With the Los Angeles Lakers mired in the worst years in franchise history, owner Jeanie Buss has turned to Magic Johnson to lead them back to championship contention.

And she removed her own brother from his job to do it.

Jeanie Buss fired general manager Mitch Kupchak on Tuesday and put Johnson in charge of basketball operations. Jim Buss also was dismissed as the Lakers’ executive vice president of basketball operations in a major shake-up of the struggling team’s front office.

Jim Buss retains his ownership stake in the team, but Jeanie Buss has final say under the structure set up by their late father, Jerry Buss. She used it to chart a new course for the 16-time NBA champion franchise, which has the NBA’s third-worst record at 19-39.

The Lakers are almost certain to miss the playoffs for a team-record fourth straight season, and they posted the worst record in team history during each of the previous three years.

“It was such a hard to decision to make, that I probably waited too long,” Jeanie Buss said in an interview on Spectrum SportsNet, the Lakers’ television network. “For that, I apologize to Laker fans. Now, with clarity and direction, and after talking with Earvin, a change was needed.”

Just 19 days after Johnson returned to the Lakers in an executive role, Jeanie Buss decided the Hall of Fame point guard will be the Lakers’ decision-maker.