Dodgers Owner Buys The Lakers

[MAMBAEMD]

This is sad in many ways for those of us who have been Laker fans since the 70's.

The days of family ownership are gone though.
This helps us compete with other franchises that have deeper pockets.
I love that Jeannie stays involved as governor. The franchise ties to the Buss family remain intact.

Overall, this is really good for the Lakeshow.

[wco81]

New owners and record prices means that it's going to cost more to attend games, watch them on TV.

Unless the owners don't care about getting a good return on their money, they're going to try to increase revenues.

Have the Dodgers raised ticket prices? Have cable bills gone up, something like sports access fee that they usually add to your cable TV bills?

It is interesting that they haven't tried to build a new stadium, which is one of the ways owners try to increase revenues, because new stadiums mean higher ticket prices, PSLs, luxury boxes, etc.

Dodgers Stadium is iconic but maybe they raised prices of tickets, concessions, parking, etc. anyways.

Those huge local TV deals which give the Lakers and Dodgers hundreds of millions in rights fees have to be paid for some way.

But as long as the owners are trying to build winners, not just on player payroll but the best coaches, best training staff, best facilities, etc.

Because ultimately, they're hoping to sell years later at much higher prices than they paid to buy the team.


The Lakers like the Dodgers are the premier destination for free agents. People were touting how under Buss ownership the Lakers won 11 championships. Well a lot of it is players like Shaq, Lebron and AD signing as free agents or forcing their way to LA.

For years, before Luka was traded, there were rumors that Laker would really try to push to sign him in free agency so it would have been interesting to see if the was again a big attraction for one of the top players in the game.

[Jakay]

Such a stab in the back to their father, who went to so much trouble to keep it in family hands, but obviously good for the Lakers and the league. The Lakers have been hugely held back operating as a family business. You can't run a modern, multi billion dollar corporation that way.

Yeah agreed, it's a shame after what Jerry did to try and keep it fair and an establishment. Unfortunately the keys to the empire don't understand the empire obviously. It's on the kids for not being able to figure it out.

I mean come on, it's the LAKERS. LIKE YOU CAN PRINT MONEY

[Apz]

Good for the future, like 3-5 years down the line. Doesnt really do anything right now

[Jedi32]

The Buss family and the Lakers have gone hand n hand since I was a boy. Honestly don't know how to feel about this.

[snaquille oatmeal]

So I suppose this means we will have a better infrastructure. More scouts especially in Europe, better analytics, bigger staffs, more trainers, more creative contracts with players and will pay the luxury tax to get better

On the downside I think Magic is gonna get petty and have Palinka fired because Rob fired him. Luka and LeBron will get nervous about getting traded

[danfantastk32]

So I suppose this means we will have a better infrastructure. More scouts especially in Europe, better analytics, bigger staffs, more trainers, more creative contracts with players and will pay the luxury tax to get better

On the downside I think Magic is gonna get petty and have Palinka fired because Rob fired him. Luka and LeBron will get nervous about getting traded

No way we're moving Luka, unless A) he wants a trade B) shows up fat (in which case, we prob can't move him anyhow).
We literally cannot trade Lebron due to his contract.

Pelinka doesn't need to worry about Magic. One quick look at this crappy roster with massive holes, and the completely mortgaged future, and you don't need pettiness to want the guy replaced. Jeanie will prob go to bat for him, which is why I think having her stay on is a huge mistake. This is going to end up like the Cuban thing: the new owners are gonna get tired of her ideas (lack thereof) and Pelinka wanting to just toss 1st and 2nd round picks at any problem...and he'll eventually put his foot down, and overrule them. Jeanie will cry, and quit...when it finally hits her that this isn't her team anymore (like with Cuban).

I'd like to say that I'm sad that the Buss era ended.....but I think a more honest statement is that I'm sad that the Jeanie Buss era was nowhere near what the Jerry Buss era was. She won a title, and I'll never take that away from her, or disparage it. It's a ray of light, in an otherwise pretty dark time for the Lakers. It would have been great if it woulda worked. But it didn't... and the sooner we turn the page (for real) and remove every last soul from the FO, the better.

[danfantastk32]

Such a stab in the back to their father, who went to so much trouble to keep it in family hands, but obviously good for the Lakers and the league. The Lakers have been hugely held back operating as a family business. You can't run a modern, multi billion dollar corporation that way.

I mean....you call it a stab in the back, but then go on to explain how this was inevitable. I think they gave it a go. They clearly "don't have it" when it comes to running a team. You've had two of the brother sue, and try to pry the team from Jeanie through the courts. The great Jerry West sadly went to his grave hating the Buss family. Are the two brothers even "family" anymore? Other than by the legal meaning?

There's alot that goes into a family business of this size and nature. What the hell happened with Magic a few years ago? Does Mitch Kupchak even talk to any of them anymore? Let's face it.....but for that ONE title season, this has been a disaster! Family, friends, players...it's been a total sh**show. Prob been alot of heartbreak, stress, and betrayal for Jeanie as well.

Why did she let Lebron and AD convince her to sign Brick? And wasn't that Rob's job? It's my understanding that he was against it....so what gives? Who's really running what? Why is Kurt Rambis showing up, and hovering over team-meetings?? By virtue of the fact that I have never coached, I think I have a better record than he has as a coach....why would anyone want him around a team? <--------- it's just been dysfunction at every turn.

I have to imagine that behind it all.....this prob hasn't been incredibly fun either. The Brick years were a disaster that must have been horrible to oversee. Fights with brothers, with West, with coaches.

And lastly.....don't look now, but this team is in real trouble. You got Luka, and THAT IS IT. They've already shipped out all but one tradable pick (the 2031 1st round pick i believe)...and boy, we really have nothing to show for it, do we? Finney Smith, Rui, Reeves, Vanderbuilt....the rest of them. No "elite defenders" despite what some people wanna claim. No elite anything's. Some damn fine bench warmers....that about sums it up. The Lakers are gonna have real problems keeping Luka. By the time this team is able to reset, and start "building it's winner" again....your gonna be looking at a 30-31 year old Luka. Is it possible to build now???....I suppose anything is possible, but we're gonna be doing it without tradable pieces, or picks we can trade with.....so talk about the odds stacked against you. I don't know if Luka is really gonna want to stick around for this after another frustrating year or two......and honestly, I'm not sure it's the best for us either.

You know what I think? I think the dirty little secret around the Laker FO is that a rebuild is coming. A rebuild with almost no help from the draft. And I think that they all knew that they were completely incapable of this.

If you ask me....Jerry was already rolling in his grave watching the last decade. This needed to happen. I know he wanted the Lakers to stay in the family. But he prob also wanted the Lakers to continue on as the premier franchise of the NBA. And those two facts were incompatible.

[One_and_Done]

Such a stab in the back to their father, who went to so much trouble to keep it in family hands, but obviously good for the Lakers and the league. The Lakers have been hugely held back operating as a family business. You can't run a modern, multi billion dollar corporation that way.

I mean....you call it a stab in the back, but then go on to explain how this was inevitable. I think they gave it a go. They clearly "don't have it" when it comes to running a team. You've had two of the brother sue, and try to pry the team from Jeanie through the courts. The great Jerry West sadly went to his grave hating the Buss family. Are the two brothers even "family" anymore? Other than by the legal meaning?

There's alot that goes into a family business of this size and nature. What the hell happened with Magic a few years ago? Does Mitch Kupchak even talk to any of them anymore? Let's face it.....but for that ONE title season, this has been a disaster! Family, friends, players...it's been a total sh**show. Prob been alot of heartbreak, stress, and betrayal for Jeanie as well.

Why did she let Lebron and AD convince her to sign Brick? And wasn't that Rob's job? It's my understanding that he was against it....so what gives? Who's really running what? Why is Kurt Rambis showing up, and hovering over team-meetings?? By virtue of the fact that I have never coached, I think I have a better record than he has as a coach....why would anyone want him around a team? <--------- it's just been dysfunction at every turn.

I have to imagine that behind it all.....this prob hasn't been incredibly fun either. The Brick years were a disaster that must have been horrible to oversee. Fights with brothers, with West, with coaches.

And lastly.....don't look now, but this team is in real trouble. You got Luka, and THAT IS IT. They've already shipped out all but one tradable pick (the 2031 1st round pick i believe)...and boy, we really have nothing to show for it, do we? Finney Smith, Rui, Reeves, Vanderbuilt....the rest of them. No "elite defenders" despite what some people wanna claim. No elite anything's. Some damn fine bench warmers....that about sums it up. The Lakers are gonna have real problems keeping Luka. By the time this team is able to reset, and start "building it's winner" again....your gonna be looking at a 30-31 year old Luka. Is it possible to build now???....I suppose anything is possible, but we're gonna be doing it without tradable pieces, or picks we can trade with.....so talk about the odds stacked against you. I don't know if Luka is really gonna want to stick around for this after another frustrating year or two......and honestly, I'm not sure it's the best for us either.

You know what I think? I think the dirty little secret around the Laker FO is that a rebuild is coming. A rebuild with almost no help from the draft. And I think that they all knew that they were completely incapable of this.

If you ask me....Jerry was already rolling in his grave watching the last decade. This needed to happen. I know he wanted the Lakers to stay in the family. But he prob also wanted the Lakers to continue on as the premier franchise of the NBA. And those two facts were incompatible.

It wasn't what he wanted, which is all that matters. If you want to debate how exactly his kids let him down be my guest.

[Danny Darko]

man the doom and gloom on these last posts. I don't see it. Most of us have called for the Buss family to sell for quite a while and we got the best owner I can think of. and now all the sudden we have no assets and no defenders? First off, if Luka is supposedly all we have, Vando can't defend, Rui is garbage, Reeves isn't legit, Bron is garbage age... The Mavs did plenty with Luka and a bunch of whatever. I do not think we are in rebuild mode, I don't think the new group will want that economically either. If anything we're getting to a point where the real conversation is "How much damage does LeBron's cap hit do to our roster building?" We were a center away from being more serious contenders even with the late season trade. There are multiple paths to resolving that issue and to me, it's just too bad Bron isn't a trade chip that can yield complimentary pieces and cap. But, jeez cry me a river. We stole Luka and have more talent than is being portrayed here.

[danfantastk32]

man the doom and gloom on these last posts. I don't see it. Most of us have called for the Buss family to sell for quite a while and we got the best owner I can think of. and now all the sudden we have no assets and no defenders?

The "elite defenders" comment was in reference to earlier debates, but no....this is nothing new. This team has been in trouble for a while. It's a great, great thing we got Luka. At least we have something of extreme value.

But you tell me....we tried to move DLo...how did that go? We had to move his contract and 3-second rounders for Finney-Smith. Oh boy. Haven't we tried to move just about everyone at some point over the last 2-years? I know everyone was on the table when we were desperate for a Center recently. Nobody's interested in anything we have.

Hey, it's great we got new owners. But that doesn't mean a magic wand has been waved over our roster. All but one of our picks (first and second round) are already used. So yeah....we're in a fix here. $$$ doesn't mean everything in a league with the punitive tier-tax system we have. Our roster last year was $75k under the 2nd cap. Where you literally can't make a trade unless salaries match TO THE DOLLAR. You straight up can't sign new players (prob some exceptions for vet-min's and stuff....it's pages and pages).

So I dunno...when someone tells you your credit card is maxed, is that "doom and gloom" - or is that reality? I guess there's two ways to take it.

[danfantastk32]

It wasn't what he wanted, which is all that matters. If you want to debate how exactly his kids let him down be my guest.

So not getting what you want is a stab in the back? A disappointment to be sure...but as you said yourself, this 'mom and pop' stuff just doesn't work in today's NBA.

[Vae Victus]

It'll be nice to have management that'll run things in a competent and modern manner. My fandom of the Dodgers went up ALOT, when i agreed with the vast majority of their moves and appreciate how they spent money to upgrade every aspect of the org that was constrained by the CBA rules. MLB has a soft cap but when you go past a certain amount, the tax penalties are steep, but not as severe as the NBAs. Dodger ownership has shown that theyll go all in when they have a dysnastic window.

[tamaraw08]

man the doom and gloom on these last posts. I don't see it. Most of us have called for the Buss family to sell for quite a while and we got the best owner I can think of. and now all the sudden we have no assets and no defenders?

The "elite defenders" comment was in reference to earlier debates, but no....this is nothing new. This team has been in trouble for a while. It's a great, great thing we got Luka. At least we have something of extreme value.

But you tell me....we tried to move DLo...how did that go? We had to move his contract and 3-second rounders for Finney-Smith. Oh boy. Haven't we tried to move just about everyone at some point over the last 2-years? I know everyone was on the table when we were desperate for a Center recently. Nobody's interested in anything we have.

Hey, it's great we got new owners. But that doesn't mean a magic wand has been waved over our roster. All but one of our picks (first and second round) are already used. So yeah....we're in a fix here. $$$ doesn't mean everything in a league with the punitive tier-tax system we have. Our roster last year was $75k under the 2nd cap. Where you literally can't make a trade unless salaries match TO THE DOLLAR. You straight up can't sign new players (prob some exceptions for vet-min's and stuff....it's pages and pages).

So I dunno...when someone tells you your credit card is maxed, is that "doom and gloom" - or is that reality? I guess there's two ways to take it.

Definitely this team needs a good center and 2-3 players who can defend and hit 3's but it's not like they have zero assets to trade or even play and help this squad
DFS is decent shooter who can defend 2-3 positions.
Reaves just gave them 20/6/5 last season at a relatively cheap 13 mil/year contract.
Rui is a 6-8 PF who just ranked 23rd in the league in 3pt % at 41.3% at 62TS%. He is also expiring so other teams might want to trade for him or the Lakers can just retain and be a good piece at a relatively low 18 mil/year.
Gabe Vincent plays decent defense, improved his 3pt% and also expiring.
Dalton Knecht is mobile at 6-6, arguably one of the best rookie shooters last season.
All these guys are tradeable to re-shape this team.
Also, it' s not like the Lakers have ZERO FRP's in the next 6 years because they still have 4 the last time I checked.
Yes, the Lakers are very close to the 2nd apron but let's not be myopic and simply declare that the new owners canNOT hire the best staff to help this team. It was reported that Rob has NO GM at all, and their advanced analytics team is almost non existent.
Not a few fans here really think the Dodgers simply outbidded 29 other teams to acquire the best available free agents to form the entire team.
Their meticulous scout team found guys like Muncy, Edman, Pages,Teoscar which became key parts of their rotation.
The same scout team also drafted and developed guys like Smith, Miller, Seager, Buehler etc and yes some have left but it's not like their FO replaced them with bad players.

[stan francisco]

Greatest possible situation, lookout NBA.

This is great news.

[TylersLakers]

Love that there’s new ownership but I’m very curious to see what comes of the idiots in the offices now:

- Linda Rambis
- Kurt Rambis
- Tim Harris
- Jeanie Buss

Only Rob, Jesse, and Joey deserve to be in that room with about 2-3 significant other front office voices added.

[danfantastk32]

Definitely this team needs a good center and 2-3 players who can defend and hit 3's but it's not like they have zero assets to trade or even play and help this squad
DFS is decent shooter who can defend 2-3 positions.
Reaves just gave them 20/6/5 last season at a relatively cheap 13 mil/year contract.
Rui is a 6-8 PF who just ranked 23rd in the league in 3pt % at 41.3% at 62TS%. He is also expiring so other teams might want to trade for him or the Lakers can just retain and be a good piece at a relatively low 18 mil/year.
Gabe Vincent plays decent defense, improved his 3pt% and also expiring.
Dalton Knecht is mobile at 6-6, arguably one of the best rookie shooters last season.
All these guys are tradeable to re-shape this team.

I think your overselling what we have. Maybe I undersell a little, but let's both admit there's nothing like a 'Danny green' or an 'Iguodala', or a 'Ron Artest'. And those guys were like #4 on their respective teams. We have Lebron, and Luka....and then the drop off is cataclysmic. There's no Lamar Odom, or something to keep the 2nd-squad rolling....it's just bench players. Guys who maybe do one thing well. And that's fine for #7-10 on your team...not 3 - 8.

Also, it' s not like the Lakers have ZERO FRP's in the next 6 years because they still have 4 the last time I checked.
Yes, the Lakers are very close to the 2nd apron but let's not be myopic and simply declare that the new owners canNOT hire the best staff to help this team. It was reported that Rob has NO GM at all, and their advanced analytics team is almost non existent.

I did purposefully say we have 1 "tradable pick". Your right...we have a first rounder every other year. But that's hardly a brag, right? I mean...what do we have to show for it? I'll accept the one that goes out for the Luka trade, but I don't see anything else on this squad that justifies our lack of picks. We're clean out of 2nd round picks as well, btw......so I'm sorry, but I don't think this point is really arguable. To try and restock from the draft is gonna take a decade. We have only 1 more pick with which to make a trade, so we're all but completely mortgaged there.

Not a few fans here really think the Dodgers simply outbidded 29 other teams to acquire the best available free agents to form the entire team.
Their meticulous scout team found guys like Muncy, Edman, Pages,Teoscar which became key parts of their rotation.
The same scout team also drafted and developed guys like Smith, Miller, Seager, Buehler etc and yes some have left but it's not like their FO replaced them with bad players.

I get it, but Baseball and Basketball are two completely different financial structures.

Listen....I'm super glad we got the new owners. All this mess is because of the last guy. The new owner prob will be able to dip into the super punitive taxes from time to time like the Buss's couldn't/wouldn't. - But it's not just the $$$. It's been specifically tweaked to penalize your options, so that teams couldn't just 'spend their way out' of issues. I don't know why they did that....seems stupid to me...but they did. And so this is just the reality here. This team has nothing in the way of a center...literally nothing. But we have only 1 pick, and almost zero cap space (we'll have a little) and players that we've tried to move before, who are nothing even remotely special.....so what kind of a center are we realistically expecting here? And who's out there to sign, even if we could? And by that, I mean....who's actually good? Like take us back into contention, good....not just something semi-serviceable like the rest of our squad.

I think this new ownership will eventually get us going in the right path...and I think that because I think they can't be worse than what we just had. Our old ownership was like a stuck record......just completely stuck in the 90's / early 00's NBA. They have been completely unable, or unwilling to see the landscape shift in the NBA...and it's cost us dearly. I am confident this new owner will make necessary changes....but I also think it's worth admitting and accepting that they are starting with a cap-maxed roster (we're in the first tier, and inches from the 2nd) and but for one pick like 5 years from now.....literally all trade options exhausted. I think it's important to see that, because I frankly think it's unfair to expect some miracle in 2-3 years.....like we pile on our poor coaches.

And I think it's worth noting that we are not a squad that's a "serviceable Center" away from competing. Because if we were...then you could justify going all in, and using that last pick to try and get something.......a pattern we have....and something that most people around here seem to buy into. Giving away 3-2nd round picks and DLo's expiring (which should have brought something on it's own, IMO) for guys like Finney-Smith are exactly why we're in the position we're in. And it's all predicated on the notion that we were in some sort of 'window'....which we totally are not. At the very, very least...this team needs to sit back and wait for Lebron to retire. And not further deplete our picks, or other future options. Very least.

[stan francisco]

Love that there’s new ownership but I’m very curious to see what comes of the idiots in the offices now:

- Linda Rambis
- Kurt Rambis
- Tim Harris
- Jeanie Buss

Only Rob, Jesse, and Joey deserve to be in that room with about 2-3 significant other front office voices added.

Agreed on all counts. Hoping we can add a Presti disciple or two to the FO. Money is not an issue.

Rob is a badass at scouting and team building. I hope we’ll get to see him unleashed now, that they don’t restrain him because of past sins committed by Linda Rambis, Magic and Jeannie. And, new ownership cannot let Magic ever have any roster building say again!

Giving Pelinka full reign as GM would be wise by new ownership. For so many reasons.

[tamaraw08]

Love that there’s new ownership but I’m very curious to see what comes of the idiots in the offices now:

- Linda Rambis
- Kurt Rambis
- Tim Harris
- Jeanie Buss

Only Rob, Jesse, and Joey deserve to be in that room with about 2-3 significant other front office voices added.

Agreed on all counts. Hoping we can add a Presti disciple or two to the FO. Money is not an issue.

Rob is a badass at scouting and team building. I hope we’ll get to see him unleashed now, that they don’t restrain him because of past sins committed by Linda Rambis, Magic and Jeannie. And, new ownership cannot let Magic ever have any roster building say again!

Giving Pelinka full reign as GM would be wise by new ownership. For so many reasons.

I was thinking about the exact idea about hiring Presti's top disciple. Rob doesn't even have anybody assigned currently as the team's GM.
I really want all the current assistant coaches evaluated and if 1 or 2 are not cutting it, I would sign one of Spoelstra's associate HC like Chris Quinn to assist JJ, or even Micah Nori who is Chris Finch's top aide.
Also hoping they could get the head trainers of the Heat, the same guys who turned G-leaguers like Gabe Vincent, Struss, Nunn into decent players when they were there,
maybe a shooting guru like Chip Engelland, the guy that improved Kawhi's shooting form.
Rob and his scouts have done great finding Caruso and Reaves but have miserably failed in picking Hood Shifino and Max Lewis 2 summers ago.
Hopefully they can hire the best brewer who can make beers for Luka to get slimmer too.

[wco81]

Actually the rumor is that Presti's contract was running out.

But after this chip, OKC will probably extend him.

This is where you use those deep pockets and blow any other offers out of the water to sign him away.