News broke on Wednesday that the Los Angeles Lakers were being sold to a group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. It is the second time the team will change hands in a year with Dodgers owner Mark Walter making billions flipping the NBA’s marquee franchise.
There are a number of theories about why Walter is selling the team so suddenly. Whatever the real reason, Walter is out and Kushner and Iger are in. Now people wondering what kind of changes the ownership group might make. They’ve already said they would honor the agreement with Jeanie Buss who will remain team Governor. However, they will probably want to bring someone new in to be involved with the team with connections to their own group.
It sounds like that will be Chris Paul.
Chris Paul and Bob Iger
Bill Simmons mentioned that Iger was a “big Chris Paul guy” while discussing the deal on his podcast on Wednesday. “I just feel like he’s going to be involved in this,” Simmons continued. “And a lot of people do. Could this lead to Chris Paul running a team before LeBron James? We’re gonna see. What does this mean for Rob Pelinka? Are they gonna push him out? You think Bob Iger wants to deal with Rob Pelinka? Could you see him put his own people there, including Chris Paul? Keep your eye on Chris Paul.”
Multiple people also told ESPN to expect Paul to be involved:
Paul and Iger became close while the point guard played for the Clippers and Iger was a season-ticket holder.
Their relationship has only strengthened over the years, sources said, with Iger hosting a book launch event at his house in 2023 for Paul’s memoir, “Sixty-One,” and Paul visiting Iger at his Disney office in Burbank, California, in March to support his friend when he cleared out his belongings to close out a 52-year run with the company.
Chris Paul’s history with the Lakers
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If Paul does end up joining the Lakers, what a long, strange trip it was to get there. The Hornets traded Paul to the Lakers in 2011, but David Stern vetoed the deal. Then Paul was traded to the Clippers, where he played six season. With Paul running the show the Clippers became a perennial playoff team after making the postseason just four times in the franchise’s first 27 years in Los Angeles.
Not to mention Paul and Iger apparently bonded because he was playing for the Clippers. So, it stands to reason that Paul wouldn’t have the same connection to the Lakers he does now if he’d actually played for the Lakers. How’s that for an unintended consequence?
Paul returned to the Clippers last season, but things did not work out and he ended up getting cut in December and retired two months later.
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