When it was reported that Mark Walter would buy the controlling stake in the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation in June 2025, many fans — me included — rejoiced.
We rejoiced that the owner of the Dodgers — the same organization that had become the model franchise in all of Major League Baseball and was in the process of winning their second straight World Series — would bring that same acumen and thirst to win to a Lakers organization that could sorely use an injection of that same spirit and leadership.
We rejoiced at the idea of Walter’s deep pockets supplanting those of the Buss Family, who had traditionally run the Lakers as a “mom and pop business” that, even while historically spending money on players and (some) head coaches, had proven more frugal when investing in areas like front office staffing, scouting, analytics, and health and wellness among other areas not governed by the collective bargaining agreement.
We rejoiced that the more insular, inner-circle-reliant approach to leadership that Jeanie Buss had adopted over the years would be replaced by a more expansive, forward-thinking mindset to organizational structure. The prospect of broadening the search for talent across the front office and business operations was an idea many — again, including me — welcomed.
And, ultimately, we rejoiced at the idea of how these three ideas would merge to reposition the Lakers as not only the most significant brand in the NBA, but the best run and most successful organization too. The Lakers would not only be well-run and well-funded, but also on a fast track to reclaiming their spot at the top of the NBA franchise hierarchy.
If this all sounds like wish-casting optimism, one only needs to remember the general response to Walter’s purchase by those who don’t root for the Lakers (or, even more, root for their failure), which was, for lack of a better word, fear.
Fear of what seemed like almost an inevitability: the Lakers, under Walter’s leadership, would begin capitalizing on their historical standing as the league’s glamour franchise by investing heavily in all the modern mechanisms that promote team success.
Only 14 months later, Walter is stunningly out as the Lakers owner, seemingly before his ownership could even gain real traction. And, while there are clear reasons to be skeptical of (or even unnerved by) the Josh Kushner and Bog Iger led group that Walter is selling his majority stake in the Lakers to, I actually find myself rejoicing some in the fact that Walter will not be around to try to see out all those grand plans to take the team I love back to the top of the league.
That might sound harsh or extreme, but if I’m being honest, it’s the feeling I simply cannot shake in the aftermath of Walter’s decision to deal away the franchise he’d only officially taken control of last October. Because the more I read about Walter, and the more I learn about the federal investigation into his finances, the more I’m grateful that he will not be the team’s owner during this exact period of what is sure to be the most challenging of his professional (and, maybe, personal) life.
I mean, let’s be real. With every ensuing report, the ricketyness of Walter’s financial position is being revealed in real time, undermining much of the appeal his ownership group was supposed to provide in the first place. From dumping the Lakers to working to sell off his stake in the Chelsea Football Clubto reports of him trying to cash out early from both the Dodgers and Lakers TV contracts with Spectrum for a lump sum payment, Walter is clearly scrambling for his financial — and, maybe, literal — freedom in ways that almost certainly would have had a negative effect on his ability to lead the franchise forward. Especially if we’re talking about pure finacial resources.
And even if you don’t necessarily believe this would have all come to a head in this upcoming season, I think it’s more than fair to speculate whether he’d have been the deep-pocketed leader many fans (and analysts) were projecting him to be well into the future. And whether or not you would argue that was his main appeal in the first place, it’s hard to disagree with the fact it was certainly one of the top reasons for excitement with him taking over the franchise.
And this is just the sunniest version of the possible negative outcomes that are on the table. There are versions of this story where even if he’s able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again by patching together the money needed to make the loans who reportedly took out from his related insurance companies whole, protracted legal issues follow him around like the stench on Peanuts’ Pigpen that continue to chip away at both his standing in the business community and his general effectiveness as a leader and steward for the organization.
That’s not the sort of context I’d want for the Lakers generally, but particularly not at a time when they are supposed to be transitioning to a new era with Luka Dončić as the face of the franchise. This is a time for stability and focused discipline to push the team forward into an extended period of contention. It’s hard to imagine that being the case when your principal owner is under federal investigation.
Maybe if the Lakers were actually in the same position as the Dodgers, where there was a decade-plus worth of infrastructure built out under Walter’s ownership, I’d feel differently. That’s the sort of foundation that can better withstand this sort of disruption with both business and team-building operations more naturally insulated because of their longer tenured and more established track records of success.
The Lakers, however, are not yet fully set up in that same way. The first season of Walter’s ownership was supposed to be a feeling out period and, as we’ve seen, it’s only been in the last four to six months where more change has been instituted in terms of staffing changes and updates to the business and basketball operations structuring.
And while I fully understand that disrupting that path forward now in favor of a new ownership group’s vision feels similar to the point I’m making about Walter’s issues, the prospect of all that is happening with him lingering or being more long-lasting is not far-fetched at all. So, I’d rather press the reset button now and have a new direction established with all the attention and intent of a new group over what could be extended uncertainty with Walter’s ongoing and developing legal issues.
This isn’t necessarily an endorsement of Iger and Kushner, either. But I’d much rather take a chance on the unknown with them over what we currently know about Walter and his ongoing financial and legal troubles.
You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegold and find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.
