The Lakers aren't scared of LeBron James and his Miami Heat Superfriends.
So says the team's owner, Dr. Jerry Buss.
"Hardly," Buss told FanHouse when asked if the teaming of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh had him clutching his latest championship trophy in fear. "I didn't pay much attention to (Thursday's announcement from James). I was curious to see where he went, and once I found that out that was that."
Buss' sentiment was shared by many in the NBA's first day of summer league action, where there was plenty of intrigue about what the three stars could accomplish together but also skepticism because of their nonexistent supporting cast. Miami is reportedly closer to fixing that problem, though, as deals for sharpshooter Mike Miller and forward Udonis Haslem appear to be in the works.
Still, the Lakers -- as Buss made clear, are hardly giving the early nod to the Heat in the Eastern Conference race.
"Somebody in the East will come out, and our job is to beat them, whoever it is," he said. "There are a lot of good teams over there. I don't automatically hand them the title. I think Orlando is very good. I think Chicago is going to be better. Boston, certainly, is tough. We know about that. So let's wait until things get going."
