The Buss era ends — maybe
The majority of the Buss family voted to sell its remaining 17.8 percent of the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger but Jeanie Buss, who would will no longer be the team's governor, is fighting back.
Good morning! Forty-seven years after Jerry Buss bought the team, his children are getting out entirely. The family trust voted to sell its remaining stake to the incoming Kushner-Iger ownership group, which ends Jeanie Buss’s tenure as governor and closes the defining ownership era in Los Angeles sports. Across town, the Clippers got a report they liked and a league response they didn’t. On the field, the Dodgers finally scored, and the Padres ran into an arm they won’t forget. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏀 End of an era. The Buss family will sell its remaining 17.8 percent stake, ending nearly five decades of ownership — Carlos Yakimowich in Los Angeles.
🏀 No evidence — for now. ESPN reports the NBA found nothing tying Steve Ballmer to paying Kawhi Leonard through sponsors. The league says the story has “significant inaccuracies” — Grant Mona in Los Angeles.
⚾ Offense finds Denver. Snell threw six of one-run ball and the Dodgers hung 11 on Colorado — Anthony Arroyo at Coors Field.
⚾ Gunned down. Carson Benge threw out two Padres at the plate in the first inning of a 2-1 Mets win — Brady Charette at Citi Field.
🏈 Decision looms. Aaron Donald’s comeback call still hangs over Rams camp — The Sporting Tribune at Rams Village.
🏈 Three in the mix. Mike McDaniel hinted at the frontrunners in the Chargers’ left guard battle — Fernando Ramirez at The Bolt.
🏈 Road trip. Young Raiders see opportunity as camp heads to Houston — Derek Hegna in Henderson.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — MONDAY
⚾ MLB: Dodgers 11, Rockies 5 · Mets 2, Padres 1
🏀 “IT IS TIME TO EXIT GRACEFULLY WHILE WE STILL CAN”
Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million — a deal that also included the Kings and The Forum. The franchise won 10 titles under him. On Monday, his children agreed to sell what was left of it.
The Buss family trust — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — voted to sell its remaining 17.8 percent stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, exercising a tag-along provision attached to Mark Walter’s agreement to sell his controlling interest. Four of six siblings were required to approve; they got the votes. At the deal’s $12.5 billion valuation, the family’s stake is worth roughly $2.23 billion before taxes and fees. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles,” the family said in a statement, “but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
The consequence is immediate. NBA rules require a governor to hold at least 15 percent of a franchise, so once the sale closes Jeanie Buss can no longer serve in the role she took over after the 2017 family dispute. The family had retained more than 15 percent when it sold control to Walter last year at a $10 billion valuation specifically so she could stay. That arrangement lasted less than a year. Pending Board of Governors approval, the Lakers will operate without a Buss as owner or governor for the first time since 1979.
GO DEEPER
› Carlos Yakimowich: Buss family to sell remaining Lakers ownership stake (The Sporting Tribune)
› Carlos Yakimowich: Bob Iger, Josh Kushner to buy Lakers for record $12.5 billion (The Sporting Tribune)
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🏀 THE CLIPPERS GET GOOD NEWS. THE NBA SAYS NOT SO FAST
After nearly a year of investigation, the NBA has found no evidence that Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard outside the salary cap, according to an ESPN report from Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne citing three people with knowledge of league-team discussions.
At the center of it was Leonard’s four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, the now-bankrupt green banking company and former Clippers sponsor, previously reported as a “no-show” arrangement. Investigators reviewed internal emails, texts and financial records, and expanded the probe to at least three other team partners including Daktronics and Boingo Wireless. They have not connected Ballmer to any of it.
The league’s response was immediate and unusually pointed. “ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation — for which the NBA declined to cooperate — contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” spokesman Mike Bass wrote. “The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.” Per ESPN, the focus has narrowed to two questions: whether the Clippers circumvented cap rules simply by introducing Leonard to sponsors, and whether the team failed to supervise employees. Ballmer denies wrongdoing and has said he’d go to arbitration rather than accept a circumvention finding. All of it keeps the agreed-upon June 30 trade sending Leonard to Toronto frozen. Adam Silver said in July he hopes to close the matter before the season tips.
GO DEEPER
› Grant Mona: New report claims NBA has no evidence Ballmer funneled money to Leonard (The Sporting Tribune)
⚾ THE BATS SHOWED UP — IN COLORADO
Twenty-four hours after Dave Roberts said the quiet part out loud — “four, five, six weeks of below-average production from our offense” — the Dodgers scored 11 runs for the first time since July 2. Mookie Betts opened with an RBI double in the second. Andy Pages singled home a run in a four-run fourth and Max Muncy followed with a three-run homer. Shohei Ohtani went deep twice, a solo shot in the fifth for his 28th and a two-run blast in the sixth. Freddie Freeman added an RBI double in the eighth.
Blake Snell was the other half of it. In his second start since coming off the injured list, he threw six innings of one-run ball on two hits, walking three and striking out five, and picked up his first win of the season. The lone sour note came where it has for two weeks: Edwin Díaz gave up three runs in the ninth of an 11-2 game. He has now allowed nine runs over his last six appearances. Eric Lauer goes Tuesday against Ryan Feltner.
GO DEEPER
› Anthony Arroyo: Dodgers cruise past Rockies behind strong Blake Snell start (The Sporting Tribune)
› Fredo Cervantes: Dodgers’ problems are bigger than Tarik Skubal (The Sporting Tribune)
⚾ THE PADRES RAN INTO AN ARM THEY WON’T FORGET
San Diego put four consecutive singles together in the first inning at Citi Field and scored once. Mets rookie right fielder Carson Benge is the reason. He threw out Jake Cronenworth at the plate with a 99.9 mph strike, then charged Manny Machado’s liner and fired a 103.9 mph throw to Francisco Alvarez to end the inning — the third-hardest outfield assist Statcast has tracked since 2015, behind only Aaron Hicks and Brett Phillips, and the first time any player has recorded two 99-plus mph assists in a single inning.
The Padres tried again in the second. A.J. Ewing threw out Xander Bogaerts. Seven consecutive San Diego batters reached across the first two innings and produced one run. Walker Buehler gave up two in the first and then threw five hitless innings, striking out four, and lost anyway. San Diego (67-59) came in having won seven of eight with series wins over Houston, Milwaukee and Cleveland, and still holds a one-game lead over Arizona for the final NL Wild Card spot. Robbie Ray goes Tuesday looking for his first win as a Padre.
GO DEEPER
› Brady Charette: Carson Benge’s arm the difference-maker in Mets’ 2-1 win over Padres (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — TUESDAY, AUGUST 18
🏀 WNBA: Sparks at Sun — Mohegan Sun Arena — 4:00 p.m. — Spectrum
⚾ MLB: Padres at Mets — Citi Field — 4:10 p.m. — Padres TV
⚾ MLB: Angels at Astros — Daikin Park — 5:10 p.m. — ABTV
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Rockies — Coors Field — 5:40 p.m. — SNLA
🏀 WNBA: Dream at Aces — Michelob ULTRA Arena — 6:00 p.m. — ESPN
Coming up: Robbie Ray chases his first win in a Padres uniform, Eric Lauer goes for the Dodgers in Denver, and Raiders camp heads to Houston for joint work with the Texans.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
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🏀 Dream at Aces — Michelob ULTRA Arena — $28
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Jerry Buss paid $67.5 million in 1979 for a package that included the Lakers. Which two other properties came with them?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode marks the end of the Buss family’s 47 years with the Lakers and what Jeanie losing the governor’s chair means for the franchise, digs into the Clippers investigation and the NBA’s pushback, and asks whether 11 runs at Coors Field means the Dodgers’ offense is back or just means Coors Field. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii via Westwood One Sports, The Bet Las Vegas, Hawaii Sports Radio Network and KIRN in Los Angeles.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and The Forum.
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