Lakers Reportedly Have 'Focused on Sealing Off Organizational Leaks' Over Past Year
The Los Angeles Lakers' ability to shock the basketball world with some of their moves over the past year is reportedly a result of a concerted effort to prevent information from leaking to the media.
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, the team has "focused on sealing off organizational leaks that it felt were detrimental," allowing L.A. to get some big things done behind the scenes.
Chief among them is last week's agreement to sell majority ownership of the franchise to Mark Walter at a valuation of $10 billion, which is a record in pro sports.
There was no indication publicly that the Buss family planned to sell the team, so the announcement caught nearly everyone off guard.
That was far from the first time that the Lakers left basketball observers stunned in recent months, as they also pulled off one of the most unexpected trades in NBA history in February.
Prior to the trade deadline, L.A. acquired superstar guard Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks for a package headlined by Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.
No substantial rumors at the time suggested that Dončić was available, as he had just finished third in the NBA MVP voting and led the Mavs to the NBA Finals the previous season.
Even before that, it came out last June that the Lakers were pursuing UConn's Dan Hurley as their next head coach.
For weeks, the Lakers interviewed candidates and went through an extensive search, and it wasn't until late in the process that Hurley was revealed to be an option they were courting.
Hurley ultimately remained at UConn and the Lakers hired JJ Redick, who led them to a 50-32 record and a playoff appearance in his first year at the helm.
It is fair to wonder if the front office dynamics will change at all under Walter's ownership, but that isn't something that will manifest itself for quite some time.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Buss family is maintaining a 15 percent ownership share in the Lakers "for a period of time," and Jeanie Buss will continue to be the Lakers' governor for "at least a number of years."
