The Buss family era of the Los Angeles Lakers is officially coming to an end.
The six siblings of the family — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — voted to sell their family trust’s 17.8% ownership stake to the new ownership group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, reports NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN.
Charania cited ESPN colleague Baxter Holmes in reporting that all six siblings voted on this sale, just about a year after some siblings reportedly felt “frustrated at Jeanie and misled by her over what they believe was a rushed sale” to Mark Walter, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers who’s divesting himself of the Lakers.
Lakers remain in flux amid changes
Under Walter, the Lakers seemed to be embracing change, though in a limited capacity.
Yes, the team’s front office had been reorganized, and some of Walter’s most trusted executives with the Dodgers were brought to help the Lakers in what was seen by many as a “Dodgerification” of the NBA franchise.
But even with Walter as majority owner, Jeanie Buss remained as the team’s governor and was expected to stay on through the end of the decade.
All of her siblings, though, were removed from their positions with the team, and now that Walter is gone, it seems Jeanie Boss decided it’s time for her to leave as well.
“Jeanie told [her siblings] this sale to [Walter] was in the best interest of the long term, but it ended up being an embarrassing one, and it was time to move on cleanly,” one person with knowledge of the process said.
The family, in a statement, said they are selling so they can “exit gracefully while we still can.”
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the statement said. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports that the “as a family” description might be a bit misleading, as Jeanie Buss voted to keep the family’s ownership.
“Am told by multiple sources that Lakers governor Jeanie Buss did not vote to sell. The other five siblings did,” she wrote on social media.
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