Jeanie Buss remains the Lakers’ governor.
But that title — as well as many things relating to the Lakers — hangs in the balance after the last month of the Lakers’ ownership saga.
Josh Kushner, founder and CEO of Thrive Capital, is expected to be the lone controlling shareholder of the Lakers. Getty Images for Fortune Media
There will be a majority ownership change after Mark Walter agreed to sell his shares of the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a historic valuation of $12.5 billion, less than a year after Walter bought the team from the Buss family.
As for Jeanie Buss and her family, they’re set for another date in court as Jeanie attempts to block her five siblings (Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss) from selling the family’s 17.8% share of the Lakers.
That litigation, with the initial court hearing being pushed back from Nov. 5 to Dec. 8, will have a significant impact on the Lakers’ internal dynamics.
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.
Bob Iger, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, will be most involved in the Lakers’ operations between him and Josh Kushner. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Disney
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.
Los Angeles Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss is attempting to stop her siblings from selling the family’s minority ownership stake in the franchise. Getty Images
“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.
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