Los Angeles Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Hospitalized With Cancer

79-year old Jerry Buss hasn’t attended a Lakers game since the 2011 season due to failing health, and now reports are surfacing that he’s in the hospital with an undisclosed form of cancer. Buss — who purchased the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 and has won 10 NBA championships since — is reportedly getting treatment in the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Per the LA Times: “He’s doing fine,’ Buss’ son Jim said. ‘We just aren’t going to make any comments on it. We’ve been dealing with this.’ Buss, 79, has not attended any games this season after being a fixture in his luxury suite halfway up the arena behind the Lakers’ bench. He maintained an extremely low public profile last year, emerging briefly to release a complimentary statement about Derek Fisher when the longtime Lakers guard was traded in a rare cost-cutting move in March. Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have visited Buss at various stages since finding out about his condition, which was diagnosed at an unknown point last year. […] Buss has been in the hospital numerous times the last two years. He underwent an undisclosed surgery last August and was admitted a month earlier for what the team called dehydration. He was also hospitalized in December 2011 for blood clots in his leg caused by excessive travel, according to the team. Over the years, Buss has gradually handed more power to his daughter Jeanie, in charge of the business side of the team, and Jim, who oversees basketball operations. Before his most recent medical issues, Buss continued to take part in decision making for the Lakers. Buss weighed in on the hiring of Coach Mike D’Antoni in November and, a few months before that, was eager to meet Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, high-profile Lakers additions who visited him separately after being acquired.”