For now, Jeanie Buss is still the Lakers’ governor.
That status, however, suddenly feels far less settled as the Los Angeles Lakers navigate another dramatic chapter in their ongoing ownership shake-up.
A major shift in control is on the way after Mark Walter agreed to sell his Lakers stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger in a deal valuing the iconic NBA franchise at a record-setting $12.5 billion. The move comes less than a year after Walter purchased the team from the Buss family.
Meanwhile, Jeanie Buss and the rest of the Buss family are headed back to court. Jeanie is seeking to stop her five siblings — Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss — from selling the family’s remaining 17.8% interest in the Lakers.
The legal fight, whose first hearing has been delayed from Nov. 5 to Dec. 8, could play a major role in shaping the Lakers’ power structure and behind-the-scenes future.
If Jeanie Buss’ siblings are able to sell the ownership stake, then she won’t be able to remain the Lakers’ governor.
If Buss is successful with blocking her siblings’ attempted sale, she’ll retain the ownership stake in the Lakers (through the Buss family trust) required for her to remain the franchise’s governor (at least 15%, by league rules).
But it doesn’t end there.
A source close to the NBA told The Post’s Charles Gasparino that Kushner will be the Lakers’ governor once he and Iger’s purchase is official.
Which makes sense.
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As The Post reported, Iger is expected to be most actively involved in the Lakers’ day-to-day operations between him and Kushner.
But with Kushner being the person expected to have the largest shares of the Lakers, as if Iger doesn’t have the minimum 15% ownership stake required to be an NBA franchise’s governor, Kushner being in the role would be appropriate.
But there’s a conflict: Iger told The Post in the immediate aftermath of the sale that he and Kushner intended to honor the agreement made between Walter and Buss that would have Buss remain the franchise’s governor through at least 2030.
That comment came with a very important caveat.
“If things change, they’ll change,” Iger told The Post at the time. “But we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who [Buss] is and what she represents in the organization.”
Change appeared to be on the horizon when the Buss siblings announced their wishes to sell their ownership stake of the Lakers. But that change may not happen if Jeanie Buss gets her wish and has the attempted sale legally blocked.
It’s part of the reason the Lakers’ plans under new ownership aren’t known.
Not just because there isn’t precedent of a Kusher/Iger-led regime for an NBA franchise.
But because what will be the Lakers’ internal hierarchy isn’t clear.
And with the majority ownership sale not official and still under review from the league, and the Buss family’s court date pushed back a month, those answers will likely take a while to gather.