Mark Walter Explains Decision To Sell Lakers

When news broke that Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter was purchasing the L.A. Lakers from Jeanie Buss and her family, it was supposed to be a new era of purple and gold hoops. Walter was going to modernize the Lakers the way he had done for the Dodgers. But less than 12 months after officially becoming the majority owner, he announced he was selling his entire share to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.

It was a historic deal with a valuation of over $12 billion. But it also was a shocking decision for everyone involved. Many speculated that the sale is tied to Walter’s ongoing federal investigations, as he quickly sold his shares in other pro sports teams as well. But according to Jack Harris of the California Post, this decision was nothing more than a good business deal, as Walter said in his first public comments:

“We just received an offer on the Lakers that was quite a good offer,” Walter insisted, “that we decided we’d pursue selling it.”

Walter doubled down on that claim by saying he might have stayed the majority owner if not for a call from Kushner and Iger:

“If he hadn’t called me the way he did,” Walter added of his August phone conversation with Kushner, “we wouldn’t be selling the Lakers, either.”

It’s impossible to know if this is true from Walter, because Kushner and Iger did call, and Walter said yes. But Walter did — at a time — seem committed to bringing the Lakers into the future with changes he had already started to make in the front office, so it’s definitely possible he had no plans to sell.

Fans will now have to wait and see what the plans are with Kushner and Iger in charge once the team is officially transferred to their hands.

Jeanie Buss was stunned by Mark Walter selling Lakers

Buss sold the Lakers to Walter specifically due to the trust and rapport the two had developed over years. So when she learned that he was selling the Lakers to Kushner and Iger, she was reportedly stunned.

Buss’ control over the Lakers went from secure to potentially non-existent in just the course of a few weeks, as it was shortly after announced that the Buss family voted to sell their remaining shares to Kushner and Iger, as well. Buss, as the team Governor, is attempting to block that part of the sale in court.