The Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal recently appeared on SportsCenter and spoke his mind on his former franchise’s impending sale. While he seemed sad to see the Buss family on the brink of ending their 47-year association with the Lakers, he stayed silent on the internal drama behind the sale.
“You know, I have great admiration for the Buss family. Learned a lot of business acumen from watching them. And I can remember how much Mr. Buss paid for the team. So, if the rumors are true about how much they sold it for, I think it was a monumental business move.”
“It will be different knowing that the Buss family is not there with the Lakers, but I want to wish them well. Want to congratulate them. Thank you for the great memories that they gave me. But from a business standpoint, from what they purchased it for to what they sell for, you get the golf clap,” said O’Neal.
Jerry Buss backed the 1996 free-agent signing of Shaquille O’Neal, which started an eight-year run of dominance in the Lakers legend’s career. During his time with the Lakers, O’Neal averaged 27.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while going 57.5% from the field.
He also won three NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, and a regular season MVP award (2000) during that stretch. He has now built a $500 million business empire for himself after learning his business ways from Jerry Buss.
So, everything that he has accomplished in his career is owed in part to the confidence that Jerry Buss showed in him. Therefore, his gratitude is clearly warranted.
Nonetheless, Shaquille O’Neal stayed silent on the prevailing drama in the Buss family, which most recently saw Jeanie Buss rumored to be open to buying out her siblings’ stake in the franchise.
Since the new owners also consider removing Jeanie Buss from the governor’s position as the least desirable option, they could be open to letting her become the sole owner of the 17.8% Buss Family stake that allows her to fulfill the required position to remain governor.
The Buss family’s 17.8% stake in the Lakers is currently estimated to be worth $2.225 billion. Considering that Jeanie Buss has a $1 billion net worth, that may not be enough to become the sole owner. Therefore, she would likely have to form a separate consortium to buy out her siblings.
However, given the internal drama in the Buss family that is apparently coming to the surface with this hostile attempted sale, it may not be easy to find a solution. But if the new owners buy it from the family and then sell it to Jeanie Buss separately, the negotiations could be much simpler.
All eyes are now on Jeanie Buss’ siblings. It will certainly be very fascinating to see how Jeanie Buss navigates this complicated situation.
