Once again, we have a whole host of news, rumors and updates around the Buss family’s feud, Mark Walter and even a cameo from Shams Charania to defend himself against a claim from Jeanie Buss.
All that and it’s not even been 24 hours since we posted one of these roundups. What an exhausting week.
Let’s dive into the latest headlines and reports.
Jeanie Buss buying sibling’s shares?
While it seems like the Buss family drama may be destined to end in a courtroom, there are other ways things could play out. One of them could involve Jeanie
effectively taking control of the Buss Family Trust.
In a piece by Dan Woike and Sam Amick of The Athletic on Wednesday, they raised the possibility of Jeanie buying the shares from the rest of the family.
Could there be a way for the rest of the siblings to sell and Jeanie to remain as governor? That would require her finding a way to still own at least 15 percent of the shares, but it is possible. Per a league source, Jeanie would be open to exploring that scenario.
The first reaction to this is ‘Duh, of course Jeanie is open to it.’ The second reaction is that it feels like there is no chance the family is interested in selling those shares to Jeanie.
That said, we don’t know the siblings’ intentions. Perhaps they just want to cash out it doesn’t matter whether Jeanie gives them that money or Bob Iger and Josh Kushner do. Does Jeanie even have enough money to do that, though?
While this option is on the table, it doesn’t feel particularly likely.
The contract to keep Jeanie as governor
Another aspect of this is whether Iger and Kushner have an interest in even keeping Jeanie as governor. However, it might not be under their control.
In the same piece for The Athletic, Woike and Amick reported that the contract she signed with Mark Walter to remain governor for at least five years might be part of the deal for Iger and Kushner.
It’s fair to wonder how Iger and Kushner see this situation, with some wondering whether they’d want to choose a different governor simply because of the messiness of it all. But Walter’s choice to have Jeanie serve as governor for the next four years is known to be part of the contractual agreement from the sale 14 months ago, and a league source close to the situation indicated that it is now considered part of the deal with Iger and Kushner. In essence, if that proves to be the case, Iger and Kushner would be assuming Walter’s ownership role and the governor that comes with it.
If so, it makes sense why Jeanie is fighting so hard to maintain that 15% ownership stake. If she believes she’ll remain the governor no matter who owns the team, then her stance makes more sense.
It doesn’t make it any less desperate or annoying to watch as fans on the outside looking in, but at least there’s a little bit of logic to it.
Shams Charania fires back at Jeanie
One of the wilder strays of the letter from Jeanie’s lawyer was directed at Shams Charania of ESPN and his report on Monday morning that the Buss family would be selling their stake.
As you know, this afternoon, Shams Charania of ESPN falsely reported that the six Buss siblings voted to sell the 17.8% ownership stake in the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, and that my client, Jeanie Buss, is “out” as controlling owner. This is just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious “information” to Mr. Charania for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss’s chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.
That felt pretty far out of left field, but clearly there was some pent-up anger from Jeanie in this situation. On Tuesday, Charania appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and defended his reporting on the matter.
Look, Shams’ method of reporting deserves criticism and I’m not going to be defending him. But I also think Jeanie throwing shots his way in this situation felt out of place, mean-spirited and just odd.
Mark Walter tried to take loans out against Lakers’ stake
Lastly, we have our daily “What crazy way did Mark Walter try to get money” update, this time being one that feels like it was serious.
On Tuesday, Eric Platt, Sun Yu, Oliver Barnes, James Fontanella-Khan and Lee Harris of the Financial Times reported that Walter attempted to take out a loan against his Lakers’ stake with conversations carrying on all the way to him agreeing to sell the team.
Mark Walter held discussions with private investment giant Apollo Global Management about a multibillion-dollar loan against his Los Angeles Lakers stake, in a sign of the billionaire’s rush to raise cash this year.
The talks took place throughout the summer and continued until former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner offered to buy Walter’s stake in the Lakers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The more we learn about Walter, the more it feels like the sale, when it came, was one of the better options on the table.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
