@Landon

5mo

The Death of Nico Harrison

The date is February second 2025, the Dallas Mavericks just traded one of the best offensive players in the world, Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. The city of Dallas and the NBA world was in an uproar, but that’s a story from another time. We are going to take a look at it to a little bit of the life of the man who fired him, Nico Harrison. Nico Harrison was the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks. The previous year the Mavericks went to the conference finals and were very close to a NBA finals appearance. But the season afterward at the trade deadline, Nico Harrison decided to move on from Luka Dončić and trade him away for almost nothing. The Mavericks failed make the playoffs, and the city of Dallas was chaos. We had people outside of the Mavs stadium protesting, saying “there was supposed to be a statue”. Nico Harrison was not safe in the city of Dallas, there were people who were trying to hurt him, cursing him and making his life miserable. He was not a popular person. In his own stadium, there were cheers of fire, Nico and other rude remarks to say the very very least. To this day, nobody really knows why he traded Luka, and to be honest, I don’t think we have a clear reason why he did. But what we do know now is he changed the trajectory of the Dallas Mavericks for good. Until the mavericks through a totally not rigged draft got the prodigy son Cooper Flagg. Cooper Flagg has potential to be one of the best basketball players of the decade. But about one year after the trade, Nico Harrison was fired. He ruined his reputation and image forever.

NBA

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Blocked By Jeanie

The Buss family’s 47 year ownership of the Lakers may be approaching a messy conclusion. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that at least five of Jerry Buss’s six children voted to sell the family trust’s remaining 17.8% stake to the prospective ownership group led by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. If completed, the sale would leave Jeanie Buss below the NBA’s reported 15% ownership requirement for serving as team governor. But Jeanie is challenging the vote. In a legal letter first obtained by CNBC, her attorney argued that the shares cannot be sold without the approval of the trust’s co-trustees - Jeanie, Janie and Joey Bus - and cited a court order requiring the family to retain enough ownership for Jeanie to remain in control. The dispute follows Mark Walter’s agreement to sell his controlling interest in the Lakers to the Kushner-Iger group at a $12.5 billion valuation - less than a year after purchasing it at a $10 billion valuation. The Lakers may be changing hands for the second time in a year, but the Buss family’s fight over the franchise is not over yet.

@nick

Mark Walter Under Investigation

Mark Walter’s sudden sale of the Lakers may be connected to a federal investigation involving his insurance companies. Joe Pompliano reports that Walter revised the amount of insurance company assets loaned to businesses he controlled from $1.4 billion to $21 billion. Federal prosecutors and the SEC are investigating, having already seized Walter’s phone and computer. Meanwhile Walter has reportedly been working to raise billions and restructure those loans. Pompliano believes the financial pressure likely contributed to Walter selling the Lakers shortly after acquiring control of the franchise, although that connection has not been officially confirmed. The potential fallout could extend across Walter’s sports portfolio that includes not only the Lakers but other top tier franchises like the Dodgers, Chelsea FC, and the Cadillac Formula 1 team. Darren Rovell warned that the Guggenheim related entanglements could, at minimum, lead to additional team sales. Jacob of @AndThatsBB also noted that Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers contract contains a provision allowing him to opt out if Walter or Andrew Friedman is no longer involved with the team. This remains a developing story but the dominos that are in place to fall here are massive. Sources: Joe Pompliano/Huddle Up; Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell); Jacob (@AndThatsBB); Reuters; ESPN.

@nick

Lakers Sold for Record $12B

Per Ramona Shelbourne (X @ramonashelburne) - The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to American businessman Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record breaking price over $12 billion, multiple sources told ESPN. Kushner and Iger were involved in the expansion process in Las Vegas, but a stunning turn, they pivoted to make an aggressive offer to buy the Lakers from Mark Walter, who had purchased a controlling interest in the team from the Buss family last year.