Kent Bewley's News Story Collection

On Wed, Aug 12, some surprising news came out in the NBA as the Los Angeles Lakers were sold for a second time in as many offseasons. After being bought by billionaire businessman Mark Walter for $10 billion in the 2025 offseason, Walter sold the team to former Walt Disney Company chairman Bob Iger and businessman Josh Kushner for $12.5 billion. Walter is reportedly under federal investigation by the FBI and DOJ due to his financials regarding his companies, including the Guggenheim Partners investment firm that he oversees. As an owner of the Purple & Gold, Walter tried to copy the model of success that he implemented with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won three World Series titles in the last six seasons and are seeking a three-peat. But with a salary cap in the NBA, the Lakers had to stay within the parameters of their payroll, with Austin Reaves being signed to a massive contract extension keeping him in Los Angeles long-term earlier in this offseason. LeBron James left for the Philadelphia 76ers and a potential mega-contract could come soon for Luka Doncic. But now that contract will have to be hashed out by a new ownership group that includes a guy who once said that he’d rather attend games for the Los Angeles Clippers due to cheaper ticket prices and a businessman whose brother is the son-in-law to the current President of the United States.

With Iger and Kushner now taking over ownership of a Lakers team that has only won one championship in the past 15 years, there will be much discussion as to how much money they will invest to improve the roster along with a potential bump in ticket prices that is scheduled to happen in the upcoming 2026-27 season for Crypto.com Arena. The Purple & Gold now have new role players around Doncic and Reaves, who are the cornerstones of this franchise with James departed. Rob Pelinka will remain in his role as president of basketball operations and general manager of the team, as he signed Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton along with trading for Walker Kessler in return for a lot of valuable draft capital that went to the Utah Jazz. The front office has also acquired players on one-year contracts like Kevon Looney, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams in trying to gain more frontcourt depth. Despite not being able to acquire free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga right away, the Lakers are looking to defy a trend of falling into mediocrity or worse for a few seasons after LeBron departs a team in free agency. Iger and Kushner will look to keep the Lakers good as they work with Pelinka, head coach JJ Redick and the other team executives.

But there are some red flags that have been pointed out with Iger specifically becoming a part-owner of the Lakers. Iger made a comment back in 2021 on “The Old Man & The 3” podcast hosted ironically by JJ Redick that he preferred going to Clippers home games over Lakers home games because the ticket prices were cheaper. For 25 years, both the Purple & Gold and their less successful counterparts were co-tenants of STAPLES Center/Crypto.com Arena and the Clippers prices were cheaper for a lot of those years because their basketball quality lagged when compared to the dynastic might of the Lakers. Now the Clippers play in a multibillion dollar arena in Inglewood and their ticket prices are probably a bit more expensive. Meanwhile, you have the Kushner factor, as his company recently attempted to buy a share of the FIFA World Cup and a lot of the soccer federations throughout the world were opposed to that. After that failed investment, Kushner teamed up with Iger, who recently stepped down from his role as the chairman of the Disney company, to purchase an NBA franchise. Both businessmen of different ages(Iger is 75 years old, Kushner is 41 years old) attempted to stake their claim with a potential expansion franchise coming to Las Vegas in a few years, but instead they turned around and purchased the Lakers from Walter for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion.

So, now with the new ownership change, the question of who will be the “governor” of the Purple & Gold going forward is in question. Jeanie Buss was guaranteed to remain in her role as governor of the team that her father Dr. Jerry Buss built into the most successful NBA franchise in the past 50 years when Walter gained a controlling stake in the team. Buss served her first year of a five-year extension of her as governor this past season, but that contract is now in question for the soon-to-be 65-year old heiress to her father’s now corporately-owned basketball empire. Whatever happens to Jeanie Buss and her role with the Lakers is unknown, but for now Iger and Kushner are the co-owners of the Purple & Gold.