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In Less Than Year, Lakers Land New Coach, New Superstar, & New Owner

June 20, 2025

In less than a year, the Lakers pulled off an extreme franchise makeover, adding a new head coach of the future in JJ Redick, a new superstar of the future in Luka Doncic, and a new owner of the future in Mark Walter.

The Lakers extreme new makeover started one year ago next Tuesday when the team hired JJ Redick to be their head coach of the future. We didn’t know it then but that was Jeanie’s first public transition move. Jeanie’s true first transition move came back in 2021 when Mark Walter purchased Philip Anschutz’s 26% minority share of the Lakers and was awarded first right of refusal should the Busses decide to sell the team.

What’s obvious in retrospect is Jeanie Buss has just given the professional sports industry a master class in how an owner of a legacy franchise like the Lakers should handle the sale of the team to a new ownership group.
Jeanie Buss choreographed the hiring of JJ Redick as the team’s head coach of the future, the blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic to be their superstar of the future, and now the sale to Mark Walter, their new owner of the future.

Jeanie Buss negotiated the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion. That’s $4 billion more than was paid for the Boston Celtics a few months ago, making it the biggest sales price in history for a pro sports franchise.
More importantly, Jeanie leaves the Lakers with a dynamic new young head coach, a elite new young top-3 megastar point guard, and a proven new young owner committed to building teams and winning the right way.

As the NBA undergoes a chaotic changing of the guard with new teams and superstar vying to take over the league, Jeanie Buss has done a masterful job as trustee of the Lakers in choreographing the franchise’s transition.

What New Owner Means for Rob Pelinka & JJ Redick?

…

While Jeanie is staying as governor during the transition, the days of running the Lakers like a small-time family business on a shoestring are over and Pelinka and Redick will be held accountable for their jobs.

Using the Dodgers’ turnaround since being bought by TWG Global as a guide, Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick can expect to be given a fair opportunity and every possible tool or benefit to help them best perform their jobs.
Mark Walter has been a minority partner since 2021 so he’s been intimately involved in all the Lakers have been doing, which is why he is comfortable with Jeanie Buss remaining as the team’s governor during the transition.

But Walter clearly plans to follow the same blueprint he used to rebuild the entire Dodgers’ organization, which means Pelinka and Redick will finally be held accountable to a championship standard for their performances.
While Walter won’t be able to buy an NBA championship by overpaying players, he will certainly pour finances and resources into every aspect of running the Lakers from player development to analytics to training.

Rob Pelinka will be under heavy scrutiny and will likely see his front office team dramatically expanded. There won’t be any excuses accepted if the Lakers start the NBA season without a legitimate starting quality center.
Same for JJ Redick. He may be a rookie coach but he will be given every opportunity to show he has the chops to become a great NBA coach. In the end, JJ needs to grow up, develop quickly, and, most importantly, win.

Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick will enter the 2025–26 NBA season secure in their positions but also clearly aware that they would be held to very high performance standards, for which they will be personally accountable.

What New Owner Means for LeBron James & Austin Reaves

…

On the surface, one of the reasons Mark Walter wants Jeanie Buss to remain governor during the transition is to insure that the team continues the strong personal relationships with LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

Since Walter is already a minority owner, he’s likely up-to-date on what the Lakers are planning with respect to LeBron James and his player option and with respect to Austin Reaves and the continuing trade rumors.
Could the sale to Walter motivate LeBron James to play for more than just one more season? Could Walter veto Reaves untouchable status and use him to make an offer to Utah for Walker Kessler the Jazz cannot refuse?

While having a rich owner still won’t allow you to exceed the second apron, expect Mark Walter to dramatically raise the bar on what is acceptable to be a Lakers player. Count on better scouting, analytics, and development.
What you won’t see is a Lakers team where critical roster needs like a shot blocking center to protect the rim gets kicked down the road and ignored for multiple seasons. Accountability is how you win championships.

How the Lakers address the LeBron situation will be interesting. Do they want LeBron to play more seasons or would they prefer that next season be his farewell tour season so they can plan how to move on from the King?
Could the Lakers decide the smart move was to trade Austin Reaves now in an attempt to get Walker Kessler or move him to the bench to open up a starting role for a defense-first point-of-attack defender like Marcus Smart.

Mark Walter will probably allow Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick to proceed with their previously planned strategy this summer but if the Lakers are not playing championship basketball, expect major changes at the deadline.

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15 Comments

LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

In Less Than Year, Lakers Land New Coach, New Superstar, & New Owner In less than a year, the Lakers pulled off an extreme franchise makeover, adding a new head coach of the future in JJ Redick, a new superstar of the future in Luka Doncic, and a new owner of the future in Mark… pic.twitter.com/QjOJxfqAKp— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 20, 2025
LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

In Less Than Year, Lakers Land New Coach, New Superstar, & New Owner What New Owner Means for Rob Pelinka & JJ Redick?While Jeanie is staying as governor during the transition, the days of running the Lakers like a small-time family business on a shoestring are over and… pic.twitter.com/c0yih2nYeK— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 20, 2025
LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

In Less Than Year, Lakers Land New Coach, New Superstar, & New Owner What New Owner Means for LeBron James & Austin ReavesOn the surface, one of the reasons Mark Walter wants Jeanie Buss to remain governor during the transition is to insure that the team continues the strong… pic.twitter.com/ndsGU0ztfy— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 20, 2025
Michael H
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Nice post Tom, by the way. mark is 65. But I guess that’s young for you. Lol.
- LakerTom
  8 months, 4 weeks ago
  
  Thanks, Michael. Young is a state of mind.
MongoSlade
8 months, 4 weeks ago

The revisionist history of the “Great Job” that Jeanie has done during her tenure is…..quaint. Maybe I’m mis-reading the tea leaves but it doesn’t seem like the conversation was Mark saying “I’ll buy the team if you stay on as Governor”. Seems like it was more Jeanie saying “I’ll only SELL the team if I stay on as Governor and I want it in writing so I can’t get the boot like Cuban did”.
- LakerTom
  8 months, 4 weeks ago
  
  EXACTLY. What I do give Jeanie credit for is agreeing back in 2021 to give Mark Walter the first right of refusal to buy the Lakers. That was a smart move that made this sale actually happen.
  
  Fortunately for Lakers fans, the Lakers lure was enough to get LeBron and win the 2020 championship so she doesn’t strike out despite the mom and pop running of the franchise.
  
  I do give Jeanie credit for choosing Mark, approving the hire of Redick, letting Rob pull off the Luka trade, and getting her family to agree to sell the team at the right time. Lots of luck and good timing involved, but in the end maybe one of the best transitions of ownership of a legacy franchise ever. At least so far.
  
  What’s different about Mark and the Lakers is this was a sale to a guy who is essentially an insider. That’s a lot different from the sale of the Mavs to an outsider. Mark didn’t make Ishbia type moves when he took over the Dodger and I don’t think he will do that with the Lakers.
  
  What he will do, however, is make smart business decisions about the GM, the coach, and Austin Reaves, which was not something we could confident was being done in the past.
  
  Lakers run like a $10B business is going to be something to watch.
  The NBA is definitely not MLB but there is a synergy.
  Can Mark do for the Lakers what he did for the Dodgers?
  That’s what we’re going to get a chance to find out.
  - MongoSlade
    8 months, 4 weeks ago
    
    Real quick…
    
    -LeBron came here to raise his family on the West Coast, work with Magic, and build his business empire. Very little to do with Jeanie.
    
    -Jeanie gave the job to Dan Hurley who then gave it back when he realized what a shitshow our front office was…that’s why Reddick is here.
    
    -Luka is here because Nico Harrison is an idiot.
    
    One thing I give her credit for is being good at self-preservation and self-promotion.
    - LakerTom
      8 months, 4 weeks ago
      
      Definitely a lot of luck involved in getting where we are. But that’s how it always is in life. Luck always has a big play in where we end up.
      - MongoSlade
        8 months, 4 weeks ago
        
        But being lucky doesn’t elevate you to “Master Class ” status.
Jamie Sweet
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Interesting read and takes. I think that, taking into account what a shit show the Timberwolbes sale has been, this was as clean frankly out of public eye until details were concluded, as one could expect: if Magic were more fully involved Jimmy Kimmel would have reported the same first 2 months ago or something like that.
- Jamie Sweet
  8 months, 4 weeks ago
  
  My take is this: everyone’s margin for error just shrunk. A lot. Hyperbole rote, corporate spin and poor choices will (hopefully) result in the people in question finding employment elsewhere.
  - Jamie Sweet
    8 months, 4 weeks ago
    
    Rob won’t last if he keeps crafting rosters with gaping holes at multiple positions and tossing draft picks into deals that don’t merit their inclusion. Bob Meyers is out there, Pelinka will need to be a lot smarter/luckier than he has already been. We’ve seen GM’s and coaches let go who have won banners more recently than we have.
    - Jamie Sweet
      8 months, 4 weeks ago
      
      JJ won’t last if he keeps losing his on-court composure and mistaking annoyance for grit in post game interviews. With able-bodied assistants in the waiting his leash will be very short. Coaches, fair or not (often not) are the first casualty in these kind of rebuilds. Better learn the lessons available or go back to podcasting.
      - Jamie Sweet
        8 months, 4 weeks ago
        
        The LeBron question is an interesting one. Everyone needs to be careful about what they say, text and email in regards to this. Wouldn’t surprise me if, suddenly, LeBron was to take more of a pay cut than he previously hinted at. Not the vet minimum, let’s not be absurd. But maybe something in line with opening up the spending tools in conjunction with getting some of James’ people on the team payroll.

LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

Lakers’ first move under Mark Walter should be to hire Bob Myers

The Los Angeles Lakers will revamp their front office under new owner Mark Walter and bringing on Bob Myers to run things is the obvious choice. Myers spent 11 years in charge of the Golden State Warriors where he won four championships and made six trips to the NBA Finals. He twice won Executive of the Year and has proven he can build a dynasty.

The Lakers sale came as a shock, but fans should be ecstatic. The new ownership group will spare no expense. Walter and his partners own the Dodgers and have spent on every aspect of the team. The Lakers were known for penny-pinching under the Buss family, but that will no longer be the case.

Rob Pelinka is currently in charge of the front office, but that won’t stop Walter from bringing in more voices. Pelinka would have the option to stay on as general manager, but the new boss will beef things up. He got the best top executive in baseball when he bought the Dodgers and is likely to repeat history with his new NBA franchise.

Walter paid $10 billion to buy the team. He clearly has no plans of saving money or trying to get cute. The plan is to win championships. Rob Pelinka built a championship roster in 2020 but quickly tore it down to acquire Russell Westbrook. Bob Myers built a dynasty in the Bay Area, and Walter will have no qualms about making the upgrade.

The Lakers would have to convince Myers to come out of retirement. He currently works as an analyst for ESPN and a consultant for the Washington Commanders in the NFL. Myers left the Warriors in 2023 with Mike Dunleavy Jr. taking over. The Hawks were interested this offseason, but Marc Stein reported Myers turned down the role in part because he wanted to stay in LA with his family. That wouldn’t be an issue if the Lakers come calling.

Myers is a legend for winning four titles with the Warriors but building a Lakers dynasty would put him in the executive GOAT conversation. With the financial backing from Walter and the new ownership group, this could be the perfect storm to build the best organization in the NBA from top to bottom.

Luka Doncic was a massive winner in the sale and things will only improve. The Lakers want to win and will do whatever it takes. Doncic led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2024 just months before the stunning trade. He is already locking in and is ready to lead the Lakers back to glory. Convincing Myers to lead the front office would be another feather in LA’s cap.

The Los Angeles Lakers just sold for $10 billion. Mark Walter will certainly make upgrades with the plan of winning. There is no better person to build their roster than Bob Myers. He is available, but won’t come cheap. The new owner could make a massive splash and set the Lakers up to create another dynasty. It sounds like the perfect plan. Fans just have to wait for it to become reality.
Jamie Sweet
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Bob won’t take this job unless he answers to nobody but Mark. Not Rob…hard to see him accepting Jeannie as a boss but maybe as long as he feels like anything proposed to her will cross Mark’s desk, as well.

LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

1. Jrue Holiday – Boston Celtics
2. Andrew Wiggins – Miami Heat
3. Michael Porter Jr. – Denver Nuggets
4. Keegan Murray – Sacramento Kings
5. Bennedict Mathurin – Indiana Pacers
6. Derrick Jones Jr. – L.A. Clippers
7. Ochai Agbaji – Toronto Raptors
8. Royce O’Neale – Phoenix Suns
9. Matisse Thybulle – Portland Trail Blazers
10. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Memphis Grizzlies

LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

This is an interesting Bobby Marks trade.

Lakers give up 2031 pick and Dalton Knecht
But get starting center and No. 36 pick.

Brooklyn Move Down to No. 11 from No. 8
But picks up Lakers 2031 first round pick.

Trailblazers give up 2027 first round pick but get Dalton Knecht.
LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

I’m doing this in a heartbeat bro https://t.co/uKvsFMT8nd pic.twitter.com/gDzfpoYsmG— 🦅 (@deadboylyfee) June 20, 2025

LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

Winner: Luka Doncic and LeBron James

Luka Doncic and LeBron James stand to benefit from Walter spending more money to improve the roster around those two. Doncic will benefit longer because he’ll be on the team for the next decade or so.

Loser: Rob Pelinka
Walter has a track record with the Dodgers of changing who is in charge of making team decisions in order to become a championship-level team. He could do the same with Pelinka.

Winner: Jeanie Buss

Not only does Buss get to sell her franchise for the highest price in the history of sports, but she gets to keep control of the team. She will still be the Governor.

Loser: Wyc Grousbeck

The last NBA franchise to be sold was the Boston Celtics. They did not get sold for nearly as much as the Lakers did. Wyc Groubseck sold the franchise for just $6 billion.

LakerTom
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Mark will want to make sure that the Lakers can clear cap space when LeBron leaves. My guess is the Lakers would like more than just next year to get ready. Best guess is James signs a 2-year extension with the second year to be the farewell tour.