After decades of ownership, the Buss family sold their principal share in the Los Angeles Lakers to Los Angeles Dodgers primary owner and chairman, Mark Walter. With the Dodgers being one of the biggest spenders in all of sports, Lakers fans (many of whom are Dodgers fans) are thrilled about what the team might look like with more financial strength.
The Lakers won't have the same financial freedom in the NBA as the Dodgers have in the MLB due to the structure of both salary caps. However, there are still plenty of other areas the Lakers can benefit from more resources, and fans have already seen the effects of that.
The sale has not officially gone through, but the Lakers are already flexing these new financial muscles. On Thursday, the Lakers traded up from the No. 55 pick to the No. 45 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
The main selling point? Some extra cash thrown in.
The Los Angeles Lakers are moving up in the second round of the NBA Draft tonight, acquiring the No. 45 pick from the Chicago Bulls for No. 55 and cash, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025
New Lakers' owner is already throwing cash into trades
It's clear the Chicago Bulls had no interest in staying put with the No. 45 pick and all the team needed was some of that good Dodgers money to move down 10 spots. How much cash was involved is undisclosed, but it was obviously enough to get Jerry Reinsdorf interested.
Ironically enough, while this trade does flex some of the cash flow muscles the Lakers have, it also keeps the team from being one of the biggest spenders in the league next season.
Teams over the second tax apron cannot include cash in any trades. By making this move, the Lakers have hard-capped themselves at the second apron for the 2025-26 season. As it stands right now, the Lakers are projected to be $16.2 million under the second tax apron.
This isn't overtly surprising as the second tax apron has essentially become a hard cap in the NBA. Teams with title aspirations have been aggressive in going over the second apron, but the success usually doesn't last long. After all, the Boston Celtics just had to have a massive fire sale to get back under the second apron next season.
Walter may not be able to raise the second tax apron for the Lakers, but the added cash flow still has intrinsic value in many other areas. Now the Lakers have more cash to throw into trades to outbid other teams and more money to invest in the development and health of the players on the team.
The Dodgers have become the gold standard in MLB thanks to the investments made by Walter and Guggenheim Baseball Management. It won't be long until the Lakers become the same standard, and this is just the first small step.