For most people, an impulse purchase is a candy on display near the checkout counter. For Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, it’s the Lakers.
In just 72 hours, they went from no affiliation with the franchise to owning a majority stake in it. With Iger and Kushner originally eyeing the Las Vegas expansion team, then pivoting to the Lakers, they haven’t given much thought to how things will go.
In an interview with Khobi Price in the California Post, Iger admitted he has no plans in mind at the moment.
“We’re fans,” Iger said. “We respect the value that’s been created, both on the court and off. Our intention is to build this great franchise from a position of strength in many respects as an organization. We’re smart enough to know what we know and what we don’t know. It’s just premature to speculate at all about what we plan to do, because frankly, we haven’t made any plans yet. Again, we go into this with an appreciation of who the Lakers are. And we just want to build value from today on.”
Iger added: “This is very new.”
The honesty is appreciated, but concerning.
When Iger talks about wanting to “build value from today on,” is he meaning for himself or for the fans that have made the Lakers what they are?
Walter clearly didn’t care much about what the Lakers were, other than that they were “an extraordinary investment.” With no plan in place from Iger, it’s fair to wonder whether the Lakers were just his consolation prize, since the Vegas purchase was far from a foregone conclusion for his ownership group.
Given the speed of this purchase and the lack of any vision, it makes one wonder: What did those conversations with Mark Walter over those three days entail?
Did Walter not discuss Iger and Kushner’s direction or plans? Did Walter explain what he was doing, his vision and how a transition can occur? Or was this all about the money and as long as the check cleared, things were fine?
As long as the NBA Board of Governors approves this sale, Iger, a longtime Clippers fan who couldn’t root for the Lakers because it wasn’t in his DNA, and Kushner will be running things.
Hopefully, they have a plan soon and it entails something worth Lakers fans cheering for.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
