Mark Walter is wasting no time reshaping the Lakers in his image.
Joey and Jesse Buss, members of the family that controlled the franchise for nearly five decades until late last month, have been fired from the front office roles they held, effective immediately, a team source confirmed to Front Office Sports.
The booting of the Buss brothers from the Lakers front office is part of a reorganization of the team’s basketball operations department that will also see “much of the scouting staff” fired, according to ESPN.
Joey Buss had served as alternate governor and VP of research and development, while Jesse Buss was assistant general manager.
Walter’s acquisition of a majority stake in the Lakers—a deal made with his longtime business partner Todd Boehly—was completed Oct. 30. The press release announcing the deal had closed said Jeanie Buss would remain team governor and “oversee day-to-day team operations for the foreseeable future.” A representative for Buss did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Joey and I were pushed to the sidelines for well over two years, so while the news of our removal is deeply disappointing, it is not entirely unexpected,” Jesse Buss wrote in an emailed statement to FOS. “Still, it’s incredibly hard to see our time with the Lakers end this way. We grew up in this organization – learning the game, the business, and the responsibility of stewardship directly from our father.
“Even though this isn’t the ending we wanted, we’re grateful for the decades we spent devoting our time to the Lakers and for the relationships and experiences that shaped us. The franchise will always be part of who we are,” the statement read.
Their father, Jerry Buss, bought the Lakers, Kings, and Los Angeles Forum for $67.5 million in 1979. Their sister Jeanie Buss, 64, has been governor since her father died in 2013. Walter’s acquisition, first announced in June, valued the Lakers at a record $10 billion, surpassing the $6.1 billion sale of the Celtics to a group led by Bill Chisholm announced last spring.
In a separate statement to ESPN, Jess Buss said, “… Jeanie has effectively kept herself in place with her siblings fired.”
Walter and Boehly also co-own the Dodgers, who have won the last two World Series. In addition to the Lakers and Dodgers, Walter and Boehly’s sports portfolio includes Premier League soccer club Chelsea and the WNBA’s Sparks.
Led by Luka Dončić, the Lakers are off to a hot start with an 11-4 record this season despite LeBron James having only played one game—he returned to action Tuesday after missing the first 14 games due to sciatica. The Lakers are 8-2 since Walter’s acquisition closed.
In late September, Joey and Jesse Buss announced the launch of their own investment firm, Buss Sports Capital. The firm will invest across the “global sports ecosystem.”
“Looking ahead, Buss Sports Capital gives us the chance to take what we’ve learned and what our father instilled in us and build something of our own,” Jesse Buss wrote in the emailed statement. “We’re genuinely excited to invest in teams, athletes, and communities in a way that reflects our values – because carrying our father’s legacy forward doesn’t stop here. It evolves.”
