Quo Vadis, Lakers?
What to make of another Lakers sale and the complex game being played above the game we love.
So, apparently, not even August is safe anymore.
I was enjoying my summer and the NBA news lull, that rare stretch of the calendar when you can actually find the time to watch hundreds of Ziaire Williams defensive possessions without worrying that one notification might blow up your plans. I felt so safe that I even picked yesterday afternoon for a 12-hour digital detox with my son.
And, of course, while I was offline, that notification came.
Just as it did on that Sunday morning, February 2, when I woke up to the news that Luka Dončić had been traded.
The Lakers were sold. Again.
So, just as I had to write about the Nico Harrison trade that morning, I have to write about this now.
My columns in the aftermath of the Luka trade are still the most-read pieces on this platform. They brought more new readers and subscribers to my work than anything else I have written. But I have to admit: I don’t particularly enjoy writing about this stuff.
It’s just not my thing.
Or let me correct that. What I truly enjoy, and what I am most passionate about, is writing about the game itself.
But these seismic developments keep reminding us that there is another game being played above the game. A high-stakes, big-money power game that is increasingly turning the NBA into a real-life season of Billions.
Unfortunately, this isn’t fiction. As absurd and abstract as the sums of money involved may seem, this is all real. And the game being played with them is affecting the game we all love.
Today’s highlights:
The new era of sports ownership
The new Lakers era
The untangling of the short-lived Walter era
What about the game and the Lakers’ most important player?
1-The new era of sports ownership
Before we get into the specifics of this Lakers transaction, let’s reinforce something that has become increasingly obvious over the past few years.
Sports ownership is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Across the world, from European football clubs to American sports franchises, including those in the NBA, the model has decisively shifted away from proud, family-owned legacy affairs and toward private equity funds, sprawling investment groups, and a far more transactional way of doing business.
As Danny Chau pointed out in his column for The Ringer, there have been six NBA ownership changes in the past three years, nearly half the number of sales that occurred over the previous 22 years. And the sums required to enter this game, as well as those enticing existing owners to cash out, are growing along an absurd, exponential curve. One that no longer leaves much room for the movie-style story of a rich lifelong fan buying his favorite team and returning it to its glory days.
Mark Cuban’s decision to sell the Mavericks was perhaps the clearest sign of this shift. He had been the epitome of that type of superfan owner. Even someone with his wealth, profile, and emotional investment in the franchise recognized that he could not keep up with the next wave of capital flooding into professional sports.
Like Cuban, admitting defeat and motivated by an enormous cash-out, Jeanie Buss orchestrated the sale of the Lakers to the Mark Walter-led group. It was also believed she was entrusting the stewardship of the Lakers to someone viewed as a trusted custodian who would protect the franchise and its legacy long after the Buss family surrendered control. In both cases, however, the transition quickly took an unexpected turn, at least for the people who had handed over the keys.
