Jeanie Buss, the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, has not agreed to sell her family’s stake in the NBA franchise, according to a letter Monday from her lawyer to her siblings’ attorneys.The declaration directly contradicts an earlier report from ESPN that cited a family statement, which said the “Buss family has decided to sell its remaining 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.”Buss’ lawyer, Adam Streisand, accused Joey and Jesse Buss in a letter of leaking “false, defamatory and pernicious ‘information’” to the writer of the ESPN report, Shams Charania.ESPN declined to comment.Attorneys for Joey and Jesse Buss did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.More Sports from NBC NewsJosh Kushner’s under-the-radar path to buying the Los Angeles LakersBob Iger once found it hard to root for the Lakers.
Now he owns them.The NBA’s new schedule aims to fix one of its most hated aspectsStreisand also alleged that Jeanie Buss’ siblings intended to “harm” the team and their sister as she “carries out her father’s wishes” of serving as the governor of the storied team.“No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc.can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,” the letter said.Streisand continued, “On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed ‘vote’ to sell the 17.8% stake.”The letter was the latest surprising twist in the Lakers’ front office.Last week, the team’s majority shareholder, Mark Walter, suddenly moved to sell his portion of ownership in the team to former Walt Disney Co.
CEO Bob Iger and investor Josh Kushner.That deal was valued at $12.5 billion, people familiar with the matter told NB...