The Los Angeles Lakers have long operated as a small family business under the Buss family, who have agreed to sell their majority stake to Mark Walter at a $10 billion valuation. The Lakers could become even more formidable with substantial financial backing behind them, similar to what Walter accomplished when he purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"This is one of the biggest things that's happened in the NBA in terms of shifts that we've seen in the last 15-20 years," said Brian Windhorst on Wednesday's Sports Center. "It was not a mystery that Mark Walter was probably going to be the next owner of the Lakers because in his deal, he had the right of first refusal. It was just a matter of when—if the Buss family ever decided to give up a majority position—and that has happened.
"The timing is interesting. It's maybe not a total shock because the Celtics just reset the market. The Lakers are one of the biggest brands in the world, so the fact that it's $10 billion is not a surprise. Mark Walter is not a surprise. The Lakers are a very well-respected organization, but a small organization.
"We saw what Mark Walter and his partners did when they took over a major brand that was operated like a family company when they bought the Dodgers. Now, it's not apples to apples, because in baseball there is no salary cap, and the increased spending changed the entire world for the Dodgers. But the Lakers operate with a small infrastructure—they do not operate like a lot of other teams.
"I would only suspect that the modernization of the Lakers is about to come, and if I were another team, I would not think this is a great development. I think the Lakers are only going to get more dangerous as an organization with the more resources that are theoretically about to be poured into it."
The Lakers traded for Luka Doncic at this year's deadline and are expected to sign him to a contract extension this offseason. Rob Pelinka, who recently signed a contract extension, faces a critical offseason as he tries to build a roster around Doncic that can compete for a title. The combination of new ownership and the presence of Doncic will likely define the next decade of the Lakers.
Jeanie Buss will remain as governor of the Lakers for some period of time as a condition of the sale.
While the Lakers have paid the luxury tax at various points, they have not previously spent at the type of levels seen by franchises such as the LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.
