How much longer will Jeanie Buss remain the Lakers' governor?
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since 1979, when Dr. Jerry Buss purchased them from previous owner Jack Kent Cooke. Dr. Buss owned the team until his death in 2013, and his daughter, Jeanie, has been in charge ever since.
The younger Buss has held the title of governor, and she has been criticized by plenty of fans, as her track record in that role hasn't exactly been as sterling as that of her father. The team won 10 NBA championships under the ownership of the elder Buss, but since his passing, it has missed the playoffs seven times and reached the Western Conference finals just twice.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, the younger Buss will hold on to her title of governor for at least five more years.
"Per a team source, Buss' agreement with Walter and the NBA stipulates that she'll remain the team's governor for at least the next five seasons," Woike wrote.
The biggest change that is expected to come is the sparing of no expense when it comes to bringing in the best people for the Lakers organization, as much as league rules will allow. The league's new suffocating collective bargaining agreement is something that billions of dollars in the bank cannot overcome, but that type of capital can be used on coaches, medical and training personnel, analytics experts and so on.
While in charge of the Dodgers, Walter has spent tons of money in order to win. The team, which had been dormant for a long time when he became its primary owner in 2012, has now won the National League West in 11 of the past 12 seasons and brought home two World Series championships in the previous five seasons.
Walter has been a minority owner of the Lakers since 2021.
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