The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off what will likely be a summer of major moves on Wednesday with ownership selling a majority stake in the historic franchise to Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter.
Los Angeles did so based on a valuation of the team at $10 billion, which means an enormous payday for the Buss family, even despite the fact that Jeanie Buss will continue on as governor of the franchise for multiple years moving forward — indicating that the Busses retained at least a 15% stake in the team.
Not only does that payday leave the Buss family flush with cash, the new majority owner is well known as the biggest spender in MLB, as the Dodgers boast a total payroll of $338.5 million in 2025. The NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement carries stiff penalties for going into the luxury tax, crossing into the first apron of the salary cap and then surpassing the second apron threshold. That said, the influx of sheer financial power into one of the league’s top franchises should clear a pathway toward an aggressive rebuild around newly-acquired superstar Luka Doncic.
How the Lakers will decide to go about that rebuild is, as of yet, unclear. But the scope of possibilities just got considerably wider.
Earlier on Wednesday, June 18, before Shams Charania broke news of the sale, his ESPN colleague Zach Kram authored a four-team trade proposal centered around Milwuakee Bucks star center Giannis Antetokounmpo that would see the Lakers acquire Draymond Green from the Golden State Warriors and part ways with Austin Reaves in the process.
Bucks Could Reshape West by Dealing Antetokounmpo in 4-Team Deal That Includes Lakers, Warriors
Kram laid out the complicated details of the hypothetical trade — which includes the Lakers, Warriors, Bucks and Dallas Mavericks — as follows:
Los Angeles would land Green and Mavericks center Daniel Gafford. That would fulfill the team’s need for a lob threat and a rim protector to pair with Doncic, while also making the defense far superior via the addition of Green, a former Defensive Player of the Year.
The Lakers would send out Reaves, Maxi Kleber and a 2030 first-round pick swap to the Bucks. They would also ship Gabe Vincent and a 2031 first-round pick to the Mavericks, who would land a second-rounder from the Dubs.
Golden State would send out two first-round picks, a second-rounder, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jonathan Kuminga via a sign-and-trade, ending up with Antetokounmpo in return while holding onto Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
The Bucks would get Podziemski, Jackson-Davis, Kuminga, Reaves and Kleber along with three total first-round picks between 2029-31.
Lakers Can Maximize LeBron James’ Twilight Year(s), Get Maximum Return for Austin Reaves in Trade
The deal isn’t perfect for Los Angeles, as the Lakers would need to find a secondary ball-handler and tertiary scorer/offensive creator elsewhere — roles that Reaves played last season behind Doncic and LeBron James, who will turn 41 years in December.
But L.A. would solve its size and defensive concerns, secure Doncic the type of player in Gafford who is at the top of his wishlist and keep two perennial All-NBA selections in James and Doncic in-house.
The Lakers could easily lose Reaves next summer anyway if he declines the roughly $90 million extension Los Angeles can offer him this offseason, plays out the third year of his current four-year, $54 million deal and then opts out of the final campaign on the contract and enters free agency in summer 2026.
As such, dealing Reaves now while his value is high could make the most sense for L.A. and still provide them a win-now path for the twilight of James’ career.
A primary Western Conference foe in Golden State would get better on the top end by acquiring a two-time MVP in Antetokounmpo to pair with another two-time MVP in Curry, but would lose considerable depth and get older in the process.
“The Warriors would sacrifice depth to construct a star-studded big three of Curry, Antetokounmpo and Butler,” Kram wrote. “The Lakers would balance their roster by turning Reaves into Green — who has been involved in Lakers rumors in the past — and Gafford, improving their defense and adding a rim-running center who’s a proven fit with Luka Doncic.”
