Exclusive | Metta Sandiford-Artest opens up on trying buy Lakers minority ownership stake under Mark Walter
Metta Sandiford-Artest said he tried to buy a 1% minority ownership stake in the Lakers under Mark Walter, but his bid was declined.Sandiford-Artest said he reached out to Walter after the businessman bought the Buss family’s majority stake in the Lakers for a $10 billion valuation in 2025.“I sent the email the next day, I tried to get in at $100 [million], and they didn’t let me in,” Sandiford-Artest told the California Post.
“But I wish he had let me in.That would’ve been great to have a former Laker as an owner, especially with the Buss family gone.
It would’ve been great to have a Laker, a champion like Metta World Peace.”Less than a year after Walter bought the Lakers for what was then the highest valuation ever for a U.S.professional sports franchise, he agreed to sell his stake to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner for a record $12.5 billion valuation on Aug.
12.The deal is pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors. Walter is being investigated by federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding potential loan fraud. Sandiford-Artest, who played for the Lakers for six seasons over two separate stints and won a championship alongside Kobe Bryant in 2010, said he had a feeling that the Lakers’ eye-popping valuation was going to skyrocket.“Once it sold, the next day I tried to buy in for 1%,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post.
“I knew it was going to [go up in value].I knew it.
I said the Lakers are going to be valued at $14 [billion].I thought it was going to be a $14 billion value within like 18 months.”Sandiford-Artest said he wasn’t sure why Walter declined his offer. “They didn’t respond, and then they were like no,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post.
“The reason why I tried to is I knew the value was going to go up, so I missed out.I was kind of bummed about it.
You have a former player who wants to put in $100 [million].”Under the Lakers’ new owner...