Joey and Jesse Buss fired by Lakers after $10 billion sale as family feud with Jeanie explodes

After Mark Walter’s record $10 billion acquisition of a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, brothers Joey and Jesse Buss — long-time team executives and minority owners — said they were fired after 20 seasons; Joey was the alternate governor and VP of research and development and Jesse served as assistant GM and director of scouting. The June deal, approved last month, preserves Jeanie Buss as team governor for at least five years while Walter said he will work alongside her to maintain the franchise’s standards. The dismissals underscore a consolidation of control under the new majority owner and Jeanie, reveal an intra-family governance rift, and could presage changes to basketball operations and scouting leadership.

Analysis

Mark Walter’s June deal to acquire a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers valued the franchise at $10 billion and was approved last month, with Jeanie Buss contractually preserved as team governor for at least five years; Walter, who also owns the Dodgers, framed the transaction as a continuity play and said he will work alongside Jeanie to maintain the Lakers’ legacy. The formalization of majority control and the public statement of partnership provide near-term governance continuity at the top while centralizing strategic authority with the new majority owner and Jeanie Buss.

Brothers Joey and Jesse Buss, long-tenured executives with roughly 20 seasons each, were fired after the sale; Joey’s titles included alternate governor, vice president of research and development and president/CEO of the G League South Bay Lakers, while Jesse served as assistant general manager and director of scouting and had been involved in scouting over the past 10 years. They will retain minority ownership stakes but have publicly expressed dissatisfaction and signaled an intra-family governance rift, which introduces reputational and operational risk.

The personnel removals create potential short-term disruption to scouting and basketball operations given their roles, while contractual continuity at the governor level mitigates immediate strategic drift; available signals classify the news as mixed and uncertain with a low market-impact score (0.25). Investors should monitor hiring decisions for basketball operations, public communications from Walter and Jeanie, and any evidence of operational or sponsorship fallout that could affect franchise valuation or brand strength.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Monitor hires and organizational changes in basketball operations and scouting over the next 3-6 months as a leading indicator of on-court strategy and talent pipeline risk
• Treat the news as a governance consolidation event rather than an immediate financial shock given Jeanie’s preserved governorship and the low market-impact score; avoid knee-jerk trading based solely on the dismissals
• Watch public sentiment and PR developments tied to the Buss family dispute and any sponsor or partner reactions, as these are the most likely channels to affect near-term revenue or brand value
• Assess longer-term valuation implications only after the new majority owner outlines strategic plans and key executive appointments, using those milestones to re-evaluate position sizing or event-driven opportunities