Former Lakers Majority Owner Mark Walter Discussion

By the way , it came to my attention the funds used by Walter to buy the Lakers come from UAE .

Not a fan of this at all

 

Any source reading on that you can share?

 

Doesn't matter who picked who, he's a the GM. Still his responsibility.

 

UAE? I never heard that. Do you have a link to that?

 

Yeah that’s a bit of a



to just casually drop.

 

Which reminds me …. I’ll channel @Slick2021 on an island fighting alone and say I like the bit of added interest and color the NBA Cup generates in season. Better than what All Star weekend has become.

 

Maybe the Lakers will hire you and you can be their "optimistic" scout and talk about calves & sh**

 

Why would you want to channel that guy?

 

Ahhahahahahahhahahaha!!!! Perfect!!

 

It is almost impossible to predict. The thing that I think could give her a spot is supposedly, she has been really good with the books and running the team economically. I could definitely see Walter wanting to keep someone like that around, even if he wants some changes. It's like she is kind of the baseline, and can make sure the team doesn't make major economic mistakes. The NBA is not MLB and spending extra money is a huge problem and gets worse with time. Unless Walter can lobby the league to change some rules, he would likely benefit from having someone like Jeannie around, at least for awhile, until he really understands the money flow for the team and the league.

 

From Google AI:

Did Walter have funding from UAE to buy the Lakers?:



Yes, Mark Walter's holding company, TWG Global, received funding from the UAE's Mark Walter's holding company, TWG Global, in April 2025.

Funding source: Mubadala Capital, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, invested $10 billion into Mark Walter's holding company, TWG Global, in April 2025.

Purpose of funding: This funding was part of TWG Global's larger equity raise to invest in sports and other ventures, including the acquisition of the Lakers.

Lakers ownership: Walter, already a minority owner, used this new funding to purchase a majority stake in the Lakers from the Buss family at a $10 billion valuation in October 2025.

 

UGH. f***.

 

I think it makes sense to keep Jeanie around as one of the faces of the franchise for now. Being the governor largely means she'll be representing us to the league, which . . . fine. She's not going to be actually running anything or making any important decisions from this point forward, and certainly not managing the books. So there's no risk.

But keeping her on keeps makes it feel like this is still a continuation of the same Laker team we have known and loved for the last 45 years. It's a connection to the past. And I think we've unceremoniously severed enough of those over the last 15 years, leaving a bad taste in my mouth (even if I was happy to see that loser Jim Buss get his walking papers). With Jeanie still here, you can squint your eyes and convince yourself it's still the Lakers.

 

Sportswashing/ethics aside, UAE/Abu Dhabi owns Manchester City and they won many soccer championships lol (with their infinite money).

It was only a matter of time until the middle east would be involved in US sports:

Inside the billion-dollar Middle East race to control the future of basketball - ESPN

 

I agree with this, but it may cause friction with the new guys who are brought in. Is she going to have any real power within the organization or only be Sauron’s mouth to the rest of the League?
I was sad to hear of the Buss Boys getting the axe not only because of their bloodline, but because of how well our scouting dept has done recently.
I have no I’ll will towards Jeanie, I just don’t see her current role as important after Walter brings in his guys.

 

Yeah, and because of that, nobody who follows the Premier League have any respect for Manchester City supporters. I’ve heard that they’ve done very unscrupulous things behind closed doors since being pupetted by that UAE money. Stuff that the Flippers have been doing with Robotic Cornrows and more.

 

The sooner her face is off the Lakers the better. Mark Walter doesn't need her to be the face of the Lakers for any transition. Unless they want to see more plastic than the north end of the Costco section where they keep all the cases of water, Mark Walter's face will do plenty because he has ethics and is credible in many arenas. One of the few billionaires I've seen and read about that isn't a complete and utter gas bag, sewer rat.

 

And that right there is the worry. I'm middle eastern. Through and through. One of the last of the full bloods too. And that region loves to claim tradition and culture but once presented with a better deal, will kill their own people to get it. Mark Walter seems to be a good man, I hope I'm wrong in the end but it's a slippery slope.

 

Yeah, this is my view.
We as fans also tend to think the Lakers are just basketball. But basketball, from a management standpoint, is just a tiny thing from such a powerful worldwide brand. And Jeannie has been pretty much outside of basketball decisions.
If you take out the penny pinching and running the franchise as a mom and pop shop, which both stop being an issue with Walter coming in, she does a pretty good job. I imagine the Lakers business is huge and no one better than her to help that transition. 5 years seem like a solid time to make that transition, certainly no less than 3.

She's well respected in the league, by other owners and certainly with brands, where most money comes in. She also represents very well and keeps alive the Lakers culture. We barely have any bad press, misconducts and stuff like that. Any player or coach or staff never left the Lakers and bad mouthed the organization. We are great, probably the best, in treating stars and you just recently had Bron and AD wanting to come here. We also value a lot our retired players and that is very appreciated by everyone. That's gold and we must keep it that way so stars continue to want to come to us.
Those are all very valuable things that the franchise benefits from and she can help a lot with the start of this new era.

We, as humans, tend to only value things after we lose them. We look at other franchises and they have sex scandals, players committing crimes, money frauds, etc. We have none of that. And that is thanks to Jeannie. I would like to keep it that way and I'm absolutely not against her having a seat at the table in the Lakers and being a positive influence in keeping the Lakers culture with the new board.

Yeah, they had 115 charges for money fraud and stuff like that. Everyone knows they are guilty. Some of the charges was just not presenting financial data, like they stop reporting it to the official authorities at all. I mean, you only do that if you have stuff to hide they're probably getting away with it because money buys everything and the case just died down after earlier this year everyone talking they would go to the 2nd or 3rd division

Sports wise they are very well run though. They have deep pockets, but they apply it smartly.