The Lakers Pondered Leaving Downtown LA For Inglewood

The Madison Square Garden Company is in the early stages of a lawsuit against the city of Inglewood, California, as the New York City based live sports and entertainment entity attempts to block the LA Clippers from building a new arena three blocks south of The Forum, the former Lakers and Kings home venue, which MSG has remodeled into a premiere West Coast music venue.

The potential new Clippers plot of land, along with The Forum, sit on each side of the Rams and Chargers under construction football stadium, which is scheduled for completion in 2020.

With the discovery portion of the civil proceeding in full swing, the LA Times unearthed a series of fascinating email exchanges that are now part of the bevy of documents being produced for the case.

The emails include MSG senior executive Irving Azoff and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss flirting with the idea of relocating the Lakers to Inglewood, ahead of the Clippers, with the goal of the two groups rebuilding the Forum from scratch.

The pair also discusses the rather unflattering nickname they have for Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, with Buss also expressing her thoughts on brother Jim Buss, whom she forced out of the organization in the period around when these emails occurred.

The captivating Nathan Fenno piece is available via this link.