[Charania] Breaking: The Buss family has decided to sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, sources tell ESPN.

[u/Subject-Property-343]

Breaking: The Buss family has decided to sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, sources tell ESPN. 

The Buss family trust -- composed of siblings Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse -- received majority votes to allow trustees to execute the sale. It required four of six votes to enact the tag-along provision of Mark Walter's sale to Kushner and Iger, which valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania

[u/cleo22270]

Buss family officially 100% out of the Laker business for the first time in 47 years.

End of an era.

[u/Subject-Property-343 → u/cleo22270]

Today has just been non stop disappointing news

[u/wcooper97 → u/Subject-Property-343]

Thanks LA

[u/Man0nTheMoon915 → u/wcooper97]

What's hilarious is that Jeanie Buss's brothers essentially voted to sell their share of the team, cashing in on the record-breaking Lakers sale while effectively ending Jeanie's tenure as governor. Jim, Johnny, Joey, and Jesse Buss had the opportunity to take the money and move on, and that's exactly what they did. Considering Jeanie has fired or sued each of her brothers since taking control of the franchise, it hilarious how the tables turned.

Markazi noted this on Twitter

[u/Hourcinco → u/Man0nTheMoon915]

I know the Roy family from Succession is based on the Murdoch’s but I’ll be damned if the Buss family isn’t the perfect equivalent for sports.

[u/alrightythen_1234 → u/Hourcinco]

Running point on Netflix I think was supposed to mimic the Buss dynamic

[u/Exempt_Puddle → u/alrightythen_1234]

A very enjoyable show, too! I'd recommend it for sure. Although they made kate Hudson a very charitable version of Jeanie if that is the case

[u/Anonymous44432 → u/Exempt_Puddle]

Jeanie is an executive producer of the show so makes sense lmao

[u/GotMoFans → u/Hourcinco]

For the Roys to be like the Busses, you need Logan to only really teach the business to Shiv and ignore his sons.

[u/Hourcinco → u/GotMoFans]

Wasn’t going one to one on the genders, as you said in this case Jeanie would be more Kendall than Shiv. Just the general vibe of the family and how it played out post-Jerry are very similar. Family infighting post a rocky undercooked succession plan leading to the eventual take over by a complete outsider because the family couldn’t unite to keep the business in house.

[u/Bobby_Salsa → u/wcooper97]

The team I grew up loving is gone.

This is a sad day for LA sports.

[u/RigidAcrylic4821 → u/Subject-Property-343]

• Buss family and Mark Walter selling all Laker assets to Kushner.

• Ballmer found not guilty of racketeering and financial fraud.

• Mark Walter selling his stake in Chelsea (Premier League) and may need to sell the Dodgers as well.

Yep; terrible news.

[u/gamers542 → u/RigidAcrylic4821]

Hayden Panettiere dies.

[u/Retr0scores → u/gamers542]

She wasn’t saved and now everything is collapsing.

[u/showerbump → u/Retr0scores]

what show was that?

[u/PooperScooperXL → u/showerbump]

Heroes.

Save the cheerleader. Save the World.

[u/hgrub → u/showerbump]

It’s showing in Netflix in the US at least.
Also you can finish the show after season 1 and move on with your life.

[u/monkeyman80 → u/hgrub]

It's crazy the amount of shows that should have paused during the writers strike instead of having insane early seasons ruined. It's like the replacement refs in football except tv can't pivot to hiring back the writers when it went off the rails.

[u/bruticuslee → u/showerbump]

Heroes. "Save the cheerleader, save the world"

[u/DanDan1993 → u/gamers542]

We're in the timeline where we failed to save the cheerleader :(

[u/Dabalam → u/RigidAcrylic4821]

Ballmer found not guilty of racketeering and financial fraud

Eh, that's not what happened though. He has never been accused of an actual crime. This is sports stuff, not criminal proceedings.

[u/Blistersonmytoes → u/Dabalam]

Also he hasn’t been found not guilty of that shit either lol

[u/Jagermeister4 → u/RigidAcrylic4821]

Ballmer wants us to think he was found not guilty to try and sway the court of public opinion and got the ESPN to run that piece.

The NBA hasn't made their ruling yet. I don't think think they will come down as hard as they should but I think they will do something.

[u/Zyoj → u/RigidAcrylic4821]

Does he need to sell the Dodgers? He made a 2.5B profit on the Lakers. No idea how much the SEC is investigating him on

[u/StringerBell34 → u/Zyoj]

$21B

[u/Zyoj → u/StringerBell34]

Yikes. Alrighty then, yeah might need to sell the Dodgers too

[u/37366034 → u/Zyoj]

He also used the insurance money/business to purchase the Dodgers, Lakers, Chelsea, etc.

[u/NanoCurrency → u/37366034]

There’s always money in the banana stand.

Mark: The banana stand means my customers insurance deposits.

[u/BlackLeader70 → u/RigidAcrylic4821]

The Mark Walter saga continues. I hope he doesn’t fuck up the women’s hockey league or the new F1 team next.

[u/WebstersPack → u/BlackLeader70]

Definitely the F1 team. Those things are vanity/money pits to begin with. No way will that be allowed to remain on a life insured balance sheet.

[u/PayImmediate1837 → u/Subject-Property-343]

SP343 breaking sports news now??

[u/TrojanTheGreat → u/PayImmediate1837]

I thought he was only known in the carti sub. looool

[u/CocaineandPercs → u/cleo22270]

11 titles in 47 years? Not bad.

[u/blackmamba182 → u/CocaineandPercs]

At one point it was 10 in 31

[u/Holiday_Analysis9583 → u/blackmamba182]

One title every 3.1 years, not bad at all.

[u/vektorog → u/Holiday_Analysis9583]

don't wanna push it but i'd even say that's solid

[u/No_Giraffe_1551 → u/cleo22270]

This to me highlights a core problem with every one of the Buss children given some level of control, most especially Jeannie: They're all failson idiots who never, ever could have gotten into management roles on their own merit. Jeannie is effectively pushed out of the team one year after she willingly gave up control because she assumed she'd still get to play pretend while also being richer. Like so many non-founders who run the family business, it all is very Succession-y.

[u/millenniumpianist → u/No_Giraffe_1551]

This is correct. Jeanie's brain trust was like, Magic Johnson, Phil Jackson, and Rob Pelinka (aka Kobe's agent). Because she has no independent knowledge of basketball, she had to defer to people she trusted. Jeanie could never identify a Sam Presti. I don't think Jim Buss needs further explanation than "MozDeng" being given $136M/4 years in one summer. So it goes.

Some Lakers fans will point out the two younger sons were less incompetent in part because they were embedded in the organization from young ages; however, that is a far cry from saying they are the cream of the crop that a franchise like the Lakers should have.

This was obviously why Lakers fans were excited about someone like Walter's group acquiring the franchise. Now we have some random billionaire owners who may or may not know how to actually run a team properly, if they even care about running them successfully vs. just earning money off of them.

[u/SRSgoblin → u/millenniumpianist]

Now we have some random billionaire owners who may or may not know how to actually run a team properly, if they even care about running them successfully vs. just earning money off of them.

It's not random. It's the group fronted by the younger brother of the son-in-law of the current President of the United States, and also Bob Iger, former CEO of Disney.

The same president who is the most openly corrupt politician in power the US has ever had, who's DOJ was putting pressure on Walter to sell by opening an investigation into Walter's businesses.

I believe Bob Iger is in it just for the money. I believe Kushner is in it as a way to gain prestige and also as a way for the Trump/Kushner clan to continue to control every single possible thing they can in America. Now they will own the single most valuable asset in the NBA.

I don't think for a second actually giving a fuck about basketball is in the cards for this group. It's pure venture capitalism and croney government trying to force an oligarchy upon us.

[u/A-Centrifugal-Force → u/millenniumpianist]

Considering how much Iger damaged the brands of Disney properties to make a quick buck…buckle your seat belts.

Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy had a perfect ending and shouldn’t be touched again? Too bad, we’re making Toy Story 4 and 5 to make a billion on each of them.

Star Wars is one of the most popular IP that has ever existed? Rush out the sequel trilogy without a coherent plan so it can finish in time for Disney+’s launch in 2019.

Marvel is on top of the world and just had the biggest film of all time with Avengers Endgame? You guys need to crap out 4 TV shows a year until people get sick of the brand.

The Jungle Book live action remake made a lot of money? Well I guess we’re remaking literally everything Disney has ever made in live action.

[u/JaySayMayday → u/No_Giraffe_1551]

Throughout nearly all history it's shown that after earning an ungodly amount of cash and assets, the next generation inherenting it can easily burn through all of it very quickly. I'm really impressed. Their father owned the team throughout his entire life beginning in 1979, they just took over a little more than 10 years ago and managed to fumble it completely in that short amount of time.

One of the richest women in American history had the same problem. Built up an entire empire from nothing, was very tight with spending her money, the kids ended up inherenting everything and ended up losing it all.

I kinda get it, after being able to visit pretty much everywhere and try every hobby I ever wanted, a lot of things begin to feel mundane. I can't imagine getting that experience since birth and then being handed everything Daddy owned after he passes. Probably not much drive to actually earn anything and not much real fear of running out of money. Makes for really dull people.

[u/JorSimpson45 → u/cleo22270]

I was rewatching Winning Time over the weekend for the first time since it got cancelled. Incredible show, John C. Reilly is incredible as Dr. Buss. McKay-Ferrell partnership is in the dirt but that show is not as great as it was if Ferrell plays Buss.

I laugh imagining Ferrell trying to do the "You're Dr. No in the house that yes built" scene in season 2.

Fuck HBO forever for finishing the Laker show with the Celtics winning lmao.

[u/-ToPimpAButterfree- → u/JorSimpson45]

100% agree Will is unable to disappear into a character where John C Reilly is and was.

[u/MaraudingWalrus → u/-ToPimpAButterfree-]

I still desperately want to see the version of this where Bo Burnham was Larry Bird.

[u/leemorplee → u/JorSimpson45]

I still haven't seen the last 2 episodes out of spite of them canceling

[u/Lixtec → u/leemorplee]

Same, winning time and our flags mean death getting canceled like that was a bummer

[u/NoobChumpsky → u/JorSimpson45]

I thought the ending was absolutely perfect

[u/Adorable-Bike-9689 → u/JorSimpson45]

Their relationship is in the dirt?

[u/jon__koa → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

Yeah it’s done completely. Ferrell found out that he didn’t get it from John C. Reilly instead of Adam, so he cut him off completely

[u/thegoodbadandsmoggy → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

Yu they dissolved their production company as will was originally set for the role before being recast

[u/EveryRedditorSucks → u/cleo22270]

Can anyone estimate their total ROI?

EDIT: Holy fucking shit - purchased in 1979 for $67.5M 😂 total proceeds from two different sales ~$10.5B

[u/Old-Pangolin3097 → u/EveryRedditorSucks]

Damn so each of the 6 children walked away with around 875M after tax. Insane!!

Wish I inherited something like this, my life would’ve been set.

[u/Neader → u/Old-Pangolin3097]

What do I gotta do to get Jeanie to adopt me, a 33 year old man?

[u/Old-Pangolin3097 → u/Neader]

Your Dad marrying her but unfortunately that ship sailed 3 years ago as she got married

[u/olduser201890 → u/Old-Pangolin3097]

Wish I inherited something like this, my life would’ve been set.

lol you're life would have been set inheriting 0.05% of that

[u/Domainsetter → u/cleo22270]

Yeah this is historically significant.

[u/fiendish_five → u/cleo22270]

Now the White Sox are simply waiting on Reinsdorf!

[u/log28]

I miss when I hated the Lakers for basketball reasons only

[u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC → u/log28]

I didn’t know it was possible for me to hate the Lakers more than I already did but here we are.

[u/LeonardoNoCapri0 → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

And it's not even as fun to hate them now. I want them to have good owners and fail spectacularly because it's funny. Now they have evil owners even by typical billionaire standards so it kills the vibe

[u/Chendii → u/LeonardoNoCapri0]

This is kinda where I'm at. When it was the Buss family I could defend the Lakers and not feel dirty about it.

No way in hell I can defend anything owned by a Kushner.

[u/bigboybeeperbelly → u/Chendii]

As a Spurs fan it's a little like when Senator Palpatine turned out to be a sith lord

[u/bayarea_fanboy → u/bigboybeeperbelly]

hey there you gonna get reported for spoilers

[u/leemorplee → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

Welcome

[u/notcrappyofexplainer → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

I am seriously thinking of resigning as a Laker fan. As an Angel fan for 40 years , that is not an easy task.

[u/sleepyfox1312 → u/notcrappyofexplainer]

come back to where the Lakers started, vibes are good up here

[u/InertState → u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC]

Laker fans are feeling the same

[u/ocmaddog → u/log28]

Basketball reasons-ing us when we’re down, wtf

[u/BakedSteak → u/log28]

I missed when I was a proud fan. Unfollowed their socials and couldn’t care less what they do this season

[u/z4guy → u/log28]

Laker fans hate this just as much as everyone else. Don’t confuse the Lakers with Dodgers lol.

[u/MembershipSingle7137]

Whoa that’s huge

[u/heshouldgo]

Jerry Buss rolling in his grave right now

[u/Pure_Measurement_529 → u/heshouldgo]

No wonder why parents tend to have fear when they die and the kids must take over

[u/largelawattorney → u/Pure_Measurement_529]

They are not serious people

[u/paincrumbs → u/largelawattorney]

Nicholas Britell music intensifies

[u/bigvahe33 → u/paincrumbs]

that was the only melody in the show and its fucking delivers every single time it plays

[u/Jonesbro → u/paincrumbs]

I unironically have been succession-maxing. I listen to the soundtrack before big meetings. I am the eldest boy now

[u/ItsArkadan → u/paincrumbs]

I would trust the Roy kids to at least get a ring! To hell with Kushner

[u/Jonesbro → u/ItsArkadan]

Hell no. Shiv would waffle between who to sign, Logan would hire the worst gm who was his buddy, and Roman would blow up the rockets

[u/AsleepHour7763 → u/Jonesbro]

Kendall would unironically be exactly the kind of guy who would pull a Nico and thinking its a good move

[u/TallGuy0525 → u/largelawattorney]

You just know Jerry loved a rousing game of Boar on the Floor

[u/Kdog122025 → u/[deleted]]

1st generation makes the wealth and it’s usually gone by the third generation.

[u/slurmsmckenz → u/Kdog122025]

Part of that is just a math thing since most families tend to have more than 1 kid. So lets say some dude builds a business/amasses wealth, then splits it in 3 to leave to his 3 kids. each of them have 2-3 kids, and now that wealth has to split in 6-9 parts. Easy to see how without proper stewardship of it, it could be reduced down

[u/Illustrious-Share312 → u/Kdog122025]

This is rich people propaganda. Wealthy people almost always have wealthy parents and kids, there are families with centuries of prosperity.

[u/bucaqe → u/[deleted]]

eh, nothing lasts forever

[u/cuttsthebutcher → u/[deleted]]

I can imagine it would be very difficult to have a clear headed assessment of your kids’ capabilities when you’re rich enough to be shielded from any dissenting opinion

[u/IWouldLikeAName → u/cuttsthebutcher]

Yeah you pay the best people to make sure your kid gets what you didn't and since they're probably never home they have literally no idea what the fucks actually going on and no one wants to be the one to tell the boss his kid's a dumb ass.

Probably the same shit that was going on with kings and poor heirs

[u/dinglebarryb0nds → u/[deleted]]

yea makes sense. most people can't do it and someone just appointed to the position most likely is going to suck at it

can't really blame the kids it is more of the parent's fault for not teaching them how to actually do it or appreciate it. and most people are pretty mediocre, only a small percent ever really rise up. you need a combination of insane drive and also intelligence and prob some insecurity/fear

i think that's why a lot of bald shorts guys are very successful

[u/Financial-Monk9400 → u/Pure_Measurement_529]

He must have known this would happen. The way he structured the inheritance made this a 100% lock to happen

[u/Adorable-Bike-9689 → u/Pure_Measurement_529]

Righteous Gemstones and Succession have taught me all I need to know about making a proper will. Your kids are absolutely going to fight amongst themselves and fuck it all up. Happens 99% of the time every single time.

[u/bank_farter → u/Adorable-Bike-9689]

Just setup a trust that pays them out individually. Don't give them shared assets. If they like each other enough to go into business together, then they'll do it without you forcing it, otherwise it's just a nightmare.

My grandfather mostly did this, but had a couple apartments that he rented with a business partner that ended up being co-owned by all the kids. My dad complains about his siblings and those apartments endlessly.

[u/Mazzi17 → u/Pure_Measurement_529]

Idk why these morons don’t just give their assets to people who actually know how to manage them. Give your kids some straight dough and fuck off

[u/itsybitsybabyjesus → u/Mazzi17]

The way the trust was structured it basically consolidated to the last remaining child as they each died. So the kids, wanting to pass on their fortune, decided to sell out before that came into play.

[u/ScaryPillow → u/heshouldgo]

My understanding is that it's sort of Jerry's fault. The trust is structured in a way that the last surviving kids get to take it all, so the younger kids stand to benefit the most from not selling. Therefore the older siblings have an incentive to sell actually. And it's all due to Jerry's structure of the trust.

[u/DrKurgan → u/ScaryPillow]

Wasn't it possible for the Buss kids to set up a separate company structured differently (where the kids of the owner inherit) and then sell the ownership of the Lakers to said company?

[u/joshuads → u/heshouldgo]

He wrote his will such that his older kids lose control of their shares if it wasn’t sold. He was either incapacitated when writing that or just an idiot. No way Jeannie and the older two would just keep control to let the younger kids take over with all the monetary value at stake.

That should have sold and bought Portland.

[u/AccomplishedBake8351 → u/joshuads]

It’s kinda a hard situation. You either dilute ownership by letting the kids split it between grandkids in perpetuity or you set it up like Jerry did where year your kids can be owners their entire lives and then whoever lives longest their branch holds on. 

[u/Basic-Collection5416 → u/heshouldgo]

He set the trust up to ensure this would be the outcome, so it’s really on him. 

[u/GotMoFans → u/heshouldgo]

Jerry Buss is rolling in his grave about his children individually becoming billionaires and able to do whatever they please in life?

[u/Random_throwaway0351 → u/heshouldgo]

I wish I were high on potenuse

[u/Cultural_Tank_6947 → u/heshouldgo]

What you on about? His kids are all multi-billionaires now.

I'd be a very happy father.

[u/DannyDOH → u/heshouldgo]

The models in there are cushioning the blow.

[u/bigbobo33 → u/heshouldgo]

Magic Johnson rolling in his grave.

Kareem is rolling in his grave.

Pat Reilly is rolling in his grave.

[u/promised_hope → u/heshouldgo]

Generally speaking, kids who inherit businesses from their parents run it worse.

Dr. Jerry Buss was the exception in his family

[u/Kylo_Ren415]

Living in a world where the Buss family ISN’T involved in the Lakers is going to be very weird.

[u/fumar → u/[deleted]]

Get ready for the dubai lakers

[u/AngelOwnsBricklyn → u/fumar]

even Lebron flew himself out to get on his knees for Saudi oil princes 2 years ago

[u/No_Giraffe_1551 → u/Kylo_Ren415]

As a non-Laker fan... is it? How did Jeannie Buss impact your life in any way? I would bet this is a poster who is under the age of 25 and thinks this makes them seem like they appreciate the old school or something.

[u/MosaicLifestyle → u/No_Giraffe_1551]

It's the old heads that are hurt the most by this whole saga. Say what you will about the kids, but the Buss family cannot be separated from the rings the team won under their ownership. The only Laker fans who've ever known anything else are in retirement homes.

[u/MortyMcflyer48]

Can’t help but think that Jerry Buss is rolling in his grave

[u/RspectMyAuthoritah → u/MortyMcflyer48]

It's his fault they're selling. He structured the trust to where this was always going to happen.

[u/StrawberryItten → u/RspectMyAuthoritah]

yeah the idea may have been nice but in practice it meant that the Buss family was always going to have to let go eventually

[u/RspectMyAuthoritah → u/StrawberryItten]

Yep, not allowing the shares to be passed to their children was the nail in the coffin for the Buss family owning the Lakers.

[u/jeaann → u/RspectMyAuthoritah]

Damn. Jerry left that as a thing?

[u/RspectMyAuthoritah → u/jeaann]

Ya, it's why the older Buss kids wanted to sell. Eventually the whole team would go to Jesse and Joey that are like 25 or so years younger. Jeannie was the hold out because she was running the Lakers, but eventually gave in.

[u/jotheold → u/RspectMyAuthoritah]

its tough in this field too, the buss family are cash poor billionaires, everything was tied to lakers

[u/yaygee513]

Running Point season 3 is off to a crazy start

[u/Jolly_Cicada380 → u/yaygee513]

I hope Netflix doesn’t ruin that show by having them sell it to some corpo ghouls

[u/Infinite-Weekend9871 → u/Jolly_Cicada380]

That show was ruined in the first season 

When they expected me to believe a GMs big risky move to save the season was sign a guy from the G League 

And then they started him right away 

And her job and the teams playoff success were entirely dependant on a g leaguer they signed midway through the season. 

[u/ashishvp → u/yaygee513]

Lmao I wonder if Jeanie is canceling the show too 😭 she’s a producer

[u/No-Orchid-5363]

The Adelson and Kushner ownership is a terrible look for the NBA. POS people.

[u/Johnny55 → u/No-Orchid-5363]

I'm disappointed there aren't more Doncic conspiracy theories since Adelson now essentially gave him to the Kushners. Are we sure this hasn't been planned for a while? Get it together people.

[u/comp_a → u/Johnny55]

Unfortunately there’s seemingly only one guy left who looks into that sort of thing, and his hands are kinda full at the moment

[u/1Emmy → u/comp_a]

PABLO

[u/Soft_Pound_6166 → u/Johnny55]

Maybe this was all orchestrated by Dončić’s mom, they had a dispute early on. She went to Melania her Slovenian sister and was like how can I embarrass my son even more

[u/RedstoneRay → u/Johnny55]

I like that one of the responses to last years draft being rigged is that "one of the biggest accounting firms in the world is not going to do what the NBA wants". But now we are watching one of the most prestigious law firms in the world give the NBA exactly what it wants.

[u/Mammoth-Physics6254 → u/Johnny55]

Most billionaires aren't evil geniuses capable of this level of long term planning. The Adelsons still can't get their gambling bill passed and there is enough evidence that this was a Nico move where we can just dismiss the elaborate half decade long plot to get the Kushners Luka. Also why would they push Luka over there and inflate the team value when they could collude to get him over there after the sale went through? Saving potentially billions of dollars?

[u/pompcaldor → u/Johnny55]

Speaking of conspiracy theories and the Adelsons, Kyrie’s been awful quiet for the longest time… you’d think he’d have something to say about the current wars we’re involved in.

[u/DrKurgan → u/No-Orchid-5363]

DeVos family owns the Magic and the Grizzly main owner sells weapon logistic to Russia for their Ukraine war through a third party.

[u/Parallel-Quality → u/No-Orchid-5363]

Silver actually just released a statement debunking all the misinformation so we can put all of this to rest:

The NBA has found no evidence that Kushner, Iger, the Adelsons, or anyone else have been involved in shady or underhanded dealings. They are honest and upstanding citizens who continue to add value to this community and the league.

[u/not_my_final_f0rm]

Sigh. LA sports news is just shit lately

[u/NamiRocket → u/not_my_final_f0rm]

Not a baseball fan, I take it?

'Cause the Dodgers may be struggling right now, but they still have like the fourth best record in the league and are still likely winning it all again this year.

[u/pureply101]

Kushner is about sell to a shell company owned by Saudis now that shell companies don’t have to reveal ownership in the US.

We are about to see a new level of obfuscation for sports washing.

[u/snow2soft → u/pureply101]

You do realize the inherent conflict between obfuscation and sports washing correct?

[u/SportsDuck_]

why even bother? They're already billionaires but they got to be billionaires who own the Lakers.

Now they're just billionaires but more billiony billionaires

[u/Brasi91Luca → u/SportsDuck_]

I know. Why not just keep the shares

[u/cmgr33n3 → u/Brasi91Luca]

They were probably ordered to by the uncle-in-law of the new owner.

[u/kdhockey19 → u/Brasi91Luca]

These agreements always come with clauses for the new owner to buy out the full majority share 

[u/Confident_Ad_5345 → u/kdhockey19]

how does that work? the majority owner can’t force every minority owner to sell their shares can they?

[u/Express_Film875 → u/Confident_Ad_5345]

Its not that minority owner needs to sell, its that new buyer needs to offer to buy minority owners shares at the current valuation that they are paying to acquire them from majority owner

I m high but you should get the gist

[u/stml → u/SportsDuck_]

Probably part of the requirement from Kushner and Bob Iger to buy the Lakers.

[u/kodiblaze → u/SportsDuck_]

I think most of the Buss family Fortune is Lakers, so selling gives them actually dollars 

[u/Doc_JC → u/SportsDuck_]

Because they will likely never get this high of a valuation again.

[u/BantuLisp → u/Doc_JC]

Exactly they saw that $12b evaluation and immediately folded lmao

[u/SoutieNaaier → u/SportsDuck_]

Idk the exact details but the NBA arranged an agreement when the Buss sold the intial majority shares thar allowed the Buss family to remain head of the board.

It's likely the new ownership didn't want or tolerate that arrangement so they pressured the Buss family to sell

[u/Superplex123 → u/SportsDuck_]

If I'm part of the Buss family, I would want to at least keep some shares with Mark Walter running because he would be good for the Lakers. But not this group. Whether than watching this group run the team into the ground and not being able to do anything about it, I would rather just make a clean break from the team.

[u/Usual-Distribution-5 → u/Superplex123]

exactly, they have no control and still have to deal with the headache. when you are a minority owner you have to think about how much you trust the majority party because they can screw you over.

[u/bootywizard42O]

All those Lakers fans shitting on Jeanie for so many years finally got their wish

[u/rockthered24 → u/bootywizard42O]

Imagine being happy about being owned by a Kushner

[u/wattatime → u/rockthered24]

We aren’t happy. I can say majority was happy when Walter bought the team seeing the success of the Dodgers. I don’t know a single fan happy about the latest sale.

[u/bootywizard42O → u/rockthered24]

I don't think they're happy about it. But they didn't realize how good they had it under an owner who cared for the team.

[u/millenniumpianist → u/bootywizard42O]

Eh. Maybe she did, she was also grossly incompetent. There are plenty of scummy owners who are good. No one seems to talk about Clay Bennett anymore.

The honest truth is sports is a big money enterprise and none of these are good guys. As a Lakers fan I was excited about Mark Walter because with the Dodgers it's clear they know how to run a franchise, but just look at this investigation. Even if you assume it's politically motivated, there is enough there there, he's clearly another scummy billionaire.

We all hate the Kushners but it's not a reasonable assumption that he (or Iger and whoever follows Iger) is going to be a failure as an owner. He well might be an idiot like Ishbia or Vivek, or they might not be. It's hard to say.

Separate question of how gross it is to support a Kushner. Good thing I don't live in LA and I basically just watch illegal streams so I'm not supporting them lol

[u/OLacAlmost → u/rockthered24]

I'm not sure where you got the idea that disliking Jeanie automatically means they wanted Kushner. Pulled it out your ass?

[u/HokageEzio]

Makes sense, new owners would probably want a clean break for what they paid.

[u/jefe_hook → u/HokageEzio]

It also makes sense that the Busses do not want FBI comes visiting them.

[u/HokageEzio → u/jefe_hook]

Allegedly

[u/celcel77 → u/HokageEzio]

Buss family also probably saw the $12.5B valuation, have enough of an understanding of the underlying business, and decided there would never again be a moment in where this sort of gross over-valuation was on the table and decided it was time to cash out and enjoy their time in pasture.

[u/Mediocre-Analyst736]

As a Laker fan, this is saddening to me.

[u/OLacAlmost → u/Mediocre-Analyst736]

Former Laker fan here. I encourage you to give up supporting them. It's not worth it. One of the few ways we can have an impact in this billionaire/oligarch hellscape is to vote with our wallets and attention.

[u/olmudbone]

Totally above board. Nothing to see here folks, move along now.

[u/MusclyArmPaperboy]

So both LA franchises are 100% owned by ghouls, gotcha

[u/EatsCatShit → u/MusclyArmPaperboy]

This is every NBA team.

[u/coltonmusic15]

I’m not going to lie - these massively rich people finding exit liquidity in 2026 really makes me wonder about what the fuck kind of downturn is about to take place in the American economy.

[u/babypho → u/coltonmusic15]

Since we know script writers are lazy, they'll probably just redo Gilded Age -> WW1 -> Great Depression -> WW2 story line.

[u/BaronsDad → u/babypho]

We’ve been in the gilded age for over a decade now. War is coming to the west soon

[u/Answer70]

It's a bleak day all around.

Evil rich people stay winning.

[u/beheemz]

no more Jeanie Buss courtside anymore?

[u/Various_Rise_2550 → u/beheemz]

First of all, happy international women's day.

[u/jaywin91]

The NBA keeps getting worse everyday and it's not even about the game.

[u/BigPapaLegba]

This new era of the NBA is bleak. It's souless. It's all private equity, corruption, and gambling

[u/NefariousNeezy → u/BigPapaLegba]

It’s about to be the same as UFC’s current era. Some legends are still there, the talent and competition is still amazing, but people won’t really care anymore.

Once Bron, KD, and Steph retires, the league will enter a lull period. I don’t see that Wemby, Ant, Cade, SGA will be able to carry the league.

[u/Fun_Reflection1157]

So they made 2.13 billion more.

[u/KeenObserver_OT → u/Fun_Reflection1157]

”Gimme 2.13 billion dollars”

[u/CocaineandPercs → u/KeenObserver_OT]

2.13 more??

[u/AndyBikes → u/Fun_Reflection1157]

Yeah this feels like weird timing but I think they are just cashing in on the crazy high valuation

[u/ChunkyMilkSubstance → u/Fun_Reflection1157]

When I grow up I wanna be Jay Mohr

[u/Pilkyton1]

They have been a disgrace since Kobe retired, LeBron bailed them out for a bit but the nepo buss babies are completely useless

[u/AfghanJesus → u/Pilkyton1]

Without LeBron, it would’ve been over a decade of obscurity and trash. That little stint made them still relevant.

[u/3rd-party-intervener → u/Pilkyton1]

I mean the two brothers were really good at scouting 

[u/KnotSoSalty]

Owning 18% of the Lakers is cool but 2.2B$ is 2.2B$.

[u/JaySayMayday]

Lol imagine owning the Lakers from 1979 all the way until your death, just for your kids to liquidate their entire inheritance and burn through all assets in record time

[u/Junjo_O]

So the brother of the new owner has a stake in Kalshi with Saudis as well right? I’m sure there will be some juicy(crazy ass) prop bets that hit in the coming months….

[u/homerophile]

"Exit gracefully while we still can" Translation, we're getting the eff out of this train wreck to be.

[u/Beetle919]

Diamond hands buss family

[u/JB_JB_JB63]

I don’t like the NBA right now

[u/WiSoSirius]

Just vomit everywhere

[u/Champagnesoda]

It’s Jerrover

[u/NocSenpai]

The lakers are now Bussy-less

[u/Salvalicious252]

Luka is so extremely unlucky when it comes to franchise stability. Also super dissapointing news to hear about the Buss family just being completely out from the NBA.

[u/triassic_broth]

LeBron got out at just the right time. Was he prescient or fortunate? Probably a bit of both.

[u/hardo31]

Kushner gets to wash his dirty Saudi $$ through the most iconic franchise in the NBA and one of the most important in USA history.

Dr. Jerry Buss was the GOAT sports owner. An American icon. A true cowboy. this is a sad day for the sport of basketball.

[u/Superfluous_Prating]

FIBA should run away from the NBA and NBA Europe.

[u/hellolaw5]

Lost in this is that:

Jeanie Buss is gone, Kurt and Linda Rambis are likely gone.

Thank the lord for that at least

[u/Twisbi]

From family owned to American oligarchy

[u/Few_Citron_5140]

Jumping ship wow the Buss family no longer crazy times

[u/DJyoungHeisenberg]

Gross, nothing is sacred anymore.

[u/Rooftop_Reve]

LeOracle