The Los Angeles Lakers’ new ownership group could be ushering in a fresh era of spending and modernization.
According to the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike, the franchise had already begun upgrading areas like analytics and medical staffing before the sale, but those efforts were still working within a budget. Now, with wealthier ownership at the helm, the Lakers are expected to have more flexibility and be willing to take bigger risks when it comes to investing in resources outside of the salary cap.
“Modernization efforts began prior to the sale with the Lakers further investing in things like analytics and medical staffing,” wrote Woike. “But there was, to some extent, a budget. With deeper-pocketed ownership, it’s reasonable to expect the Lakers will be able to take more risks in the ways they spend on non-salary cap matters.”
The Lakers were owned by the Buss family for 46 years and achieved unprecedented success with 11 championships and frequent trips to the NBA Finals. For decades, the Lakers thrived as a family-owned business despite lacking the kind of funds and resources that other teams had.
Things took a turn under the watch of Jeanie Buss, however. She inherited a broken Lakers squad, and it took years for them to recover and win their most recent championship in 2020. As time went on, the Lakers’ disadvantage only grew more severe amid the widening gap between Buss and other, richer team owners.
Finally, the situation is set to change. This summer, Buss sold her family’s stake in the franchise and passed the responsibility of ownership to Mark Walter for $10 billion. Walter, who also owns and runs the Los Angeles Dodgers, is worth over $6.2 billion, and his deep pockets are already having a major impact on the organization.
Under Buss, the Lakers were behind the rest of the league in many ways. Their scouting department, analytics department, and medical team were infamously lacking compared to the competition. Now, however, they are building it all up from the inside.
With Luka Doncic in town and a roster ready to compete, the Lakers will be in great shape to be competitive for years to come. Their improved resources will make everything much easier, and the investment in the medical staff will surely help increase the durability of everyone on the roster.
Thanks to improvements from the inside out, on top of the roster additions they made this summer, the Lakers are poised to return to a state of prosperity we haven’t seen since the Showtime era. It couldn’t have come at a better time, either, with an opportunity to win the West next season.
With new ownership willing to invest beyond just player salaries, the Lakers could quickly shed their reputation for being behind the curve in infrastructure. If Mark Walter’s resources are put to full use, Los Angeles may soon set the standard for off-court operations (from cutting-edge analytics to elite medical care), giving them an edge that complements their star-studded roster and championship aspirations. For a franchise defined by winning, these behind-the-scenes upgrades could be the missing piece that keeps them competitive for the next decade.
