A definitive timeline of the Lakers' Buss family feud

The Game of Thrones jokes were apt. The Lakers' ownership and management situation is a tangled web of sibling fractures and power plays that even George R. R. Martin would have taken far too many years to write out. And like A Song of Fire and Ice, it's not over.

Jeanie Buss fired her brother Jim last month and put Magic Johnson in charge of the Lakers' basketball decision-making. Then she successfully defended her right to do so in court. But all of these decisions are years in the making, dating back to before their father, Dr. Jerry Buss, died in 2013.

To help you make sense of it all, we put together this timeline of the key events in the Buss siblings' - there are six of them, each with distinct roles in the Lakers organization - feud.

1979: The purchase

Jerry bought the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke at the exact right time. The Lakers, under president Bill Sharman and general manager Jerry West, used the No. 1 pick of the 1979 NBA Draft to select Magic Johnson, pairing him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to begin the "Showtime" era of five championships in the 1980s.

1997: The apprenticeship

Chris Carlson, 2005 AP Photo

Jim rejoined the family business after years as a horse trainer. His first role was as an assistant general manager, working under West and Mitch Kupchak. He did not exactly take his lack of experience as a detriment, famously telling Sports Illustrated, "If you grabbed 10 fans out of a bar and asked them to rate prospects, their opinions would be pretty much identical to those of the pro scouts."

1999: The first big promotion

Jeanie, Jerry's third child and first girl, was the first to earn a clearly labeled prominent position with the Lakers. In 1999, at the age of 37, she was promoted to executive vice president of business operations. That set up the organizational plan for whenever Jerry would step down: Jeanie would take over the business, while Jim managed the basketball side.

Also in 1999, Jeanie began dating Phil Jackson, who was beginning as Lakers coach.

2005: The basketball shift

Jim grew out of his old misconceptions and into a new role in what turned out to be a massively important offseason for the Lakers. After the first year without Shaquille O'Neal was a disaster, Jim was promoted to vice president of player personnel. He re-hired Phil Jackson as head coach and drafted high schooler Andrew Bynum in his first offseason.

2012: The Dwight and D'Antoni

Jayne Kamin-Oncea, 2012 USA TODAY Sports

Jim's tenure as Lakers decision-maker never looked brighter than in the summer of 2012, when he brought in Dwight Howard and Steve Nash seemingly on the cheap. The expectations in pairing them with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol were obvious: super-team, championship, "Now this is going to be fun" covers.

Instead, it was a future-mortgaging disaster. And that disaster was compounded by the firing of coach Mike Brown only five games into the season, then the hiring of Mike D'Antoni over Phil Jackson, then Jeanie's fiancé. Jeanie later wrote that she was "stunned" by the move. The biggest critic of these moves? Magic Johnson.

2013: The passing of a legend

Jerry Buss' death hit the entire basketball community hard. He was as aggressive and ambitious an owner as the NBA has ever seen, and his success was nearly beyond comparison. Of course, it shifted the Lakers' world in ways beyond compute. But the biggest changes: Jeanie took over as franchise president, while Jim officially gained final say on basketball decisions, a role he had shared with his father for years. Meanwhile, all six Buss siblings inherited equal shares of their father's 66% stake in the team.

2014: The timeline

In a meeting with his five siblings, Jim set his own expiration date. He then explained it to the Los Angeles Times: "If this doesn't work in three to four years, if we're not back on the top - and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship - then I will step down because that means I have failed," he told The Times about the meeting. "I don't know if you can fire yourself if you own the team … but what I would say is I'd walk away and you guys figure out who's going to run basketball operations because I obviously couldn't do the job."

The timeline became a thing of great discussion and scrutiny over the ensuing three years, all the way up to Jim's firing. Jim told USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick in a definitive profile that he understood it to me he needed to return the Lakers to the playoffs by the 2018 postseason, while Jeanie saw it as the 2017 playoffs - and mandated a second-round appearance or better.

April 13, 2016: The Kobe finale

Kobe Bryant played his final game and scored 60 points against the Jazz. We're not entirely sure how this fits into the discussion yet, but it definitely does. Bryant was beleaguered by injuries over his final three seasons, after the disastrous season with Howard ended with him tearing his Achilles tendon. Jeanie was always very close with Bryant, while Jim incurred his wrath about roster issues several times in their final years together. Jim and Kupchak put together the rebuilding effort that defined Bryant's final seasons, one of losing and lotteries that had no hope of a playoff berth.

December 2016: The breakup

Frank Franklin II, 2015 AP Photo

Jeanie and Phil Jackson, now the Knicks' president of basketball operations, decide to call off their engagement. They announce the breakup separately and amicably on Twitter. That news, along with Jackson's struggles with the Knicks, kills buzz about Jeanie's desire to bring him in as Jim's replacement.

Feb. 2, 2017: The Magic moment

The Lakers announce Magic Johnson, perhaps their greatest legend, was returning to the franchise as an adviser on basketball matters. The important part was that Johnson would be reporting directly to Jeanie despite Jim still maintaining control of basketball decisions. The writing was on the wall.

Feb. 21, 2017: The firing

Almost exactly four years after their father's death, Jeanie fired Jim along with Kupchak and placed Johnson in charge of basketball operations for the Lakers. The team was 19-39 and had no real shot at the postseason, and the trade deadline was two days away. Longtime Lakers spokesman John Black also was fired. "This was a very difficult decision," Jeanie said in an appearance on the Lakers' TV partner. "It was probably so hard for me to make that I probably waited too long. And for that, I apologize to Laker fans."

March 3, 2017: The courtroom

Chris Carlson, 2010 AP Photo

Jeanie went to Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking a restraining order against her brothers Jim and Johnny to prevent them from upending the Lakers' board of directors and her role in it. She was successful in her suit because of a Mobius strip of legal logic that says that as controlling owner, she must be on the board of directors. Jim and Johnny quickly gave up any attempt, if such an attempt was made in the first place, which their lawyer denies.

Still, it's worth noting that in the court documents, Jeanie said, "Jim has already proven to be completely unfit even in an executive vice president of basketball operations role." Those words hurt, especially coming from your younger sister. And they serve as an important reminder:

This family saga isn't over. Buckle up, Los Angeles.