Jeanie Buss was disappointed that Dwight Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers to sign with the Houston Rockets, but she believes her late father, Dr. Jerry Buss, could have convinced the big man to stay.

"They would've probably had a better relationship if my dad hadn't been sick," Jeanie Buss said. "When it came time to try to convince Dwight to stay, we lost the best closer in the business in Dr. Buss.

"Putting up billboards maybe wasn't the right thing. But we maybe have to learn to do things differently because Dr. Buss isn't here anymore. People said [of the billboards], 'Oh, that's not the Laker way.' Well, the Laker way isn't the same, because Dr. Buss isn't here."

Jim Buss represented Lakers ownership in meetings with Howard during free agency.

"I think it was redundant," Jeanie Buss said, explaining her decision not to attend. "My brother was there to represent ownership, so I don't really think there was any reason for me to be there."