The Los Angeles Lakers made headlines on Wednesday, and it had nothing to do with a blockbuster trade.
Jeanie Buss (the Lakers’ governor) and her family elected to sell majority ownership of the Lakers to Mark Walter, who also has interests in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, the Premier League club Chelsea, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn named the Lakers’ newly acquired guard Luka Doncic a winner of the historic $10 billion sale.
“Think about the front office Doncic is coming from in Dallas (Mavericks),” Quinn wrote. “Forget for a moment that it was dumb enough to trade him in the first place. When Nico Harrison took over in 2021, the Mavericks had Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson flanking Doncic. They lost both essentially for nothing. Doncic’s prime, at that point, was not in good hands.”
“Well, now the person shaping the organization as Doncic hits his theoretical peak will be Walter. No, he will not be making the basketball decisions, but his track record with the Dodgers speaks for itself.”
“They haven’t missed the playoffs since his first season owning the team. They’ve made the World Series four times, won it twice, and have won more than 60% of their games.”
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“He’s going to put the right people in place to lead this team into the future. That’s no guarantee of anything, of course, but it’s a good sign for Doncic’s hopes of competing for titles in Los Angeles.”
If Doncic wasn’t convinced to sign a long-term extension with the Lakers this summer before the groundbreaking deal, he likely is now.
Despite being far from the most dysfunctional NBA franchise, Quinn wisely noted that the Mavericks didn’t have their act together while Doncic was a member of the organization.
Doncic’s experience in Los Angeles hasn’t been 100% positive either. Still, the recent news should excite the 26-year-old playmaker, considering he wants to be a part of a franchise serious about raising multiple championship banners in the foreseeable future.
The five-time All-Star averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game in 28 games with the Lakers this season, shooting 43.8% from the field and 37.9% from three while coming away empty-handed (Los Angeles failed to advance past the first round).
If Walter works his magic and replicates the success he’s achieved while working with other professional organizations, Doncic and the Lakers should be in tremendous shape.
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