When LeBron James' camp informed the Los Angeles Lakers on June 30 that he would not re-sign with the team in free agency, it became clear that this would be a summer of change for the franchise. James and several other rotation players left, and the team brought in nine new players, either via free agency or trades. Then earlier this week, majority owner Mark Walter, who had officially purchased his share of the Lakers this past October, agreed to sell his stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. It is definitely the start of a new era for the team, and fans are filled with a mixture of excitement, anticipation and apprehension. Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, had the impending sale of the Lakers been agreed to earlier, it may have influenced James to stay put, according to one source.
"Maybe," the source said. "But that's tough to answer. Communication could have been better [with Iger and Kushner, compared to with Walter]. Just a different relationship. But the basketball piece was the most important, so maybe not from that standpoint."
Iger admitted to the California Post that the agreement to purchase Walter's share "came together in three days." There has been lots of speculation about why Walter sold so soon, but there is no evidence that he was pressured or forced into selling his stake in the franchise. After the Lakers were informed that James was leaving, he took three and a half weeks deciding which team he would sign with next. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors were considered to be the top candidates, and the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer ended up signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the 76ers. This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Source: LeBron James might have stayed if Lakers had been sold sooner