AROUND the NBA:

[F Gump]

Brian Windhorst: "He owned 27%, and now they own Ramona about 77%; is that correct?
Shelburne: That the Buss family owns 17 or 18…
Windhorst: And Patrick Soon-Shiong owns about 7%. We don't know, unless you do, what percentage is selling.
Shelburne: I believe they're buying all of Mark's shares.
Windhorst: It's not; he didn't actually make two billion because he didn't pay 10 billion for the team. But I'm not going to get into all that; it has to do with valuations. There are potentially reasons why he would want to get liquidity for his businesses. Again, this is not a financial podcast. And there are also reasons why he would want to potentially be able to show the SEC that he made an investment that returned a big profit for his insurance business."

One note about the background to this deal -- it would seem that Iger/Kushner were looking, and got word that the Lakers (Walter) were open to a sale. So Walter's existing woes likely had everything to do with this happening.

Some notes about the financial aspect of this deal...
1 As you noted, this is not a sale of 100% of the Lakers, but rather a portion, so the valuation increase ("profit") will not be as eye-popping as it has been trumpeted. But the NBA and its 29 other owners will eagerly embrace and use the packaging that LA is being sold for 12.5B and team values are spiraling. And even though it's not 100%, it will still net a very sizable profit that seems likely to exceed 1B.
2 The sale may have been agreed to already, but it won't close for a while, for 2 reasons:
...a. NBA will have to approve, which takes some time -- maybe not a huge delay, since they already know these prospective buyers, but they will have to schedule a meeting, do due diligence, etc etc. Even with a slam dunk deal, since they all have so much at risk, the other owners will look carefully under the hood before accepting the new partner. 
...b. Walter will also delay for a length of time to ensure that the sale does not happen until it's at least a year and a day since he bought this. The tax man will want his cut of the profits, and making it a "long term" ownership being sold is wise from that end of things, cutting the tax liability about in half.

[omahen]

Valuation is 12.5 B for 100 %. Walter owned roughly 85 % of Lakers according to ChatGPT. 27 % he bought earlier and the rest in 2025. If I simplify that his whole 85 % were bought at 10 B valuation, his profit would be 2.125 B before taxes. Since he actually bought 27 % earlier at much lower valuation, his actual profit before taxes will be even much higher.

It took a bit over 4 months between the first announcement of Walters deal and actual formalization on 30th of October 2025.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I think Iverson's ability to average 30+ in the early slow paced 2000s is a greater feat than averaging a triple double in 2020. Stats are so inflated now.

Like Iverson scored or assisted on 43% of the entire's teams points for an entire season, and went up to 49% of the entire teams offense in the playoffs en route to the finals.

Russ has similar counting stats, but Iverson did his damage through pure hooping skill. Gotta take Iverson here.

But it's closer than I would have expected going back and looking through it.

I still think comparing Iverson to Westbrook is a bad comp. They are two totally different players, as Iverson whom I love to death, despite his stature was a scoring guard, not a pure point guard. But that's just me.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Doc Rivers’ career coaching the Orlando Magic (1999-2004), Celtics (2004-2013), Clippers (2013-2020), Philadelphia 76ers (2020-23) and Milwaukee Bucks (2023-26) earned him a place on the league’s top 15 coaches of all-time list a couple of years ago, and he’s had phenomenal success most coaches can only dream of having. Only five coaches in NBA history have more victories than Rivers’ 1,194 regular-season wins. Only Popovich (1,390), Don Nelson (1,335), Lenny Wilkens (1,332), Jerry Sloan (1,221) and Pat Riley (1,210) have more. He’s coached the fourth-most games in league history (2,060). Among coaches with at least 1,000 games on the sidelines, Rivers has the ninth-highest regular-season win percentage (58.0 percent). A former staffer under Rivers said that he doesn’t feel Rivers gets as much credit as he should for his offensive creativity with X’s and O’s. “I used to look at his play designs and think, ‘Oh, that puts the defense in a real tough spot,’” former Clippers video coordinator Mo Dakhil told The Athletic.

New York Times

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Kevin Gray Jr.: Mavericks G/F Klay Thompson says that he wants to compete for a championship, not necessarily win one, but have the chance to compete and try and win a title and play a role on a team that can make a deep playoff run #MFFL (@PlaqueBoyMax Twitch)

x.com

Make it happen for Klay.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Klay Thompson reveals his ALL-TIME starting five: C — Shaquille O’Neal, PF — Tim Duncan, SF — LeBron James, SG — Kobe Bryant, PG — Stephen Curry. Klay explained why he went with Shaq, praising how he completely changed the game, while calling Tim Duncan the definition of consistency. He chose LeBron over Larry Bird and Kevin Durant, and Kobe over Michael Jordan because he grew up watching Kobe, eventually played against him, and stayed loyal to Steph at point guard.

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Multiple sources told Front Office Sports that Brandon Clarke earned his full $12.5 million from the 2025–26 season, but the final year of his salary won’t be paid out to his estate because it wasn’t protected for death. However, Clarke did have a life insurance policy, sources say. It’s unknown if the factors surrounding his death could impact its payout.

Front Office Sports

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Dane Moore: I've heard February 28th for the Kevin Garnett jersey retirement at Target Center. The Wolves play the Boston Celtics that night.

x.com


It should have been retired already.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The Lakers don’t visit OKC until April 1. The Warriors don’t visit OKC until a back to back set on April 8 and April 9. Odd that Thunder fans will see neither Luka Doncic nor Steph Curry until the final 11 days of the season.

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The Bucks were on the NBA’s national TV schedule 19 times for the 2023-24 season. That number shrank to 17 games for the 2024-25 season and then dropped to 13 last season. Now, the Bucks have just two games on the national TV schedule. Both games are against Antetokounmpo’s new team, the Miami Heat, and that number is tied for the fewest national television appearances of any team in the NBA.

New York Times

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The NBA will increase its broadcast TV presence during the 2026-27 regular season, with ABC and NBC combining for 90 games, up from 79 last season. In total, there will be 247 national games across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Prime Video, even with last year and up from 172 two seasons ago. The league already rolled out its first opening day national tripleheader on NBC Sports, with streaming on Peacock, as well as its five-game Christmas Day slate on ABC/ESPN. On Jan. 30, the NBA for the first time -- excluding Christmas Day -- will have four games on broadcast TV in a given day, as ABC has a quadruple-header with 76ers-Heat (12:30 pm ET), Nuggets-Thunder (3 pm), Spurs-Warriors (5:30 pm) and Lakers-Knicks (8:30 pm).

Sports Business Journal

[DanSchwartzgan]

Kevin Gray Jr.: Mavericks G/F Klay Thompson says that he wants to compete for a championship, not necessarily win one, but have the chance to compete and try and win a title and play a role on a team that can make a deep playoff run #MFFL (@PlaqueBoyMax Twitch)

x.com

Make it happen for Klay.

Thanks for continuing to post the "morning donuts" even in the dog days of summer.  Who needs X or a sports page when we have Hoosier Daddy.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Kevin O'Connor: Follow-up to the previous report: sources confirmed that Brandon Clarke’s contract was fully protected for death. Statement from Priority Sports’ Mark Bartelstein: “Brandon’s contract was fully protected for a God-forbid occurrence. So Brandon’s family and his estate are fully protected in Brandon’s contract…. The support that the entire Grizzlies organization has shown to Brandon’s family during this devastating time has been beyond words.”

x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Rick Carlisle, who surpassed Nelson as the winningest coach in Mavericks history, described Nelson as an innovator in basketball, citing his "Nellie Ball" style that earned him three NBA Coach of the Year awards. "Terms like 'small ball, stretch-big, point-forward, positionless, crossmatching' are all common terms today.' Nellie invented this stuff," Carlisle said. "And it wasn't until a few years ago when everyone else figured out this is the way the game should go. He was decades ahead of them. And in the history of human innovation, oftentimes the savant thinkers come up with something very simple and take it to levels none of us could have dreamed."

ESPN

[omahen]

Pablo Torre is really good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MldYHKY49LU&t=767s

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Pablo Torre is really good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MldYHKY49LU&t=767s

He missed his calling. He should have been a PI or detective.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

“Do you think that game would be at home, if not on national television?” Tyrese Haliburton followed up, as the hosts again agreed. “Do you think that that game would be at New Orleans?” Haliburton added, with a smirk on his face. Haliburton continued after the panel reacted to his questioning. “When I saw the schedule, I was like, ‘Oh wow!” he said. “Shoutout [Pelicans star] Trey Murphy [III], love my boy, Trey. Love New Orleans. But I was shocked to see that.”

New York Post

[HoosierDaddyKid]

A judge sided with Madison Square Garden in its lengthy legal battle with Charles Oakley on Friday, saying that the former New York Knicks All-Star had not proven he was assaulted when he was removed from a game he attended in 2017. Oakley was handcuffed and arrested after an altercation with security while sitting near owner James Dolan during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Oakley initially brought a number of claims against MSG that were dismissed in February 2020. After appeal, Oakley’s assault-and-battery claim remained. But Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the Southern District of New York ruled that Oakley “has produced no evidence to support his claim that he was assaulted by MSG security guards.” MSG had pointed to video evidence and previous testimony that Oakley was not assaulted. “For more than nine years, Mr. Oakley’s lawyers have pursued claims they knew were false. Those claims have now been dismissed by the Court in their entirety — for the third time,” MSG said in a statement. Oakley was a beloved Knicks forward in the 1990s, and he remains one of the few former players who has remained absent from MSG during the team’s recent playoff runs, culminating with this year’s NBA championship.


Associated Press

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Tyrese Haliburton says getting passed on by the Pistons felt the most personal Taylor Rooks: “Of the teams that passed on you, was there one that felt the most personal?” Tyrese Haliburton: “For sure, Detroit. For sure, Detroit.” “Because I mean, there were a lot of teams I wanted to go to. I liked Golden State a lot, that was like a dream. But I knew they probably wouldn't pick me at two.” “The Bulls, I thought, would have been cool. The Knicks. The Pistons. But with the Pistons, I knew they needed a point guard.” “In that moment, I already felt like I was the best point guard in the draft. LaMelo was touted as the number one guy, so he got drafted. And now I’m like, ‘Okay, it’s got to be me.’” “On ESPN, the top available were Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, and LaMelo Ball. After that, I’m the number one best available.” “I told the Hawks and Cavs, ‘Please God, don’t draft me,’ because they already had Trae and Darius.” “So, with the Pistons, I’m like, ‘You need a point guard, it’s got to be me.’ Then I look at my agent behind the camera, and he gives me the look. Then it flashes up Killian Hayes, and I’m like, ‘What?!’” “In that moment, I was just angry. Like, what do you mean they need a point guard and they’re not picking me?”

x.com

[dirkfansince1998]

Fun facts about the 76ers schedule:

They don’t play a game against the West until Game 18 of the season

They don’t play a game on the road against the West until Game 21 of the season

They don’t begin a Western Conference roadtrip until Christmas Day

They have the least amount of 3 games in 4 nights

They have the least amount of back-to backs

They have the max National TV games

How many games will Embiid and LBJ play? And how many of them together?