The Los Angeles Lakers are set to undergo an evolution after Mark Walter agreed a buyout.
The Buss family made the momentous decision to sell their stake in the LA Lakers, with LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter leading the new ownership consortium.
While Jeanie Buss is still in post as Lakers president for now, work is already beginning on revamping the Lakers, and trying to restore the famous franchise to their former greatness.
The first big objective has been achieved, with Luka Doncic signing a contract extension at the start of August.
Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty ImagesTy Lue mistake could be avoided
The LA Lakers are happy with JJ Redick as head coach after his impressive first season in charge, where he racked up 50 wins.
But in the past there have been missteps. Going all the way back to 2019, the Lakers attempted to hire LeBron James’ former Cleveland Cavaliers title-winning head coach, Ty Lue.
This was discussed on The Hoop Collective podcast, with ESPN’s Tim Bontemps making a point about how he feels this would not have happened under the new Lakers ownership.
Bontemps began, “I’m pretty sure Ty Lue didn’t get hired by the Lakers because of money…”, before Brian Windhorst clarified, “I think Ty Lue was underwhelmed by the contract offer, I don’t want to sell only because of money,”
Bontemps responded: “That won’t happen again if Mark Walter owns the Lakers, that’s just a fact. They are going to become a more modern organization when he takes over.”
Backing up his point, Bontemps pointed to the way the Dodgers have been run and improved since Mark Walter’s ownership group took over.
He said: “It’s not a lot different than what happened with the Dodgers. It’s when he came in. He spent a couple years looking at things, and then he invested heavily with all the back room infrastructure with the franchise, and that team has become a juggernaut.”
While acknowledging salary caps and rules are different in the NBA and MLB, Bontemps added: “I think if you pulled the league and said is Mark Walter buying the Lakers a good thing for like the rest of us as competitors in the NBA, I would guess the answer to that would be no.”
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green recently commented that he regards the Lakers as more ‘dangerous’ compared to the soon to be phased-out Jeanie Buss era.
What Ty Lue said about turning down LA Lakers job
Speaking to the Stephen A. Smith Show last year, Ty Lue said he felt insulted by the Lakers’ offer, labelling it a ‘slap in the face’.
He said: “I don’t think they had the same respect for me as I felt they should have. Now, they offered me the job on a three-year deal, but they wanted to pick my coaching staff, and I just wasn’t going to do that.
“For me, being a championship coach, to take a three-year deal when everyone else is getting five-year deals and more money—and then you want to pick my staff as well, I just thought that was a slap in the face. As a young Black head coach, I thought it would set a bad example for other guys coming up after me.”