The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2026 offseason has now taken multiple sudden unexpected turns. And while no one’s talking about it right now, these unforeseen curveballs could lay the groundwork for the Purple and Gold to lose Luka Doncic.

This might seem like an overreaction to the resale of the team by billionaire Mark Walter, and an ensuing battle between current governor Jeanie Buss and her siblings. Rest assured, though, it’s not.

In fact, the drama has torpedoed the Lakers’ NBA championship odds. If you peruse any of the sports bet apps California doesn’t block, you will find that Los Angeles ranks outside the top 15 in odds to win the 2027 NBA Finals.

That is an insane development for team that has Doncic, just gave Austin Reaves near-max money, and shelled out a four-year, $130 million deal, along with control of four first-round picks (two swaps, two outright) in order to acquire Walker Kessler, a 7’2” defensive stud who played in only five games last season.

Indeed, the recent turn of events may not impact the Lakers’ performance on the court. Billionaire owners aren’t taking the floor. But the rampant dysfunction is coming at a terrible time.

A Brief Breakdown of What’s Going on with the Lakers

Let’s start with what exactly is going on in Tinseltown.

Less than 18 months after finalizing the purchase of the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation, billionaire Mark Walter resold his stake at a $12.5 billion valuation to a group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner. The move caught everyone off guard and apparently came together in a matter of days.

Though Walter has not technically explained the suddenness of the sale, it isn’t hard to read between the lines. He acquired the Lakers while touting the ability for the franchise to stay in his family for generations. Selling it now raises all sorts of red flags when he’s being investigated for allegedly shady reporting of “related-party loans.”

Explaining his entire situation would take a novel. All you need to know is his companies initially reported that related-party loans made up approximately 2 percent of their portfolio, when in reality, they account for around 40 percent. The sale of the Lakers aligning with Walter shopping his stake in Chelsea F.C. suggests he’s liquidating assets to inoculate himself against this legal battle.

That alone is enough to cast a pall over Hollywood. Things have since gotten even more complicated.

The Buss family initially sold the Lakers to Walter. As part of the agreement, they maintained a 17.8 percent ownership stake in the franchise, and Jeanie Buss stayed on as governor. Notably, you must have a 15 percent stake to hold that position.

However, the resale of the Lakers triggered an apparent “tagalong” clause. This would essentially allow her other five siblings to vote in favor of selling their share, which exists in a family trust. As it turns out, they are doing just that. And they plan to sell their remaining stake to…Iger and Kushner.

But the drama doesn’t even end here! Jeanie and her lawyers are now contesting the decision. Though it remains to be seen how this will play out, the legal hurdles involved suggest this will spill into the regular season unless Jeanie or her siblings have a sudden change of heart.

Here’s Why This Could End with Luka Doncic Leaving the Lakers

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

This type of front-and-center chaos is never good. It sends the wrong type of message to both current and potentially future players.

The timing is especially poor as it pertains to Doncic. He has just two years left on his contract before he can enter free agency in 2028 (player option). And if you follow the NBA at all, you know darn well teams typically trade stars one year out from free agency if they won’t give an ironclad commitment long term.

By that logic, the Lakers have just one more season to convince Doncic he can win his first-ever championship with them. That’s a tall order under the most optimal circumstances. It’s unfathomable now.

Change is coming to Los Angeles. Big-time changes, even. Mark Walter was already overhauling the front office, but that has since stopped in light of the sale. Right now, it is not clear how Iger and Kushner will handle basketball operations. No matter what they do, though, this next regime won’t even have a full calendar year before they potentially need to make a tough call on Doncic.

Complicated still, the Lakers have now burned all of their best team-building chips. They obliterated their cap space this summer for the foreseeable while also trading just about every first-round commitment they’re legally allowed to offer. 

The end result after doing all that? Letting LeBron James leave to sign a minimum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, acquiring a franchise center who hasn’t yet proven he can stay healthy or anchor a top-tier defense, and assembling a roster that doesn’t even have top-15 championship odds.

As you follow everything else going on with the Lakers, then, remember this: It is all intertwined. The lack of direction, oversight and stability has directly led to creating an on-court product that, if we’re being honest, probably isn’t good enough to entice Doncic to stay in purple and gold past this season.