Wednesday morning’s news that Mark Walter had sold the Lakers—less than a year after buying a controlling stake in the franchise—to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capital executive Josh Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation didn’t just surprise NBA fans. It shocked the sports ownership class.
“It’s one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen,” said a source close to dozens of sports team owners. “My phone’s ringing off the hook with people saying they’re stunned.”
“Why would you sell a team within a year, and especially without an auction?” asked one former NBA governor. “Especially a premier asset like the Lakers.”
Adding to the confusion of the sale is that in the months since taking over the Lakers, Walter and his group had begun overhauling both the business and basketball sides of the franchise, signaling a plan to hold the team for years to come. Under Walter, the Lakers hired a new president of business operations and several other front-office executives, laid off more than a dozen employees, moved their G League team from South Bay to the Coachella Valley, and agreed to a jersey patch deal. Walter, who also owns the MLB’s Dodgers, even had some of his baseball executives advising president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka on how to build out the Lakers’ front office.
