Lakers Sale: Did Buss Family Sells Remaining Stake To Bob Iger & Josh Kushner?

UPDATE: So, maybe Bob Iger and Josh Kushner don’t own 83% of the Los Angeles Lakers after all, or do they?

It’s crickets from the Thrive camp today as reps for Jeanie Buss contradict a earlier assertion from the offspring of Dr. Jerry Buss that it is “time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

In a move that reeks of a Succession and Running Point crossover that no one asked, a lawyer for Lakers governor and controlling owner Jeanie Buss insisted later Monday that the so-called sale of the family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the NBA team was all a “years-long pattern” and play by Joey and Jesse Buss to force the hand of their sister (and seemingly Dad’s favorite).

Accusing the siblings in a two-page letter to their lawyers of leaking “false, defamatory and pernicious” info to ESPN‘s Shams Charania “for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss’s chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes,” Adam Streisand further lambasted the so-called sale. Citing a 2017 L.A. Superior Court order obtained to clear up a previous Buss civil war, the Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton attorney states that “any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.”

He emphasized: “On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed ‘vote’ to sell the 17.8% stake.”

Contacted by Deadline this evening, Streisand said that there had been no further developments in the matter.  

As stated earlier, if the family were to cash out their remaining stake in the 11x NBA Champs, Jeanie Buss would lose her exalted governor status. Under the rules of the Adam Silver-run league, to be a team governor an individual must own at least 15% of said team.

Now, if the Buss’ are actually cashing out with a tag-along to Mark Walter’s $12.5 billion sale of the now LeBron-less Lakers to the ex-Disney CEO and brother of Donald Trump‘s BFF son-in-law there would be no family member running the joint in any capacity since 1979. That’s an if, right now.

What is not an if is that the NBA Board of Governors have to sign off on the initial sale to Iger and Kushner at their September 15 and 16 meeting in NYC. Add to that Kushner will have to sell his piece of the Miami Heat to be able to take his big Lakers courtside seat.

PREVIOUSLY, 1:56 PM: Bob Iger was feted like a Disney Prince at D23 this past weekend, but the ex-CEO real starturn looks to be scoring an even greater stake in the L.A. Lakers today.

With longtime owners the Buss family voting to tag along with Iger and Josh Kushner’s $12.5 billion purchase last week of the NBA team from Mark Walter, the former House of Mouse boss and brother of Donald Trump’s number #1 son-in-law now own 83% of the Lakers.

That’s a 17.8% rise over the 65% or so the duo had last week when the purchase off Dodgers shareholder Walter was made public after a frantic 72-hours of bartering.

Kushner’s Thrive Capital did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on enlarged ownership. However, the Buss family were court side with a statement of their own Monday.

“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the Buss’ said today to ESPN (which Iger used to lord over) after four out of the six siblings voted for the sale. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

As viewers of HBO‘s two-season Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty know, Dr. Jerry Buss bought the team (plus the L.A. Kings and the Forum itself) in 1979 and brought some Tinseltown magic (+ Magic Johnson) to the NBA. Under the Buss family, with patriarch Jerry passing away in 2013, the Lakers snagged 11 NBA Championships. Last year, the family sold control of the organization to Walter for $10 billion. Under investigation for alleged dodgy finances, Walter flipped the team to franchise seeking Iger and Kushner almost as fast as a Kobe lay-up.

Under both Walter and it seemed Iger and Kushner, Jeanie Buss remained a governor of the team. “We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told Rupert Murdoch’s The California Post on August “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”

That era comes to an end now as NBA rules demand a governor has to own at least 15% of a team.