so off that you're probably going to be shocked at how few people made their way to the Lakers arena. In videos posted to Twitter, you can see at most two to three dozen people with signs, making very little noise. If you're the Lakers, you have to be upset at the effort displayed by your fanbase here. Is the Lakers franchise so discombobulated that even their fans don't care anymore? If so, something drastic needs to be done quickly because this is bordering on embarrassment. At this rate, the Lakers will need to acquire Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, a 1993 version of Michael Jordan and the Monstars from Space Jam to make things right.<doc-sep>LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – With the Lakers coming off their sixth straight season missing the playoffs, and still without a head coach, angry fans are holding a protest outside Staples Center Friday demanding changes. Protesters gathered around noon at the intersection of South Figueroa and West 11th streets. The organizer, fan Charlie Rivers, a University of Arizona graduate student, claims that owner Jeannie Buss has allowed nepotism to dictate the direction of the team. “The amount of decisions being made right now is basically the decisions of a few people, as a result of nepotism, instead of those with basketball knowledge on how to run a front office, or those with value to the actual game of basketball,” Rivers told CBS2 by phone Thursday night. Wearing the Lakers signature purple and gold and holding up a sign with an image of LeBron James, one fan told CBSLA the message is clear: the Lakers need help on the court and off. “You know what, we want a star. We want another star free agent,” he said. “KD [Kevin Durant], Kyrie [Irving].” Among the chants heard at the rally: “Fire Rambis”, referring to the Lakers’ senior basketball advisor and cult fan favorite Kurt Rambis. Even Clipper Darrell, the unofficial fan mascot of the Lakers’ cross-town rivals, was on hand to declare the era of the Lakers “over” – which was met with chants of “Clip-pers Suck!”. The protest comes in the wake of news Wednesday that the Lakers’ top head coaching candidate, Tyronn Lue, had pulled out of contract talks with the team. The Lakers offered Lue a three-year, $18 million deal, far less than the five-year, $25 million contract he was expecting, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Lakers were also trying to dictate which assistant coaches Lue hired, according to various reports. Lue was an obvious hire for the Lakers due to his history with star LeBron James and his career as a player for the team. Lue spent three seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers after replacing the fired David Blatt midway through the 2015-16 season. The Cavs went to three straight NBA Finals under Lue, winning the title in 2016. When superstar LeBron James signed with the Lakers last summer, many expected he would immediately push them into title contention, but that has not been the case. The Lakers have been in a state of turmoil since the midway point of the season, when they made a failed attempt to acquire New Orleans Pelicans superstar forward Anthony Davis by offering the Pelicans nearly all their young talent. Then, on April 9, just prior to the final game of the regular season, Magic Johnson abruptly announced he was stepping down as president of basketball operations. Johnson told reporters he was resigning even before he informed Buss. “Somebody’s gonna have to tell my boss,” Johnson said. Three days later, the 37-45 Lakers parted ways with head coach Luke Walton.<doc-sep>
The 2018-19 NBA season was a disaster for the Los Angeles Lakers, who briefly dreamed of an NBA Finals run after landing LeBron James last summer only to watch their once-proud franchise miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Over the course of the last month, Magic Johnson abruptly quit the team without telling anyone, the team parted ways with Luke Walton, and later failed to close a deal with Tyronn Lue, James’ preferred choice to be the next head coach. ESPN reported that former Lakers player and current adviser Kurt Rambis and his wife, Linda Rambis, played a key role in the decision on Lue. As the Lakers continue to search for leadership ahead of a pivotal offseason, fans have had enough. Lakers fans used Reddit to organize a protest of the team, which was staged outside the Staples Center on Friday afternoon. The story quickly went viral, and media was camped out at the arena for hours before a small group of Lakers fans showed up. A very small group of fans chanting “no more Rambis” while seemingly trying to hold back laughter. Lakers fans are making their voices heard at the STAPLES Center 😤 pic.twitter.com/PSqtKqKXfl — SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 10, 2019 There are thousands of disgruntled Lakers fans, if Twitter is any indication, but only a few dozen fans showed up at Staples Center. 'We want another superstar…we want to fire everyone': Lakers fans protest outside Staples Center in frustration over direction of the franchise after missing the NBA playoffs yet again https://t.co/DyipWW4DLR pic.twitter.com/uKxQfkJc2t — CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) May 10, 2019 One fan suggested the Lakers hire the entire Ball family. How Lakers fans want to bring a 🏆 back to Los Angeles in 3️⃣ steps: pic.twitter.com/6NClhbHPEW — SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 10, 2019 Nick Young endorsed one Lakers fan’s call to make him the new general manager. Legendary …. I love it ….swaggy for president https://t.co/7nrXpx46RJ — Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) May 10, 2019