Exactly how much of the Los Angeles Lakers Josh Kushner and Bob Iger will end up with is a mystery at this point. They agreed to buy Mark Walter’s majority share of the team just over a week ago, but on Monday, Aug. 17, five of the six Buss siblings agreed to sell their 17.8% minority share to Kushner and Iger.
It was the Buss family that sold Walter his majority share just last October. Now, Jeanie Buss, the one Buss sibling who is against that minority stake also being sold, could end up losing her role as the Lakers’ governor if that transaction goes through, and it looks like she will vigorously fight to make sure it doesn’t happen.
She is reportedly open to finding a scenario where she will own at least 15% of the franchise so that she can remain as its governor. Matt Barnes, a forward who spent the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with the Lakers, says he fully supports Buss and hopes she stays put, via Lakers Nation.
“I love Jeanie. Absolutely love Jeanie and what she’s about,” Barnes told Lakers Nation at the 26th annual Harold & Carole Pump Foundation celebrity dinner. “Unfortunate that family drama — and I’ve had it — has to play out publicly, but I support Jeanie 100%. I think she’s done a great job of trying to continue to make the Lakers stand for what her dad wanted them to stand for. I hope she continues to stay on the management side and things go her way.”
The Buss family first purchased the Lakers in 1979 when her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, bought them from Jack Kent Cooke. From that point until the elder Buss’ death in 2013, the franchise won 10 NBA championships, but since he passed away, it has won just one title and missed the playoffs seven times. From 1979 to 2013, it failed to reach the postseason just twice.
It is now the Luka Doncic era, and no matter who will truly be in charge from here on out, Lakers fans are hoping for multiple NBA championships while Doncic is the storied franchise’s leading man.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Laker Matt Barnes hopes Jeanie Buss stays as governor
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
