WHAT was supposed to be the end of the Buss family era with the Los Angeles Lakers has suddenly turned into a fight for control.
Jeanie Buss is reportedly moving to block her siblings from selling the Buss family’s remaining 17.8-percent stake in the Lakers, a move that could also determine whether she remains the team’s governor.
The Buss family announced earlier that it had voted to sell its remaining shares to the ownership group led by Bob Iger and Josh Kushner as part of the massive Lakers ownership transaction.
But Jeanie is not going down without a fight.
According to her lawyer, Adam Streisand, the proposed sale cannot move forward without the approval of the trust’s co-trustees, which include Jeanie and her siblings Joey and Janie Buss.
The legal argument centers on the NBA’s ownership rules requiring a team governor to maintain at least a 15-percent ownership stake.
If the Buss family’s remaining shares are sold, Jeanie could lose the ownership requirement needed to remain in her position as Lakers governor, a role she has held since taking over following the death of her father, Jerry Buss, in 2013.
Her lawyer has reportedly argued that any attempt to approve the sale without her consent would be invalid and could amount to a breach of fiduciary duty.
The development adds another dramatic chapter to one of the biggest ownership transitions in NBA history.
Just days after it appeared that the Buss family was finally ready to completely walk away from the franchise they have owned since 1979, Jeanie is now fighting to preserve her position and prevent the family’s remaining stake from being sold.
The Lakers, after all, are more than just a business to the Buss family.
Under Jerry Buss, the franchise became one of the biggest dynasties in professional sports, winning 11 of its 17 NBA championships during the family’s ownership.
Now, more than four decades after Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers for $67.5 million, his children appear to be divided over how the family’s story with the franchise should end.
And while the NBA Board of Governors’ approval of the larger transaction still looms, one thing is now clear:
The Buss family may be ready to sell the Lakers but Jeanie Buss isn’t ready to let go.
The post Jeanie Buss blocking siblings’ decision to sell family’s remaining Lakers stake first appeared on Fastbreak.
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