June 18, 2025 • 6 mins
Sports shakeup! We're diving into the blockbuster news from the NBA and LA. The Buss family is handing over majority ownership of the Lakers in a jaw-dropping $10 billion deal, and fans have thoughts. Joining us is someone who knows this town, these teams, and this fanbase better than anyone, the voice of AM 570 LA Sports, NFL play-by-play announcer, and all-around sports savant, Matt 'Money' Smith. We’re talking legacy, leadership, and what this means for the future of the purple and gold. Buckle up, Lakers Nation! It’s gonna be a wild ride.
Make sure you like and subscribe to Entertain Me and follow Heather @theheatherbrooker on Instagram!
Make sure you like and subscribe to Entertain Me and follow Heather @theheatherbrooker on Instagram!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In a historic shakeup for the NBA, the Lakers are
being sold in a record setting ten billion dollar deal.
The Bus family is handing over majority ownership to billionaire
Mark Walter, who's already a key figure in LA sports
as co owner of the Dodgers. Genie Bus will stay
on as team governor, preserving a link to her family's legacy.
(00:20):
The Bus dynasty began in nineteen seventy nine with a
sixty seven and a half million dollar purchase by Jerry Buss.
Since then, the Lakers have claimed eleven championships. The blockbuster
deal marks the biggest sale in US sports history and
a seismic shift in the league's power structure. Joining me
now to talk more about this epic deal is Matt
(00:41):
Mummy Smith from kfi's sister station AM five seventy LA Sports. Matt,
you are an expert on all things Lakers. What do
you think prompted the Bus family to make this sale?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I would imagine billions and billions of dollars is ultimately
what it comes down to. You know, if you go
through the last decade, there's been a lot of family
strikeefe between Jeannie and Jim and sort of Janey has
has been out of the mix, and I think you know,
the four of them, not to mention all of doctor
Buss's other kids who work with the team, particularly Joey,
(01:14):
and you know, they probably just looked at the number
and said, we can still be involved, but we're no
longer calling the shots, but they'll still be part of
the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Let's talk about the new owners, Mark Walter and Todd
Bailey and their leadership style. How will it be different
from the Bus families and what will that mean for
the Lakers future.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, it's just pretty much sheer cash. You know. They
immediately become, you know, one of the wealthiest ownership groups
in the NBA, something that the Bus family wasn't. You know.
The Bus family's wealth obviously came from doctor Buss's real
estate portfolio, but the majority of their wealth was in
the equity that they had in the Lakers. And Mark Walter,
(01:53):
you're talking about the Guggenheim Group and tens of billions
of dollars worth of just cash that they can pump
into the team. And we've seen that come into play
with the Dodgers and how they're willing to pay you know,
what is called a soft cap which means you can
add players and salaries that go above the limit that
the league has set if you're willing to pay a penalty.
(02:16):
So they've been willing to pay that penalty to the
tune of over one hundred million dollars per season. So
once you're willing to do that, you can feel the
much more competitive team, afford higher end players and maybe
get the Lakers that elusive championship since twenty ten, outside of, of course,
the one they won in the COVID year.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So there's definitely going to be just a big injection
of money coming in.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yes, I think it's just it opens up your your
opportunities to take in salary, to pay the penalties, to
just kind of say whatever with your rules. It's worth
fifty million dollars to me, I don't care about that money.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Now, since Walter and Bailey already own the Dodgers, what
synergies or conflicts are going to arise from this dual
owner of these two major LA franchises.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
You know, we've seen it in other markets. Now, I
will say, we just saw this with the Red Sox.
You have an ownership group that traded Raffie Devers, who
had two hundred and fifty million dollars on his contract,
and they immediately They also owned Liverpool in the Premiership
in English, in the English Premier League, and they immediately
went out and spent two hundred million dollars on a
transfer player. So when you see that happen, you're like, Eh,
(03:25):
that's kind of uncomfortable for the Red Sox fans, kind
of cool for the folks that like Liverpool. I don't
get that sense with this group. This is a group
that understands the value in winning and how winning adds
to the equity that you grow in your professional franchise.
So I see zero negatives. The Lakers are not going
to lead to a deduction in payroll or willingness to
(03:48):
pay the tax with the Dodgers and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
How are the fans reacting to this new so far?
I mean, I know it's still relatively new, but do
you think they're going to be excited for the future.
Are they going to be nervous about such a massive
What are you hearing?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
You know, I haven't really heard anything specific, but what
I would say is they'll embrace this just because you know,
the Lakers and Dodger fan bases tend to, you know,
in their intersect if you have a ven diagram. I
don't know what that third piece would be, but certainly
there's considerable overlap with the Lakers and Dodger fan bases.
And if you're a fan of the Dodgers, you know,
especially following the ownership group of Frank McCourt, what Mark
(04:24):
Walter has done to this franchise to really you know, ultimately,
what he did was he had the Dodgers jump the
Lakers in terms of sporting franchise popularity in the city
of Los Angeles, it was a Laker town and then
at Dodger Town second. As soon as Mark Walter took
over the Dodgers, that immediately shifted and it has been
the Dodgers in a landslide. And so I think you'll
see those two fan bases, you know, I think you'll
(04:45):
see that the fan base of each recognize, oh wow,
this is going to kind of put us more on
the same level as opposed to the Lakers being a
step behind the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Do you think this is going to signal a larger
trend of traditional family owned teams moving towards a more
corporate style ownership in pro sports.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, I think we've already seen it in the last decade,
and you know, families want to hold on to the
teams because you know they've seen unprecedented growth. I mean, yes,
you can sell them for billions of dollars and put
that money in your pocket and start spending in But
at the same time, if you would have sold the
franchise five years ago, seven years ago, you're talking about
maybe half the valuation. You know, I don't know in
(05:23):
the moment that we're talking about this what the number was,
but let's just say it's five six billion dollars. That
could have been two three billion dollars five seven years ago.
So I think that's why the family ownership groups are
going to try to hold on as long as possible.
But it's clear in terms of a competitive balance standpoint
that it is the billionaires of the world. It is
(05:45):
the corporations that are behind them that have led to
these franchises being more successful and ultimately to winning championship.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Now, I know you have a long history with the
Bus family and the Lakers. Do you have any final
thoughts on this massive sale?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, I think it's it's sort of sad, you know,
you know, for people that have lived here a long time.
I worked with the Lakers for five years and so
I got to know, you know, the Bus family, Doctor
Bus before he passed away. Janie's a good friend to us,
to me and to the show. She comes on every
year when we do our summer tour, and so I
(06:21):
hope this is something that wasn't done out of necessity,
out of family strife and discord, but instead was just
the right time to do it. So I do think
there's a for all the celebration that's going to go,
and it should from a competitive standpoint, with the Guggenheim
group buying this, you know, the Lakers, the majority stake
in the Lakers. I do think there's a little bit
of sadness like when the O'Malley's got rid of the Dodgers,
very similarly now when the Buses ultimately got rid of
(06:44):
the majority steak in the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Last question, and it's a big one. Do you want
me to call you Matt Money, Money, Matt.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Whatever you're most comfortable with. Heather, it all works. You're
welcome
In a historic shakeup for the NBA, the Lakers are
being sold in a record setting ten billion dollar deal.
The Bus family is handing over majority ownership to billionaire
Mark Walter, who's already a key figure in LA sports
as co owner of the Dodgers. Genie Bus will stay
on as team governor, preserving a link to her family's legacy.
(00:20):
The Bus dynasty began in nineteen seventy nine with a
sixty seven and a half million dollar purchase by Jerry Buss.
Since then, the Lakers have claimed eleven championships. The blockbuster
deal marks the biggest sale in US sports history and
a seismic shift in the league's power structure. Joining me
now to talk more about this epic deal is Matt
(00:41):
Mummy Smith from kfi's sister station AM five seventy LA Sports. Matt,
you are an expert on all things Lakers. What do
you think prompted the Bus family to make this sale?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I would imagine billions and billions of dollars is ultimately
what it comes down to. You know, if you go
through the last decade, there's been a lot of family
strikeefe between Jeannie and Jim and sort of Janey has
has been out of the mix, and I think you know,
the four of them, not to mention all of doctor
Buss's other kids who work with the team, particularly Joey,
(01:14):
and you know, they probably just looked at the number
and said, we can still be involved, but we're no
longer calling the shots, but they'll still be part of
the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Let's talk about the new owners, Mark Walter and Todd
Bailey and their leadership style. How will it be different
from the Bus families and what will that mean for
the Lakers future.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, it's just pretty much sheer cash. You know. They
immediately become, you know, one of the wealthiest ownership groups
in the NBA, something that the Bus family wasn't. You know.
The Bus family's wealth obviously came from doctor Buss's real
estate portfolio, but the majority of their wealth was in
the equity that they had in the Lakers. And Mark Walter,
(01:53):
you're talking about the Guggenheim Group and tens of billions
of dollars worth of just cash that they can pump
into the team. And we've seen that come into play
with the Dodgers and how they're willing to pay you know,
what is called a soft cap which means you can
add players and salaries that go above the limit that
the league has set if you're willing to pay a penalty.
(02:16):
So they've been willing to pay that penalty to the
tune of over one hundred million dollars per season. So
once you're willing to do that, you can feel the
much more competitive team, afford higher end players and maybe
get the Lakers that elusive championship since twenty ten, outside of, of course,
the one they won in the COVID year.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So there's definitely going to be just a big injection
of money coming in.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yes, I think it's just it opens up your your
opportunities to take in salary, to pay the penalties, to
just kind of say whatever with your rules. It's worth
fifty million dollars to me, I don't care about that money.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Now, since Walter and Bailey already own the Dodgers, what
synergies or conflicts are going to arise from this dual
owner of these two major LA franchises.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
You know, we've seen it in other markets. Now, I
will say, we just saw this with the Red Sox.
You have an ownership group that traded Raffie Devers, who
had two hundred and fifty million dollars on his contract,
and they immediately They also owned Liverpool in the Premiership
in English, in the English Premier League, and they immediately
went out and spent two hundred million dollars on a
transfer player. So when you see that happen, you're like, Eh,
(03:25):
that's kind of uncomfortable for the Red Sox fans, kind
of cool for the folks that like Liverpool. I don't
get that sense with this group. This is a group
that understands the value in winning and how winning adds
to the equity that you grow in your professional franchise.
So I see zero negatives. The Lakers are not going
to lead to a deduction in payroll or willingness to
(03:48):
pay the tax with the Dodgers and vice versa.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
How are the fans reacting to this new so far?
I mean, I know it's still relatively new, but do
you think they're going to be excited for the future.
Are they going to be nervous about such a massive
What are you hearing?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
You know, I haven't really heard anything specific, but what
I would say is they'll embrace this just because you know,
the Lakers and Dodger fan bases tend to, you know,
in their intersect if you have a ven diagram. I
don't know what that third piece would be, but certainly
there's considerable overlap with the Lakers and Dodger fan bases.
And if you're a fan of the Dodgers, you know,
especially following the ownership group of Frank McCourt, what Mark
(04:24):
Walter has done to this franchise to really you know, ultimately,
what he did was he had the Dodgers jump the
Lakers in terms of sporting franchise popularity in the city
of Los Angeles, it was a Laker town and then
at Dodger Town second. As soon as Mark Walter took
over the Dodgers, that immediately shifted and it has been
the Dodgers in a landslide. And so I think you'll
see those two fan bases, you know, I think you'll
(04:45):
see that the fan base of each recognize, oh wow,
this is going to kind of put us more on
the same level as opposed to the Lakers being a
step behind the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Do you think this is going to signal a larger
trend of traditional family owned teams moving towards a more
corporate style ownership in pro sports.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, I think we've already seen it in the last decade,
and you know, families want to hold on to the
teams because you know they've seen unprecedented growth. I mean, yes,
you can sell them for billions of dollars and put
that money in your pocket and start spending in But
at the same time, if you would have sold the
franchise five years ago, seven years ago, you're talking about
maybe half the valuation. You know, I don't know in
(05:23):
the moment that we're talking about this what the number was,
but let's just say it's five six billion dollars. That
could have been two three billion dollars five seven years ago.
So I think that's why the family ownership groups are
going to try to hold on as long as possible.
But it's clear in terms of a competitive balance standpoint
that it is the billionaires of the world. It is
(05:45):
the corporations that are behind them that have led to
these franchises being more successful and ultimately to winning championship.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Now, I know you have a long history with the
Bus family and the Lakers. Do you have any final
thoughts on this massive sale?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, I think it's it's sort of sad, you know,
you know, for people that have lived here a long time.
I worked with the Lakers for five years and so
I got to know, you know, the Bus family, Doctor
Bus before he passed away. Janie's a good friend to us,
to me and to the show. She comes on every
year when we do our summer tour, and so I
(06:21):
hope this is something that wasn't done out of necessity,
out of family strife and discord, but instead was just
the right time to do it. So I do think
there's a for all the celebration that's going to go,
and it should from a competitive standpoint, with the Guggenheim
group buying this, you know, the Lakers, the majority stake
in the Lakers. I do think there's a little bit
of sadness like when the O'Malley's got rid of the Dodgers,
very similarly now when the Buses ultimately got rid of
(06:44):
the majority steak in the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Last question, and it's a big one. Do you want
me to call you Matt Money, Money, Matt.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Whatever you're most comfortable with. Heather, it all works. You're
welcome
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