LA Lakers News Roundup: Dr. J gives his input on the GOAT debate, LeBron James gives a shoutout to rapper Jay-Z after his verse in "God Did," and more - August 31st, 2022

Despite the constant media attention, the LA Lakers are actually having a mediocre offseason. They haven't signed any major players, and only time will tell whether their decision to acquire Patrick Beverley was wise.

The biggest criticism of the Lakers last season was that they were old and needed youth. The front office just traded two young promising players, Stanley Johnson and Talen Horton-Tucker, for a 34-year-old Beverley. Thus, you can see why this trade wasn't an instant hit with the fanbase.

However, rumors out of LA suggest they are still in the running for Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Schroder is also still an option.

Let's take a look at some news pieces around the LA Lakers.

LeBron James gives a shout out to famous rapper Jay-Z after he name-dropped him in hit song "God Did"

Famous Rapper Jay-Z, left, with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James and Jay-Z share a special relationship. The world-famous rapper is often seen courtside at James' games. Plus, Jay-Z has name-dropped him on several occasions, most notably in his hit track "Empire State of Mind."

In the song "God Did" by DJ Khaled, Jay-Z is a featured artist alongside Rick Ross, John Legend, Lil Wayne and Fridayy. Jay-Z is also known as HOV, and his verse is now called "HOV DID" as heard in the song. In his verse, he rapped:

"How many billionaires can come from Hov crib? Huh. I count three, me, Ye and Rih. Bron's a Roc boy, so four, technically."

He gave a shoutout to James by calling him one of just four billionaires who came from nothing and grew up in a marginalized community. The other three are himself, Kanye West and Rihanna. King James shared an MSNBC video in which the anchor breaks down Jay-Z's lyrics.

LA Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss almost bought the Dallas Cowboys

Dr. Jerry Buss, left, at the annual Lakers Casino Night benefiting the LA Lakers Youth Foundation

Dr. Jerry Buss was the owner of the Lakers and the man responsible for the Showtime dynasty of the 1980s. The franchise went to 16 NBA Finals, winning 10 championships in 33 years of his ownership. He is one of the most accomplished owners in North American sports history. And a recent revelation is that he was almost the owner of another major franchise, the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.

The Cowboys are currently the most valued sports franchise in the world with a net worth of around $8 billion. The Lakers are fifth on that list with a worth of around $6 billion.

Buss always was a fan of sports and owning teams. He was briefly an owner of the WNBA's LA Sparks, NHL's LA Kings, World Indoor Soccer League's LA Lazers and World Team Tennis' LA Springs.

USA Today's Landon Buford shed light on Buss attempting to purchase the Cowboys on the latest episode of "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers" docuseries.

Julius "Dr. J" Erving calls the MJ-LBJ GOAT debate "unfair"

LeBron James, left, standing next to Julius "Dr. J" Erving

Dr. J believes the ongoing evergreen debate over the greatest of all time between Michael Jordan and LeBron James is unfair. Bally Sports' NBA insider, Brandon Robinson, recently reported on Julius Erving's opinion on the GOAT debate. He chose Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the greatest to ever lace up and when asked to choose between Jordan and James, he said:

"People always make comparisons to people who are done. LeBron may play another six years LeBron may play one year. We don’t really know. It's very subjective."

He believes the debate is not fair because James' career is still ongoing.