In one of the biggest sports franchise deals ever, the Los Angeles Lakers were recently sold at a staggering $10 billion valuation to Dodgers owner and longtime Lakers minority shareholder Mark Walter. Yet, despite the blockbuster price tag and shift in ownership, the Lakers’ leadership at the top will remain unchanged, for now.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Jeanie Buss is set to continue as the team’s governor for at least the next five seasons, extending her influence through 2030.
“(The) Lakers, who were sold for a whopping $10 billion valuation to Dodgers owner/Lakers minority owner Mark Walterers recently but will still be run by longtime owner Jeanie Buss for quite some time to come.”
“Per a team source, Buss’ agreement with Walter and the NBA stipulates that she’ll remain the team’s governor for at least the next five seasons.”
This continuity clause mirrors the arrangement seen in Dallas, when Mark Cuban sold the Mavericks to the Dumont family for $3.5 billion under the impression he would retain control of basketball operations, only to see the new owners flip Luka Doncic to the Lakers shortly after.
That surprise move signaled that power shifts do occur, no matter what the initial agreement says. And now, Lakers fans are left to wonder if history might repeat itself in Los Angeles.
Under Buss, the Lakers have had a mixed front-office record. While acquiring Luka Doncic was a franchise-altering win, the overall decision-making over the last few years has drawn heavy criticism.
The team’s drafting has been suspect, some of their top picks have fizzled, and course corrections often came too late. The front office has faced accusations of being overly insular, with Linda Rambis and Kurt Rambis reportedly holding more sway than GM Rob Pelinka himself.
That lack of structure has led to glaring examples of financial frugality that do not align with the prestige of a billion-dollar brand. In 2019, the Lakers failed to land Tyronn Lue because they lowballed him on a coaching contract, offering $6 million per year for three years, far less than the market standard.
In 2021, they let Alex Caruso walk over luxury tax concerns, only for him to flourish and later earn an $81 million extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Other penny-pinching moments are borderline embarrassing. Until the Luka trade in 2025, the Lakers hadn’t taken back even a cent in salary in a trade since 2013 the most recent deal saw them absorb a mere $55,000. Coaches were denied hotel stays during offseason training sessions.
Former assistant GM Ronnie Lester was let go during the 2011 lockout due to budget cuts. And during the 2020 pandemic, the team even applied for $4.6 million in federal PPP relief money meant for struggling small businesses, only returning it after public outcry.
Perhaps most damning was the Lakers’ absence from the Sloan Analytics Conference in 2013. The reason? They had no one qualified to send. The organization that once defined excellence was now lagging behind in the NBA’s data revolution.
That might be changing. New head coach JJ Redick is reportedly pushing for a more modern infrastructure, including an expanded analytics department. And with Mark Walter’s deep pockets and experience running the high-functioning Dodgers, there is hope that the Lakers will finally catch up to the league’s best-run teams.
Still, Jeanie Buss remains in charge, and for better or worse, the next half-decade of Lakers basketball will continue to bear her fingerprints.
